Hazel Crest Board OKs Country Club Land Annexation Amid Protests

HAZEL CREST, IL — The Hazel Crest Village Board moved ahead with a proposal to annex 130 acres of Calumet Country Club property on Tuesday night, setting in motion a process that could lead to the re-development of land that residents fear will have a negative effect on the village and nearby communities.

The board approved an ordinance that annexes the land, which until Tuesday night, had been located in unincorporated Cook County. The golf course property has remained in limbo since 2021 when the Village of Homewood voted unanimously to disconnect the land from its jurisdiction over plans that the property owner had in mind.

The board’s approval of the ordinance at its meeting on Tuesday night came amid heavy opposition from local residents and members of the South Suburbs For Greenspace group, which held a rally prior to Tuesday night’s meeting to voice their displeasure with the move.

The land, which is located near 175th Street and Dixie Highway, could be re-developed into industrial property with a proposal by the owner to build a factory that would build parts for manufactured homes. The proposal also calls for the construction of a water park and hotel — all of which has local residents concerned.

Village officials, including Hazel Crest Mayor Vernard Alsberry, Jr., have said that no plans have been approved yet and that the property will remain zoned as residential until further plans can be approved.

But Alsberry, who only a year ago, said that annexing the property was not in the best interest of the village or the Southland region, said at Tuesday night’s meeting that the plan allows Hazel Crest to grow.

“We are going to expand our community and we are going to grow our community,” the mayor said.

Alsberry said that village officials will hold public forums in the future about what is to become of the property and will take public input into consideration before moving forward. However, opponents to the annexation plan have said all along that residents have not had enough of a say in the annexation proposal. Residents have accused village officials of being corrupt and dishonest about the property and those complaints continued Tuesday night.

Residents had complained that the public comment section of the meeting was scheduled after the vote on the proposal. Liz Varmecky, founder of South Suburbs For Greenspace, was escorted out of Tuesday night’s meeting by police after she demanded to be heard before the vote.

She was allowed to return for the public comment portion of the meeting but was among those who feel like the property annexation will affect the lives of residents moving forward. The property’s owner, Walt Brown, paid $3.3 million for the country club property in 2020 and has proposed building an 800,000-square-foot warehouse in addition to using the rest of the property for retail space, a hotel and a restaurant.

Despite the board moving forward with the project, residents say that they will keep the pressure on village officials moving forward.

“You will be held accountable for what you are doing,” Hazel Crest resident Gloria Bashir said at Tuesday's meeting.

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