Retrofit Atlas

Golf courses · Pennsylvania

Loch Nairn Golf Club

Imported, unreviewedRegreenedRetrofit proposedNew Garden Township, PA

Township buying closed golf course for park; no development plans, peer strategy confirmed. · summary, model-written

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Site profile5 elements · what this site is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Finance and pipeline
Retrofit in the pipelineThis site: …proposed record · all sites with this
Place
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -10% census-cbp · all sites with this
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $2,242/mo zillow · all sites with this
Strategy
RegreenedThis site: …public park with walking and cycling trails record · all sites with this
New use
Park and open spaceThis site: …public park with walking and cycling trails newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusRetrofit proposedWikipedia no source
StrategyRegreening, proposedWikipedia no source
New usesparkWikipedia no source
What is there nowpublic park with walking and cycling trailsnewtypes-extraction reported
DeveloperNew Garden Townshipnewtypes-extraction

History and original facts

Original developerH.C. Smedley and his sonsnewtypes-extraction reported
CountyChester County
Census division2 · Mid-Atlantic
NotesDraft from phillyvoice.com, model-extracted, unreviewed: The Loch Nairn Golf Club, a golf course built in 1979 and closed in 2022, is being converted into a 106-acre public park with walking and cycling trails by New Garden Township.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Planning

No zoning change, subsidy or policy tool recorded for this site.

Deals and debt

DateEventPricePartiesSource
Sold$1.4M closedNew Garden Township ← the Smedley familyphillyvoice.com

Site context

Housing permits, Chester County (PA), 2024315 units in 5+ unit buildings, 27 in 2–4, 1,187 single-family; 2023: 161 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby1 within 10 km, 1 within 25 km: Market at Liberty Place (4.8 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)23,784 jobs in 1,319 establishments; average annual pay $46,815; employment location quotient 0.95; employment -0.5% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 20222,668 jobs; 75 in retail trade, 45 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 42029306504)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 32nd income percentile as adults; 5.5% incarcerated at the 2010 count (395 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)low-access at 1 mile, not low-income; 58% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 10.7%; median family income $137,153; 0 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsKennett Consolidated School District (KG-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: New Garden Elementary SchoolNCES EDGE
Elevation433 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025685 county-logged events: 477 thunderstorm wind, 149 flash flood, 24 hail, 15 flood; $41,429,010 property damage reported; 2 direct deaths; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 19311, 2026-09median list price $567,175 (-14.4% on the year); 12 active listings; median 29 days on market; 24% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20231,353 establishments (-10%); 27,318 jobs (-1%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $579,006 (+3% 1 yr, +32% 5 yr); typical rent $2,242/mo (+4% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)11,010 vehicles a day on GAP NEWPORT PK (principal arterial, 2 lanes); 2,718 trucks; 21 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

New Garden Township purchased the 106-acre Loch Nairn Golf Club from the Smedley family for $1.425M in 2023. The site, originally built in 1979, closed at the end of 2022. The township plans to convert it into a public park with walking and cycling trails, slated to open in 2024.

Why. The strategy is 'regreen' (converting golf courses to parks), matching peer examples like Park Hill Golf Course (CO) and Fox Ridge Park (KY). The township is the developer, and the site is near Market at Liberty Place (4.8km), a built retail development.

Where it stands. Status is 'proposed' but events confirm the park is opening in 2024. No details on park features beyond trails. County housing market shows steady growth (4.6% population increase 2018–23, median rent $1,691).

For a planner

  • No construction permits or zoning details provided.
  • Peer conversions (all score 4.0) confirm 'regreen' is a recognized strategy.

For a developer

  • No development potential identified (opportunity score 0.0).
  • No housing or retail plans mentioned; focus is on passive recreation.

What we do not know yet

  • No details on park design, budget beyond purchase price, or community feedback.
  • Verified as 'draft'—some data may be preliminary.

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

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Multifamily screen

  • already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
  • county grew 4.6% 2018–23
  • median rent $1,691

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

Timeline

  1. 1979 The Loch Nairn Golf Club was built in 1979 in New Garden Township, Chester County.
  2. 1979 Former owner H.C. Smedley built the golf course in 1979.
  3. 2022 The course closed at the end of 2022 and will be preserved as a 106-acre public park with walking and cycling trails.
  4. 2023 Natural Lands announced today the preservation of approximately 106 acres in New Garden Township, Chester County.
  5. 2024 The land, formerly the site of the Loch Nairn Golf Club, was purchased by the Township for use as a passive-recreation park, which is slated to open to the…

Sources

  • Former Chester County golf course to be converted into public park
    3 quoted sentences
    Loch Nairn Golf Club
    The Loch Nairn Golf Club was built in 1979 in New Garden Township, Chester County.
    The course closed at the end of 2022 and will be preserved as a 106-acre public park with walking and cycling trails.
  • New Garden Golf Course to Become Public Park - Natural Lands
    4 quoted sentences
    Loch Nairn Golf Club
    Former owner H.C. Smedley built the golf course in 1979.
    Natural Lands announced today the preservation of approximately 106 acres in New Garden Township, Chester County.
    The land, formerly the site of the Loch Nairn Golf Club, was purchased by the Township for use as a passive-recreation park, which is slated to open to the public in 2024.

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