Crescendo Development
The Woodhaven golf course and country club took a big step in rising from the ashes with the Fort Worth City Council’s full embrace of a motion to rezone the property’s 150 acres.
Will Northern
The City Council voted 10-0 to approve the rezoning measure that permits Crescendo Development to advance its plans to redevelop the property into a mixed-use community that, in fact, might still include some golf, and a preservation of natural assets.
“We are extremely proud to have passed this milestone. This wouldn’t have been possible without overwhelming community support,” said Will Northern, founder and president of Crescendo Development.
Michael Crain, Northern’s partner in Northern Crain Realty, recused himself in the vote. Crescendo is a sole proprietorship with Northern the founder and sole owner.
Crescendo bought the property in a foreclosure auction in May for $8.5 million. The golf course and club closed in 2020. It has remained vacant.
Since acquiring the property, Northern and Crescendo have engaged extensively with the community, hosting multiple public meetings and numerous discussions with neighborhood associations, economic development groups, and local leaders. Hundreds of Woodhaven and East Side residents, along with property owners, have shared their input.
Common requests included open green space, mixed-use developments, sit-down restaurants, retail amenities, preservation of old-growth trees — and, yes, even the return of golf.
The new zoning will allow an 18-hole, par-3 golf course on the east side of the property. Northern is in discussions with KemperSports on that possibility. If golf does not happen, the area will be developed as large estate lots for upscale single-family homes to preserve much of the existing green space.
“Every step of the way, zoning changes were requested to protect the existing single-family homes,” explained Northern. “From limiting heights of new developments, adding green space buffers, prohibiting certain uses, and not connecting Oakmont Lane North to Randol Mill Road, this process has been defined by collaboration with the neighborhood. These plans preserve what makes Woodhaven unique while providing a much-needed catalyst for economic development and revitalization.”
The west side of the property will be a combination of mixed-use, urban residential, and agricultural uses. These areas will introduce the commercial amenities requested by the neighborhood and add new, upscale “missing middle” housing desperately needed in east Fort Worth. The form-based codes require extensive green space, preserving the incredible tree canopy that makes Woodhaven unique.
“I am more than excited,” said Mayor Pro Tem Gyna Bivens, who represents District 5. “I don’t care about the outcome; I care about the process.”
Crescendo Development is an entrepreneurial, community-centric real estate development company creating value through land planning, adaptive reuse, and historic preservation of complex projects in Fort Worth and surrounding communities.
The original Woodhaven sprouted in the early 1970s. Its original investors included Perry and Sid Bass, as well as former Texas Gov. John Connally. It featured a club and a hilly, 18-hole golf course. It sat on ranch property formerly owned by the Boaz family.