Shortee's Golf Course redevelopment to break ground

Big changes are coming to 96th Street and Westfield Boulevard, the longtime home of Shortee’s Golf Course. 

Indianapolis-based Buckingham Properties will soon break ground on a 23-acre, 400-home neighborhood with houses, townhomes and apartments at 1775 E. 96th St., near the Sherwood Forest neighborhood.

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The project includes road improvements and changes for Real Street, public green space and a 2,500-foot trail that will eventually connect to the Monon Trail at 96th.

Buckingham Properties’ request to rezone the land from use as a golf course to residential was approved by the city in 2021. Buckingham Properties owns the land, according to property records. 

The plans filed with the city include provisions for multiple neighborhoods within the development, including 319 apartments plus amenities like a clubhouse with a fitness center and pool, 44 townhomes and 40 two-story houses. In total, the development will include 400 homes, with a density of around 17 homes per acre.

Plans also include three acres of open green space within the residential neighborhood, with amenities like picnic benches, firepits, a playground, a dog park and pickleball courts.

Buckingham's proposal also includes plans to realign Real Street, which runs parallel to I-465, through the middle of the residential complex to connect 96th and Westfield, adding a sidewalk and a trail that connects to the Monon.

The city's Metropolitan Development Commission approved rezoning in December 2021 and the City-County Council approved the redevelopment plan, as well as $8 million in TIF financing for the project, in June 2022.

This is not the first time residential developers have attempted to redevelop Shortee’s Golf Course for residential.

In 2015, developer Herman & Kittle, now Kittle Property Group, filed to rezone the Shortee’s land for apartments, according to IBJ reporting. Three previous requests to rezone the site for residential in 2014, 2015 and 2016 were withdrawn or dismissed, according to city filings, and the land remained a golf course until last year.

Shortee’s closed permanently at the end of its 2022 season, a representative from Buckingham Companies confirmed to IndyStar. 

Though some preliminary work is currently underway at the Shortee’s site, construction is planned to begin in August or September, a Buckingham Companies spokesperson said. 

Contact the reporter at 317-617-3402.