Watertown developer seeks rezoning for 16 acres at former Ives Hill course
P.J. Simao is asking Watertown to rezone about 16 acres of the former Ives Hill Country Club golf course for a planned campus district, with proposed limits on future development.
By Caleb Mercer, ClickNNY North Country Desk
P.J. Simao is asking the City of Watertown to rezone about 16 acres of the former Ives Hill Country Club golf course. The property is currently zoned residential, and the proposed change would place it in a planned campus district.
Simao’s request lists affordable housing, senior housing, townhouses and single-family homes as possible uses. It also offers deed restrictions intended to prevent commercial development on the property. The site borders IHC schools and the Ives Hill Retirement Community, which Simao’s letter says have zoning similar to the proposed district.
Simao sought the same zoning change in 2024 but later withdrew the request after concerns about what could be built there. Research notes on the earlier proposal say the county planning board voted 6-2 against recommending the change and that more than 100 Ives Hill Retirement Community residents submitted a petition opposing it. The new request says it is intended to address those earlier concerns.
A separate request involving the former golf club also is pending. Developer Jake Johnson is seeking a zoning change for the club’s 1.7-acre restaurant and clubhouse property so it could operate separately from the golf course if the course closes. That parcel is currently zoned Residential A, and the requested designation is Neighborhood Mixed Use. The city planning director recommended against that change, and the Planning Commission voted 5-0 against it.
The properties are part of changes to the former Ives Hill Country Club. Under a deal connected to the city’s purchase of Watertown Golf Club at Thompson Park, Simao agreed to a restriction reducing Ives Hill from 18 holes to nine. Johnson bought the nine-hole course, clubhouse and restaurant property, while Simao retained the other nine holes.
The Watertown City Council will have the final say on both rezoning requests. Decisions could come within the next several weeks. The city’s planned campus zoning code provides the applicable district regulations.
Reported by ClickNNY and reviewed by an editor before publication.
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