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Carmel-based Old Town Cos. is looking to build a 186-home residential development in Westfield adjacent to Wood Wind Golf Club, which the city plans to purchase and turn into a municipal golf course.
Westfield Senior Planner Daine Crabtree on Monday night told members of the Westfield City Council that the Wood Wind East Planned Unit Development is planned for 136 acres bounded by 166th Street to the north, Ditch Road to the east, 161st Street to the south and Wood Wind Golf Club to the west.
The Wood Wind East PUD District would include houses with varying lot sizes built in three areas.
Area A would be built around three golf holes with 61 houses built on 15,000-square-foot lots, the largest in the community. Area B would have 61 houses built on 9,000-square lots on the west side of the community, and Area C would have 64 houses built on 12,000-square-foot lots on the north side of the development.
Home sizes in Areas A and C would be 2,200 square feet, while Area B would have 1,600-square-foot houses. Expected prices for the houses were not available.
Neighborhood amenities on the north side of the development would include a playground, covered gathering space and a woodland preservation area.
The unveiling of plans for the Wood Wind East PUD District on Monday came about a week after the city announced it would purchase Wood Wind Golf Club and make it Westfield’s first municipal golf course. The course will undergo renovations before it reopens next spring.
Westfield City Council member Jon Dartt said at Monday’s meeting that he wants to make sure the design is set for the golf course before the new housing development—especially the three holes within the residential community.
“The city has one opportunity to really get this right and design this course and make this a golf course that the community wants to support and embrace,” Dartt said. “I don’t want to do this backwards and say, ‘Here’s the 186 homes that we want to put in. Let’s see we can squeeze three golf holes in there.’”
Councilor Noah Herron also said he would like Old Town to take another look at the amenities it is planning for the community.
“Just seeing the amenities that you guys threw up on your exhibit, I know what you guys can do. I’ve seen what you guys can do. I expect more from you guys on that,” Herron said. “So, hopefully, going through the process, you guys will come up with some better ideas for amenities for the community.”
The Westfield Advisory Plan Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing about the Wood Wind East PUD District on Oct. 7 and a workshop on Nov. 18 before issuing a recommendation Dec. 2. The development could return to the City Council for approval Dec. 9.
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.
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 on both sides of 161st Street and designed by Ron and Gary Kern is the only public course in Westfield. The city has two private courses: Chatham Hills and the The Bridgewater Club.
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.
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.
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Oh, isn’t that nice (dripping with sarcasm). They left a tiny LITTLE area for woodland. I am assuming they are doing this to appease the environmentalists and people who love trees. I hate to see more trees mowed down and discarded, JUST SO A DEVELOPER CAN MAKE A PROFIT. But very few seem to care. It will only change if it becomes a political issue. So sad our country is based on making money. REGUARDLESS of what it does or who it hurts. What matters in this country is making money at ALL COSTS!
Actually, they are leaving the grove of trees and tree lines on the land, it is a farm field they are developing.