Home Environment Construction begins on development next to Cherokee Golf Course

Construction begins on development next to Cherokee Golf Course

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Construction begins on development next to Cherokee Golf Course
A pond will filter runoff from the development and land to the east. Photo by Jan Axelson

By Jan Axelson
Friends of Cherokee Marsh

Work has begun to support a new 6-acre development just west of North Sherman Avenue and north of Golf Parkway. The development, from Cherokee Park, Inc., will be called The Turn at Cherokee and will have 16 homes.

The homes are expected to average 1,900 square feet with 600-square-foot garages. The development will have a U-shaped street configuration that connects to North Sherman Avenue on each end. A new sidewalk on the west side of North Sherman Avenue will connect Golf Parkway to the Cherokee Country Club entrance road. The plan is consistent with the Cherokee Special Area Plan passed by the Common Council in 2007.

Also part of the project is a new pond that will capture stormwater runoff from the development to allow sand, dirt and other pollutants to settle out. The filtered water from the pond will drain into the golf course’s ditch system, which in turn flows into the upper Yahara River.

The pond will also protect the city-owned wetlands to the east by capturing runoff that formerly flowed in ditches through the wetlands before passing under North Sherman Avenue. The nutrient-rich water has been damaging the wetlands by supporting the growth of reed canary grass and hybrid cattails that crowd out diverse native plants. This water will no longer flow through the wetlands but instead will cross North Sherman Avenue at the development site and drain into the pond for filtering.

Improvements to North Sherman Avenue have begun, including the pond, water main, sanitary sewer and sidewalk. This work is expected to be complete by mid-October, with further development expected to follow.