Local - Royal Links Subdivision Flush With Homes - Bloomington, IL

BLOOMINGTON -- It’s been more than two years since Bloomington lost the Royal Links golf course to residential development. The par 3, nine-hole golf course on the city’s northeast side once was a place for moms and dads to take their children out for a few lessons and a little family time. Now, family time is being spent in the backyards of some of the newly-built homes. Much of the infrastructure, including street lights, sidewalks and water and sewer lines, has been installed and more than 20 homes have been built, or are under construction, said Twin City developer Bill Johnston. First proposed in 2003, a few changes were made to the plans for Royal Links subdivision, including reducing the number of single-family houses from 128 units to 99, and a tripling of the size of the retention pond. Johnston said cutting down on the number of houses has increased the size of the lots in the roughly 50-acre development. When first proposed, the pond was going to be two acres. But that was increased to a six-acre lake to accommodate the water drainage for the subdivision and about 150 acres around the housing development. "And instead of having a hole in the ground we turned it into an amenity," Johnston said. The area around the lake has been planted and a fountain installed. The project also incudes 28 condominiums, called the Villas at Royal Links. Johnston said construction of those units could start in 30 to 60 days. Article : Royal Links flush with homes - By M.K. Gueterslohmkguetersloh@pantagraph.com Appraisal , Real Estate , Bloomington , McLean , Realtor