By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org
Impressed overall with a proposed development for The Pine Golf Course, the Wyoming Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend rezoning the site.
Illinois-based developer Redhawk Multifamily and Indiana-based Domo Development had requested a rezoning of 114.52 acres at the addresses of 2180 52nd St.SW and 5050 Byron Center Ave. SW, which is the current Pines Golf Course. The sites are currently R-1 for single family homes with the proposed zoning being a planned united development (PUD-4) for mixed use of residential and commercial.
“The Pines are a near and dear place to me,” said Planning Commissioner Robert Arnoys. “My parents built their house in ‘77. We lived by the fifth hole. Mike kicked me off the golf course many times on Sundays and various times, so I have a lot of sentimental and valuable memories related to the golf course.
“But it is going to be developed…Again, it pains me for the change but I do feel that this is something that we’ve talked about, best use, and the way this is laid out it is very well done.”
The Pines project
“A master plan, as developers, gives us guidance to the goals of Wyoming,” said Redhawk Multifamily representative Mark Avis. “We came here to design something that specifically matches almost word for word what is in the master plan.”
The project, named “The Pines” after the golf course, is proposed to be a mixed-use development that includes residential and commercial uses. The proposal calls for 604 units, which comes out to be about 5.27 dwelling units per acre. The residential proportion will be a mix of for sale and for rent units and includes a variety of housing types such as low-density like duplexes and lofts and medium density such as story apartment buildings and townhomes.
The site would include 22,000 square feet of office space, which would mostly be located off of 52nd Street and 7,500 square feet of commercial/retail, which would be off of Byron Center Avenue.
The Pines project also includes a 13-acre dog park that would be open to all Wyoming residents, sports courts for pickleball and bocce ball, fitness center, two clubhouses and two swimming pools.
Avis said when the company considers a property for development it is a process. It starts by meeting with the current owners and learning their vision and then identifying the natural features of the property including the trees, wetlands, natural grades and wildlife habitats.
The company also studied the city’s master plan, met with residents and staff and through that process felt it had developed a better plan than what the company had originally envisioned.
Planning Commission’s recommendation
Noting how well the plan was laid out and overall impressed with the design, the Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend approval of the plan to the Wyoming City Council.
For a PUD rezoning, the Wyoming City Council will have two readings before voting on the rezoning. The rezoning is expected to be introduced at the Council’s Aug. 1 meeting which is at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 1155 28th St. SW.
If the zoning is approved, the Wyoming Planning Commission would need to review and approve the project’s final site plan.
Residents at meeting were opposed
Redhawk presented about 15 pages from residents about the project including 100 positive reviews along with letters of sport from Grandville Superintendent Roger Bearup and Walker Mayor Gary L. Carey Jr. Redhawk is working on converting the former English Hills and the Lincoln golf courses in Walker to a planned unit development similar to the one proposed for The Pines Golf Course.
About a dozen residents voiced their concerns about the project citing increased traffic, not wanting rental housing, and a strong desire to keep the zoning residential for single family homes.
“I want you to keep in mind that apartments are one component of this,” said Planning Commissioner Barbara VanDuren. “There are for sale condos. There are duplexes and townhouses and it is hard because we all come from an era where we were born and raised and wanted that single family home. Things are changing. These apartments are not low income apartments.
“I think if you give it an opportunity and take a look at it and when it happens, I don’t think it will be as bad as you are perceiving.”
Addressing the public concerns
City of Wyoming’s Planning Director Nicole Hofert noted in her presentation that a traffic study showed that Byron Center and 52nd Street would be able to absorb the projected growth through minor traffic improvements such as timing adjustments. She also noted that there would need to be further evaluation of the traffic flow to ensure efficient egress of the site and minimal impact to surrounding roadways.
As for the crime, Hofert reiterated what she said for the rezoning of the 12 acres at the corner of Byron Center and 52nd Street that statistically, where there are more people, there is more crime and it is not related to the type of housing in the area.
Meets the requirements
According to staff, the property met many of the city requirements including location, size, housing variety, units and residential density. It was noted by staff that a PUD of the size of The Pines could go up to 15 dwellings per acre, but the developer is only asking for about a third of that at 5.27 dwellings per acre totaling 604.
The city’s [re]imagine master plan calls for the parcels to be used as suburban residential and should be directed suburban residential growth primarily as planned unit developments that include higher density options, green space, and pedestrian infrastructure. In defining suburban residential, the master plan says that higher-density residential should be prioritized near major roadways such as Byron Center Avenue and 52nd Street and near neighborhood commercial centers.
The master plan considered the Pines Golf Course an opportunity site that should be considered for mixed use with commercial fronting the street and medium density housing in the interior, which the plan proposes.
Green space, mixed housing and parking
The project also includes a public benefit such as preserving the features and tree canopies of the existing golf course where possible as well as preserving the natural wetlands on the property.
Only 22.9 acres, which is 20 percent of the development, are required for open space with the proposed project providing 29.7 acres which includes an open park in the development’s central core, the 13-acre dog park and trail connections to the nature preserve that abuts the northern-eastern portion of the site. The trails provide connection to the George P. Tilma Preserve and the Kent Trails.
It also addresses the need of middle housing such as townhomes, duplexes and fourplexes and apartments in the Wyoming area as per the Housing Choice and Housing Needs Assessment. The developers also met residents requests to have four-sale property available as well.
Staff did have a concern about parking. Through an agreement with the developer, parking will be 1.72 per unit which is slightly higher than the 1.5 maximum allowed for the PUD.
Property owners looking to sell
The Pines opened in 1967. It is the third golf course in the Grand Rapids area to be sold for redevelopment since 2020.
In January of this year, Ron Zandbergen, president of the Pines Golf Course, sent out a letter to its neighbors announcing that the owners had entered into a purchase agreement for the Pines Golf Course with RedHawk Multifamily.
Zandbergan said the family had followed the Wyoming [re]imagined master plan discussions and noted that the Pines Golf Course was designated to be a high density multifamily. Since the family is looking to retire, they began to look at other developments in the area.
“…last year we became extremely intrigued with the multifamily development of the English Hills Golf Course in Walker, which was being sold by long-time owners like ourselves. We really liked the developer’s plan which preserved a vast majority of the land,” Zandbergen wrote in the letter. “For us, it was very important to have a developer that would enhance the neighborhood and follow Wyoming’s Master Plan.”
The owners plan to operate the golf course through the 2023 golf season with the development starting after that. The Pines development is scheduled to open in 2025.
