Will We See 2,000 Houses Where Larchmont Golf Course Now Sits?
When it comes to golf in Missoula I'm a Larchmont guy. I'm not fancy enough for some of the courses in town, not skilled enough to feel comfortable at others, and don't have the money for memberships a couple of them. But good ol' Larchmont is home sweet home when it comes to me swinging the sticks. Plus the radio station is right next door so during the summer I can get out of work and be teeing off in ten minutes' time. But hold on one hot second! What's this I'm hearing about a developer wanting to build houses where Larchmont sits and give the county a different piece of property for a new golf course?
Wow, this is interesting!
The drive down Reserve Street could take on a whole new look in the future if things were to play out the way they're being pitched. Yep, when you're headed south on Reserve and headed toward Brooks you could be passing a bunch of new homes where Larchmont Golf Course currently sits. A Missoula Current story has the details of Blueline Development and the WGM Group presenting an idea to Missoula county that would essentially trade pieces of land like baseball cards.
How would the swap work?
The 152 acres where Larchmont currently sits would become a housing development and the County would get 157 acres near Highway 93 that would serve as a new course for the public. Maybe you're asking, "why doesn't the developer just build housing on the land they already own?" There is a good answer for that, actually. The land sits in the floodplain and housing can't be built on it.
Will it happen?
This is all in the beginning steps of being considered. There's no doubt that the pros and cons of replacing the public golf facility with 2,000 housing units will be argued for quite a while before a decision is made.
Will we see a major exchange of properties? It's pretty wild to imagine driving down Reserve and looking over at nothing but houses where Larchmont Golf Course now sits. What are your thoughts on this crazy news?