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September 5, 2024

West Hartford golf club seeks permit to replace clubhouse destroyed by fires

Contributed An artist's rendering of the proposed new clubhouse for Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford.
By David Krechevsky

Just over four months after fires on consecutive days destroyed its clubhouse, Wampanoag Country Club is seeking a permit from the town of West Hartford to build a new one.

The private golf club at 60 Wampanoag Drive filed an application for a special use permit with the Town Plan and Zoning Commission, which formally received the application during its regular monthly meeting on Sept. 4.

The application by Wampanoag Country Club Inc. seeks a permit to construct a new, approximately 39,000-square-foot clubhouse building with associated landscaping and site grading. Included in the request is a proposal to install a 30-foot by 75-foot tent “to support club operations while the new building is being constructed.”

Wampanoag Country Club is situated on 163.2 acres. The land has been used as a private golf course for more than 100 years. 

The original single-story clubhouse was located on the parcel’s southern boundary for nearly 70 years. Following the two fires, the building was demolished in August.

Town fire officials said in April that the fires were not intentionally set. Town and state fire officials are still investigating to determine the cause.

The narrative submitted with the special permit application states that the proposed new clubhouse would be two stories “with a porte cochere (a covered entrance large enough for vehicles to pass through), outdoor terraces and a walkout basement on two sides.”

The proposal also includes work associated with “stitching the proposed building footprint back into the site in its shifted location.” It notes that the total square footage of the new facility includes a covered outdoor terrace on the first floor, with an additional outdoor terrace proposed for the second floor.

It adds that “minimal changes are proposed to the site parking lots,” though the proposed changes seek to improve vehicle circulation and include “adjusting site grades related to the shifted building footprint.” 

The narrative states that 148 parking spaces are proposed, a reduction of four spaces, but adds that four “fully compliant ADA spaces are proposed, which is an improvement from the existing condition.”

The commission has scheduled the application for a public hearing on Oct. 7.

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