Apple Valley Golf Course on Track for Redevelopment
Joel Watrud, owner of Apple Valley Golf Course, has officially put the golf course on the market with the hope that it will be redeveloped into a residential area. Watrud’s attorney announced at a city planning commission meeting this week that the course is struggling, and owners of the course do not want to continue keeping it afloat.
The course is asking the city for a land-use change in order to allow 21 acres of land to become residential. Two and a half acres are not developable due to gas lines running through the property. Apple Valley’s city planner said that, in order for the land-use on the property to change, the property must be able to support residential use. Currently, the golf course is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. The course is framed by single-family homes, two-family homes and town homes.
Apple Valley Golf Course’s proposal was presented on June 19, 2019, and included a public hearing on their request. Neighbors to the course offered opinions on the proposal during the hearing; some presented the idea that the city should buy the course and keep the green space. The planning commission has not yet made their decision on the request. A decision will not be made before August 8, 2019, but, in the meantime, the course remains on the market.
Apple Valley Golf Course joins a list of five other unsuccessful courses in the twin cities that have been redeveloped or are scheduled for development in the coming years.