Sixty-nine acres of the 110-acre Plymouth, Minn., golf course will become 156 homes with construction expected to begin in 2014. In Arlington, Texas, a developer is planning a 40-home, gated subdivision near the Tierra Verde Golf Club, in an area that city leaders have previously fought to protect.
Elm Creek Golf Course in Plymouth, Minn., closed to public play on Labor Day weekend, with big changes ahead for the 110-acre privately owned course, a large portion of which will become 156 homes on 69 acres of rolling hills, the Minneapolis (Minn.) Star Tribune reported.
Home prices in the future Creekside Hills development will start at $500,000, with some expected to reach $1.5 million, according to GWS Development, which has a purchase agreement to buy the land, the Star Tribune reported.
Construction is expected to begin in 2014. The Wayzata School District, which is projecting growth, has purchased the remaining 40 acres of the golf course next to the high school for possible future expansion, the Star Tribune reported.
In May, the Plymouth City Council rezoned the golf course, which dates back to the 1960s, to allow for home construction. With rising demand for housing and interest in golf on the decline nationally, developers had begun eyeing the greens, the Star Tribune reported.
Jake Walesch, of GWS Development, said demand for new homes is high in Plymouth. The developer’s goal is to maintain the existing natural beauty surrounding Elm Creek, preserving as many trees as possible, he said.
“We usually try to work with the existing topography, trees and all the natural elements of the land as much as possible,” Walesch said. “It’s a really unique site. We are excited about it.”
The neighborhood density will be 2.7 homes per acre, which is slightly lower than the city of Plymouth’s target of three homes per acre. Lot sizes will vary, with properties on Elm Creek measuring a half-acre larger, Walesch told the Star Tribune.
“It’s going to be similar to our other developments, which is higher-end single-family construction with amenities,” Walesch said. “We usually have a pool, clubhouse, private park and trails.”
Some neighbors expressed concern about increased traffic, landscape buffering and other issues when the matter went before the City Council and planning and zoning commission last spring. However, city officials had known for years that the golf course was slated for redevelopment, the Star Tribune reported.
“It wasn’t a big surprise to the community or the city government to see a proposal come forward to develop the golf course,” said Plymouth Mayor Kelli Slavik.
In Arlington, Texas, a developer is planning a 40-home, gated subdivision near the Tierra Verde Golf Club, in an area that city leaders have fought to protect, the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram reported.
Eden Village is to feature homes from $250,000 up, as well as green spaces and such amenities as walking trails and a dog-friendly park, designed to complement the nearby golf course, the Star-Telegram reported.
The Arlington City Council unanimously approved subdivision developer Nathan Watson’s plan at its September 3 meeting, the Star-Telegram reported.
The community will have smaller lots and amenities, including tree-lined sidewalks, that should appeal to seniors seeking a high-end, secure neighborhood, said Jim Maibach, the developer’s zoning consultant.
“A lot of people hitting in their 50s and 60s don’t want big pieces of land to take care of. They want a quality home that has two or three bedrooms and large open spaces, and they want a secure, gated community,” Maibach said. “They also want shade, amenities and trees. They want to get out and walk around their neighborhood and feel like they are not going to be mowed down by a car.”
The 9-acre plot, near the entrance to the Martin Luther King Jr. Sports Complex and Tierra Verde, is largely undeveloped and has been owned by an Arlington family since the 1950s, the Star-Telegram reported.
The developer asked the city to rezone the property for more homes per acre than is currently allowed in the area. Eden Village will have 4.39 homes per acre compared with the 2.5 homes per acre required under the Village on the Green at Tierra Verde Overlay District standards set by the city, according to a staff report. Those standards would have allowed for only 22 homes with much larger lots, the Star-Telegram reported.
“The Village on the Green overlay was written from the idea that you would be developing 20 or 40 acres,” said Maibach, adding that Watson’s proposed infill housing development is only 258 feet wide and about 1,500 feet long. “This is half that size. It was long and narrow. You had immediate limitations.”
Home construction at Eden Village could begin as early as next summer, the Star-Telegram reported.
Other amenities planned for the subdivision, which will have a homeowners association, include wrought-iron fences, decorated wooden garage doors, a gazebo, an outdoor fire pit, a cabana and walking trails that will eventually connect with the Sublett Creek Linear Park, Maibach said.
The council took steps in the past to protect development in the area near the golf course. In 2006, the council approved the Village on the Green at Tierra Verde overlay, a special set of zoning rules to restrict the types of homes and businesses that are built on 1,600 acres of mostly undeveloped land near the golf course, the Star-Telegram reported.
Two years later, the city denied a natural gas drilling pad site proposed by XTO Energy because it would hamper high-end development. Eden Village is about 700 feet away from the Overcoming Faith drilling site, the Star-Telegram reported.
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