A historic New Jersey golf course that once served as a haven for Black golfers could soon be transformed into a 743-unit residential community, Jersey Digs reports.
Hamilton-based US Home LLC, doing business as Lennar, has proposed redeveloping the former Freeway Golf Course in Gloucester Township, New Jersey, into a mixed-use residential development called Freeway Pointe. The project would bring single-family homes, townhouses, affordable rental housing, and age-restricted residences to the 154-acre property at 1858 Sicklerville Road in Camden County.
The Gloucester Township Zoning Board was scheduled to hear testimony
on the proposal on June 24, 2026, but the meeting was canceled. If approved, the development would represent one of the largest housing projects proposed in the township in recent years.According to the outlet, Freeway Pointe would include 177 single-family homes, 222 townhouses, 168 stacked townhouses, 63 age-restricted homes, and 113 affordable multifamily rental units. The project is estimated to be worth $292 million and is expected to house approximately 2,086 residents, including 315 school-age children.
Developers are seeking zoning variances to allow townhouses and multifamily buildings on the site and to increase residential density beyond the current limits.
The proposal would add significantly to Gloucester Township’s housing inventory. U.S. Census Bureau data show the township had 26,312 housing units in 2020. Application documents state the project’s 743 units would more than double the number of residential units authorized through building permits in the township between 2010 and 2019.
The redevelopment would mark a major change for a property that occupies an important place in Black sports history.
Four Black businessmen purchased Freeway Golf Course in 1967 for $250,000, making it the first African American-owned 18-hole golf course in the United States. The course later hosted the inaugural Sammy Davis Jr. Open and became a destination for Black golfers during a period when many clubs maintained discriminatory barriers.
As The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2016, the investment by the four owners “made them the first African Americans in the country to own an 18-hole course.” The newspaper noted that Freeway later became “a model for other Black-owned golf courses across the nation and a site for some of the sport’s most important competitions.”
The course closed after its final round of golf was played in November 2015. Reflecting on its legacy,
the outlet described Freeway as “a safe haven for Black golfers who often weren’t accepted into other clubs in the area.”The property is now owned by Black Horse Properties LLC of Blackwood, New Jersey, according to application documents.
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