A group of nearby residents are opposed to a plan to redevelop the Fort Worth, Texas property into a craft whiskey distillery, which would require rezoning.
A group of neighbors surrounding Glen Garden Country Club are hoping to generate opposition to a rezoning request that would allow the development of a distillery on the property, the Keller (Texas)-based Star-Telegram reported.
The 106-acre, Fort Worth, Texas property is under contract to be sold to Firestone & Robertson Distilling of Fort Worth. The owners, Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson, have said they’ve outgrown their current location, the Star-Telegram reported.
Neighborhood leaders say they are trying to get people to speak against the proposal before the city’s Zoning Commission on June 11. After the zoning commission votes, the case will go to the City Council on July 15.
Howard Rattliff Jr., one of the group’s organizers, said he has been a member of Glen Garden since 1993. He plays all over the city, he said, but prefers to play there to support the neighborhood. When he toured the existing distillery, he was “somewhat impressed with the operation.” But, he added, he still worries that it would harm the neighborhood, the Star-Telegram reported.
“With schools nearby and churches nearby, it’s just out of place,” Rattliff said. “And that’s not to mention the historical aspect. Look at [Ben Hogan] and [Byron Nelson]—you’re looking at destroying a whole course where they learned to play. Even without them, there’s so much golf history there.”
Marie Love, president of the Glencrest Civic League, said she believes that most residents in the neighborhoods near Glen Garden oppose the idea, as do a number of churches. “We’re hoping we can get it dissolved at zoning,” she said. “But I don’t know how the mayor or the City Council feel about it.”
The distillery owners plan to turn the club into a distillery and meeting center. But they say they would keep the pastoral setting with the intention of making it similar to what is seen along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail or at popular California vineyards. They predict that the distillery would become a tourist attraction and draw more economic development to southeast Fort Worth, the Star-Telegram reported.
“We feel like we’ve made some good headway,” Firestone said. “We’ve got some people who are willing to step forward.”
One of those is Terri Walker Burson. She lives across from Glen Garden and was initially skeptical about the idea. Then she toured the facility and was impressed. She didn’t smell any odors and found the business well-maintained, the Star-Telegram reported.
“One of my concerns is if the golf course is purchased by a developer and puts apartments or tract homes there,” Burson said. “It’s a unique neighborhood, and I don’t want to see tract homes placed there. I think that would cause my property values to drop.”
At the distillery’s current location, more than 10,000 people have toured the facility, and it is popular with conventioneers, Firestone said.
“Unique distilleries like Firestone & Robertson are hot with consumers, and we frequently refer convention and meeting planners to them,” said Bob Jameson, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau. “When Fort Worth cultivates and supports these kind of local experiences, we provide more incentive for visitors to spend time and money here.”
Firestone said he and Robertson have tried to convince community leaders that the distillery can be “a building block” for the area, the Star-Telegram reported.
“We took great pains to tell them that we are nothing like a liquor store,” Firestone said. “Very little liquor is sold on the premises.”
Whatever happens to Glen Garden, its open space should be valued, Fort Worth historian Quentin McGown said. “There’s tradition there—it’s such a beautiful space,” McGown said. “There are long views. There are old trees. It’s an old landscape and those are disappearing pretty fast.”
C&RB reported on the potential redevelopment in May (“Glen Garden CC Could Become Distillery“).
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