Leicester's long-quiet country club along Route 9 is on deck for a serious makeover, with a proposal to turn the former fairways into a dense mixed-use community of roughly 290 homes and a later phase of retail. The project, filed as a single master plan with the town, would trade in greens for apartments, townhomes and duplexes over several phases. Neighbors and officials are already zeroing in on traffic, wetlands and the overall scale as the plan works its way through the local process.
The developer, 1430 Main Street LLC, is asking the planning board for special permits to build 98 single-family and townhome residences plus 192 apartment units, for a total of 290 homes, according to applications on file with the Town of Leicester. A traffic study for the project estimates about 3,859 new weekday vehicle trips at full build-out and anticipates roughly 50,000 square feet of commercial space in a later phase, recommending access upgrades and possible signalization at the main driveway, per a report posted by the Town of Leicester.
How the Build Would Be Phased
Project drawings and a phasing exhibit show that the housing would go in first, with commercial lots held back for a future filing, according to documents with the Town of Leicester. The future storefront area is labeled “proposed future commercial development,” with a note that specific commercial plans will arrive under separate cover. Marketing materials for the site, branded under the “Mount Pleasant” name, pitch up to roughly 60,000 square feet of retail within the broader concept, per a listing on LoopNet.
From Fairway to Foundation
The property has operated as a golf facility for decades, and industry coverage reports that the public course shut in 2025 after being marketed for sale. The Boston Business Journal detailed the closure and the new plan for the roughly 223-acre site, while conservation filings document baseline environmental and wetland conditions for permitting, according to an ANRAD application filed with the Town of Leicester.
What Happens Next
The proposal is now on the planning board's calendar and was listed for review on April 21, 2026, with the town posting the March 17, 2026 site plans, drainage materials and peer review documents, all available through the Town of Leicester. Expect a familiar routine of public hearings, peer reviews and conservation scrutiny before any building permits are handed out, with traffic mitigation and wetland protections likely to be front-and-center conditions.
Developers and brokers are pitching the concept as a way to add housing options near Worcester while preserving open space in phases, but residents are signaling that stormwater controls, road improvements and the separate retail filing will be under a microscope. Listing materials and the developer's concept packets point to grocers, restaurants and medical users as likely commercial tenants if town and state approvals ultimately line up, according to LoopNet.
