Lansing Township green lights $100 million redevelopment of Waverly Golf Course

Lansing Twp. — A $100 million redevelopment of the Waverly Golf Course is moving forward.

Lansing Township's Board of Trustees unanimously approved the rezoning of the golf course Tuesday evening.

The 121-acre site between Michigan Avenue and West Saginaw Highway is in Lansing Township but is owned by the city of Lansing.

Under a purchase agreement from October, Grand Rapids-based Northern Capital Investments LLC would buy the nine-hole golf course and an adjacent park from the city for about $2.2 million.

Lansing Township needed to rezone the property for mixed-use purposes for the sale to move forward.

The development would consist of 204 apartments, 52 multi-family duplexes, 76 townhomes and 101 single-family homes. Plans for the site also include 120 units of senior housing and 145,000 square-feet of commercial and office space.

Lansing Township Supervisor Dion’trae Hayes said the project will be a win-win for longtime residents and people interested in moving to the township.

“I think it will make the neighborhood more appealing," she said. "People want to be around where things are happening. They want to be around new development."

Still, the project drew criticism from residents at a public hearing last month. Many said plan didn't have adequate green space.

The developer's most recent plans removed a proposed restaurant and call for preserving additional trees, Hayes said. They're also considering including a public dog park, she said.

MORE: Plans for former Waverly Golf Course draw criticism

The project's first phase of construction is planned to to start this year and will include commercial and retail along Saginaw Highway.

"This project will have a long life cycle, and we are excited to be a long-term part of this community," Northern Capital Investments Vice President of Development Jay Barnes said in a Wednesday news release. "We are grateful to both the City of Lansing and Lansing Township. We are eager to continue meeting with county officials as our plan evolves and this project moves forward.”

The Waverly Golf Course closed in 2007, and city residents voted to authorize its sale along with the adjacent Michigan Avenue Park in 2012.

In 2014, city officials said that an appraisal of the property came in at $2.74 million. An appraisal from 2016 has the property listed as around $3.16 million.

Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.