Plans include the addition of a six-bedroom dormitory for interns, the upgrade of the paddle tennis courts and a new maintenance barn to replace one that burned.
After making numerous demands, the Grosse Pointe Farms City Council unanimously approved a site plan request by the Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Point Farms, Mich., for an expansion that includes the addition of a six-bedroom dormitory for interns, the upgrade of its paddle tennis courts and a new maintenance barn to replace one that burned (see “How Rust Belt Clubs Are Thriving,” C&RB, May 2011).
Hidden in the discussion is that the club will be one of the first, if not the first, in Michigan to offer intern housing on club grounds, reports the Grosse Pointe Patch. The building will have room for six interns studying for college degrees related to fields such as turf management, hospitality and other aspects of operating a golf course and country club.
The site plan request was related to construction of a maintenance barn to replace a building that burned in 2010, but the discussion broadened to other expansion plans at the country club.
While some council members said their main concern was protecting nearby residents, the country club, met every other request of the council, including changing the paint color of the maintenance barn, a choice called “shocking” at a prior council meeting.
At a council meeting, the club’s superintendent, Bob McCurdy, said that the color would be muted khaki gray and match the dormitory. McCurdy, who appeared with CCD General Manager Mark Petzing, also said more landscaping and trees would be added to hide buildings or parts of the course seen as unsightly. The plan calls for forty-five 6- to 8-foot-tall spruces, some planted on a 3-foot berm. The club, a 99-year-old organization, also agreed to mitigate dust during the laying of a new blacktop roadway.
The additional screening would shield the lights and courts of a resurfaced paddle tennis area.
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