A New Golf Subdivision Near Pinehurst in the Planning Stages

Pine Forest is a proposed Golf development less than 10 miles from Pinehurst that is being submitted for approval to the Moore County board of Commissioners.

The developer who is MHK Ventures, Inc has previously had this proposal on the county agenda but needed to stepped back a bit for further planning. Primarily the developer has to show the Moore County Department of Public Utilities how it plans to provide water and wastewater treatment and be approved by the Utility Department before the Commissioners can consider the development for approval. When initially presented to the board, the plan was to pay nearby Montgomery County water to the development and build a private tertiary wastewater treatment plant for irrigation for the golf courses. The commissioners were unsure at their last meeting if this was still in th plan.

The development, if approved, will begin in 2011 and continue through various phases until 2017. The actual dates of each phase will vary depending on economic conditions. The development near Pinehurst will consist of two 18 hole golf courses and one 9 hole golf course. It will also have about 710 residential units and a hotel. There is also some space that will be used for commercial/retail.

For many this is good news for the Pinehurst area because it means jobs and newer homes by mid decade when some economists are predicting a housing shortage. It won't just be construction job as there will be the demand for restaurants and other amenities as the community is developed.

There are some groups that are opposed to the plan because of the unique natural environment of the Longleaf Pine Forest. The developer has addressed this by offering open space which will include wetlands, vegetative buffers, community greens and park, pools and golf courses.

This proposed new Pinehurst area golf community will be discussed in the next public session of the county commissioners on January 18 at 6:00.