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The city of Westfield announced Monday that it plans to purchase Wood Wind Golf Club and turn it into the community’s first municipal golf course.
The Downtown Westfield Community Development Corp., a not-for-profit formed this year by the city to support local projects, will purchase the course from Westfield Golf Club LLC for $3.1 million. The not-for-profit will close on the course by Oct. 1, according to a news release from the city.
The purchase includes the clubhouse, party pavilion and site amenities, including two pickleball courts, golf carts, maintenance equipment and furnishings.
Wood Wind, 2302 W. 161st St., was built in 1990 and updated between 2021 and 2022. The 147-acre, 6,255-yard golf course designed by Ron and Gary Kern is the only public course in Westfield.
Wood Wind’s future was in doubt for several years beginning in 2015 as multiple residential development companies floated proposals to replace the golf course with subdivisions.
Mayor Scott Willis noted in written remarks that speculation increased this year, making the city’s purchase a priority.
“Since my first day in office, the owner has pitched ideas to develop the course into a high-density housing development,” he said. “The city purchasing the course ensures that it will remain a community asset for decades to come and the open green space the area offers will be preserved.”
The course is managed by Carmel-based O’Neal Golf Management Corp. The company is led by John “Doc” O’Neal and Colin O’Neal.
“It’s important to note that the course is generating revenue and will continue to do so in the coming years,” Willis said. “The city will reinvest any profits back into the course for improvements and additional community amenities. It’s important that we have a public golf course available for all residents and our school district teams.”
The Downtown Westfield Community Development Corp. is funded by grants from the city and the Westfield Redevelopment Commission.
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That’s great. How about more money for street resurfacing. $2M or so for street repaving in a city the size of Westfield is not enough. If this continues our streets will look like Indy’s.
Strap in!
Carmel Westfield and fishers are only a decade or so behind Indy
State legislatures can’t help the suburbs without helping Indy so they’re basically stuck lol
The membership fees that course charges, when I looked yesterday, are astonishing. If they were looking to redevelop, it probably means there’s not as many people willing to pay those fees as they’d like.
I also think gold courses are a pretty terrible use for “green space”. A grass field in a public park can be used for picnis, soccer, baseball, and so much more. A golf course can only ever be used for golf.
In an age where many cities are selling off their public greens or turning them into traditional parks, this seems like a boneheaded move by Westfield to prop up what is likely a dying business.