A Chinese real estate investment company has acquired Granite Springs golf course outside Halifax in a recent land assembly.

The golf course was one of six properties in the Bayside area acquired in mid-December by numbered company 3301743 Nova Scotia Ltd. The company's president, Hailin Li, is chair of Shanghai-based DongDu International.

The 186 hectares of land obtained by Li's numbered company has an assessed value of approximately $2.3 million.

Ambitious plans

Granite Springs members are being told there are "ambitious" plans for the course now that it is an affiliate of DongDu. The course was owned by Halifax businessman Fred Smithers.

Those plans include better fairways, a new practice facility and teaching academy.

"There are also long-range plans that are being developed that will include a community, associated amenities together with tourism and retail components," general manager David Perry said in a note to members.

DongDu representatives did not respond to CBC News inquiries.

Arrived in 2014

The company arrived with much fanfare and big plans for Nova Scotia in May 2014.

In a well-publicized media event at Halifax's Pier 21, Li signed memorandums of understanding with the Greater Halifax Partnership and Nova Scotia Business Inc. Those memorandums have since lapsed.

At the time, DongDu referenced Bayside in a discussion of Nova Scotia development plans.

However, far more attention was paid to a pair of resort developments proposed for 1,330 hectares acquired in the District of St Mary's in Guysborough County on the eastern shore.

Eastern Shore resorts on hold

The resort projects were targeted at Chinese with enough income to afford a second residence and attracted by the area's unspoiled wilderness.

The company has yet to proceed because of a downturn in the Chinese economy, according to St. Mary's Warden Michael Mosher.

Mosher told CBC News he welcomes DongDu's interest in the coastal community of Bayside.

"It's great they want to invest in Nova Scotia," he said.

"We are still very excited to work with them, when they are ready."