Homebuilder: Waiting list for housing at former Valley Green golf course

Infrastructure work on a housing development proposed at the former Valley Green Golf & Country Club is expected to start in the next couple months, as long as Hempfield supervisors approve the township’s part of the project.

Chrissy Shuster, a co-owner of RWS Shuster Homes, said there’s a waiting list for houses in the development that will be constructed in phases. The former 18-hole course, between Armbrust Brinkerton and Albrights Lake roads in Unity and Hempfield, closed in 2019 after 54 years in business, but developers plan to keep the original moniker for the community.

“We want to keep it Valley Green just for name recognition,” Shuster said.

The project got an initial OK from the Hempfield planning commission last week. Both townships approved zoning changes for the land in 2021. It is about 250 acres across both municipalities.

If approved, the first phase will be 60 lots on the Hempfield side, said Don Tarosky Jr., whose The Colony Company is partnering with RWS Shuster Homes on the project. Additional phases will consist of 34 and 24 lots.

Hempfield supervisors meet Feb. 26.

Shuster said the homes will start in the high $400s and will resemble the firm’s development Cedar Creek Estates in Rostraver, just off Route 51 not far from Cedar Creek Park. Each home will be customizable.

The layout and number of lots for the Unity side hasn’t been determined yet, Tarosky said. The proposal includes traffic calming measures on Valley Green Drive.

Once the project is substantially complete, Tarosky said there are plans to acquire a neighboring farm that will have another 87 lots on 100 acres. That property abuts the Valley Green project, but it will be a separate development, he said. The property is owned by John M. and Betty E. Guzzy. It is bordered by Valley Green Road, Albrights Lake Road and Route 819.

Colony and Shuster Homes have been partnering on projects since 1990, Tarosky said. Other residential developments they’ve worked on together at former golf courses include Lincoln Hills in North Huntingdon.