City approves next phase of Litchfield Square development

Litchfield Park City Council approved phase three of the long-awaited Litchfield Square development, which covers lighting, landscaping and roadway infrastructure, including construction of three new roundabouts. 

Phase three, officially called GMP 3, is projected to cost no more than $7,284,278. 

City plans show construction is set to begin Nov. 4 of this year and completed Oct. 8, 2022, a total of 238 days. Plans indicate construction on Litchfield Park road will begin next month, about Nov. 11. 

READ: 'Moving of dirt' begins at site of Litchfield Park's $52M City Center project

The plans were approved unanimously by the council at a regular meeting on Wednesday. 

“We’re gonna see a roundabout going up here shortly,” Mayor Thomas Schoaf said.

The first and largest roundabout is planned at the intersection of North Litchfield Road and West Village Parkway. 

Drawings show West Village Parkway extending all the way to Old Litchfield Road. North La Loma Avenue also will be extended to connect with West Wigwam Boulevard.

The two smaller roundabouts will be placed at the extended West Village Parkway and extended North La Loma Avenue. The other is planned just southwest of The Church at Litchfield Park.

Schoaf raised concerns about the potential for disputes over a golf cart path that runs along West Fairway Drive involving the owners of the Wigwam.  

“Do you know who actually paved that...cart path?” Schoaf asked City Engineer Woody Scoutten. 

“It was done by JDM and the golf course,” he continued, referring to JDM Partners, the entity that bought the Wigwam in 2009.

Schoaf said he was unhappy when JDM had the cart path paved with asphalt. “Our cart paths are made of concrete,” Schoaf said, adding that the move “signifies from their standpoint that they think they own a lot of that.”

Scoutten said he’d bring the mayor’s concerns to the next working group meeting, but clarified that an easement was provided to the Wigwam to allow passage during negotiations for Cachet Homes.

“We need to get all that stuff cleaned up so…that we’re all on the same page about that cart path before we start tying into a pathway system for Litchfield Square,” Schoaf said.