Former Old Pine Golf Course to be subdivided for four houses
by Dan Holland
The fate of the former Old Pine Golf Course, located at 3770 Broadview Rd., has been settled, as the Larsen family plans to build homes on the 22-acre site located just south of the village center.
The 18-hole golf course, designed by Ted McAnlis, opened in 1968 as the Leaning Tree Golf Club. It was purchased by Dave and Sue Morgan in 1999 and redesigned from an 18-hole course into an executive link, par-31, 1,950-yard course and renamed Old Pine Golf Course. The course closed in 2014 and Corey Morrill purchased the property.
Morrill split off the northeast corner of the property on which sits the former golf course club house and sold that parcel in 2021. Another privately owned parcel is south of the former golf course property decreasing the property’s frontage.
Earlier this year Dan Larsen, Kasey Larsen, William Larsen and Joann Larsen purchased the property with plans to subdivide the land into three five-acre lots and one 7.25-acre lot, with a home to be built on each with a private driveway leading to each “flag” lot. A request for a lot split and modification to the R-2 single-family residential zoning code for the property was approved by the Richfield Village Planning Commission at a May 25 meeting.
The total frontage along Broadview Road for all four lots is about 200 feet.
“We granted some exceptions to allow that large private lot use on the property without having a public road,” explained Richfield Village Planning and Zoning Director Brian Frantz. “Once you get over a certain number of units, you need a public road, and that can become cost prohibitive.”
Dan Larsen and his wife Kasey plan to build one of the homes, while his parents, William and Joann, will build a second; his brother Brian plans to build a third. One of the four lots will be sold, according to Dan.
“My brother and I used to love playing golf at Old Pine,” explained Dan, who grew up in nearby Bath Township and attended Revere Local Schools. The brothers became interested when they noticed a For Sale sign on the property while visiting grandparents who live in Richfield.
The Larsens agreed to provide the village with a 15-foot easement along the north end of the property to connect village-owned property along Broadview Road with the trail system at Eastwood Preserve, which borders the rear of the former golf course.
“We thought that would be a great asset for the community,” said Dan. “We’re really impressed with the things Richfield is doing right now, and I feel like we’re getting in at a really good time. We were happy to help them out.”
“I think their goal and the village’s goal is that we both want to see it remain rural,” said Frantz. “There’s a strong possibility that someone could have acquired that land and extended sewer and water from the center of town to the property and could have put more density in there with one-acre lots. So, it’s a win-win for both parties involved.”
The family plans on installing sidewalks along the frontage of the property to connect with existing sidewalks that lead to the town center.
“With all of the development that’s happening in town, we want to be able to walk from our driveway to the new brewery, Olesia’s, and to everything else that’s coming to fruition over there,” Dan added. ∞
Featured Photo: The club house of the former Old Pine Golf Course has been divided and sold off from the remaining acreage, and four new housing lots have been created.