Fort Worth kicked the can again on the proposed redevelopment of a former country club into a mixed-use project that has area residents up in arms.
A planned redevelopment of the defunct Woodhaven Country Club in Fort Worth would include the construction of multifamily, retail, office and single-family residential uses.
For the second month in a row, the Fort Worth City Plan Commission put off the review of the preliminary plat for the redevelopment of the defunct Woodhaven Country Club. Crescendo Development’s plans for the 160-acre property include single-family residential, multifamily, retail, office and recreational space, according to the Fort Worth Report.
The item was continued at the commission’s Sept. 17 meeting after residents opposing the redevelopment said they had only received the latest information on the project the previous evening. A similar issue with unavailable information was behind the prior month’s delay, as commissioners hadn’t received traffic and drainage impact studies before the August meeting.
At its Oct. 1 meeting, the commission will examine the project’s potential impact on residents’ home values. A state law prevents golf courses from being replatted without a determination that it would not have a material adverse effect on neighboring single-family home values.
Some homeowners whose homes back up to the golf course are skeptical the redevelopment won’t have a negative impact, especially as a portion of the golf course is slated to be replaced with apartments.
Crescendo founder Will Northern said the golf course’s hilly terrain will limit the amount of multifamily construction possible. The preliminary site plan also features a two-story height restriction for the multifamily development.
An impact study on home values submitted to the commission by Crescendo estimated the redevelopment project will generate around $168M in private investment and nearly $16M in sales and property tax revenues for Fort Worth.
Catalyst Commercial performed the study using two similar golf course redevelopments, though company President Jason Claunch said there wasn’t a perfect parallel for Woodhaven.
Catalyst also found that homes adjacent to the projects studied increased in value quicker than the broader market.
In a document prepared for the commission, city staff recommended approval of the preliminary plat.
On the west side of Fort Worth, a much larger mixed-use project will soon rise along the west fork of the Trinity River.
The first phase of the $1.7B Westside Village development will begin early next year. At full build-out, the project will include 880K SF of office space, 238K SF of retail, 1,785 residential units and a luxury boutique hotel.
That project is being overseen by FW Westside RE Investors LLC, a partnership between The Keystone Group and Larkspur Capital.
Fort Worth also made waves in the region’s growing semiconductor industry this summer by snagging a couple of manufacturers planning to invest nearly $1B in the city.
