The city plans to operate the downsized golf course in 2023, as Duluth’s other municipal golf course at Enger Park is closed to undergo a major overhaul. When Enger reopens in 2024, plans call for the Lester Park Golf Course to be closed for good.
Councilor Gary Anderson, who represents Duluth’s easternmost district, said: “The priority for me in this piece of policy is that this land will be utilized to help create more affordable housing in this part of the city.”
SEE ALSO:Duluth public golf posts another loss, heightening uncertainties about the future
Anderson noted that large opportunities to develop property on the east end of town have been relatively rare.
“I think this will be a good thing for the community, and I know that having new development is not going to please everybody,” Anderson said. But he stressed the need to provide income-appropriate housing for young people just starting out, as well what he described as “seniors who are no longer fiscally or physically able to maintain their own homes.”
Councilor Janet Kennedy, who represents Duluth’s westernmost district, said she grew up in public housing near the Lake Superior Zoo.
“We had generational poverty, as people of color coming here for the airbase. But my mom worked really hard and bought her home, which I’m in right now, sharing with her and caring for her. We were able to break out of that generational poverty,” she said.
Kennedy noted that many people, including immigrants, came to Duluth with few financial means.
“Sometimes we think like: ‘Not in my backyard.’ But just think of the thousands of people through the generations that made it and now are homeowners,” she said.
Under the terms of an agreement, at least two 2.5-acre parcels at the golf course will be dedicated to accommodate multi-unit affordable housing.
Gary Meader / Duluth News Tribune
No less than 20% of all the housing developed on the 37 acres must be designed to be affordable for families making less than the area median income.
DEDA has seven years to explore development options for the property, and Adam Fulton, deputy director of Duluth’s planning and economic development division, expressed confidence the opportunity will draw interest.
“When you look at the Duluth market and think about what development capabilities there might or might not be, you do have to think about the concept of absorption and how fast can developable property be put to use. The goal here is that within seven years DEDA will have acted to make something happen out here, and I think we’re confident that there is an adequate level of market demand to do just that within this area,” he said.
A multifaceted project would serve the city well, according to Fulton.
“We need all types of housing in all our neighborhoods,” he said.
While city officials often talk about aspiring to foster more mixed-income development, 2nd District Councilor Joel Sipress said that it was “an opportunity to practice what we preach when we say mixed-income neighborhoods are the healthiest neighborhoods.”
Fulton contends it makes sense to distribute affordable housing across the city as a whole.
“The risks of concentrating poverty I think are pretty well-known,” he said.
He noted that Duluth hasn’t followed that model in the past, however.
“As we look at this, our greatest concentrations of poverty are in areas where you have had some economic disadvantages, whether that’s near downtown or in Lincoln Park. You end up with health disparities and unequal access to services and things of that nature. So, the goal is to try to create opportunities for mixed-income housing, in particular, across the city. Whereas today, you don’t necessarily have mixed-income opportunities everywhere,” Fulton said.
At large Councilor Derek Medved pointed out that his mother grew up in a four-plex her family rented in Morgan Park, and she remembered looking out the kitchen window at a neighboring single-family home with longing.
“She had a goal. She wanted to buy that house, and they bought that big four-bedroom Morgan Park concrete house for $15,000 back then. But I think it encourages people to move on along the path of home ownership,” he said.
Medved said he hopes to push for more mixed-income housing, calling such neighborhoods “a prime example of what Duluth is all about — hopefully encouraging people to put their roots down here and own a home one day.”
“But it all starts with an apartment or something they can lease or rent while they get on their feet so they can save enough money,” he said.
Any proceeds from the sale of Lester Park Golf Course land is to be channeled back to support improvements at the Enger Park course, and Sipress said he considers that an important commitment.
SEE ALSO: City proposes Lester Park Golf Course closure, major upgrades to Enger Park Golf Course
“I had hoped that we were going to be able to find a way to maintain two public golf courses. But in the end, that wasn’t possible. So, we have an absolute obligation to make sure we do what is necessary to secure the future of Enger Park Golf Course, so people of all backgrounds and incomes can afford to go golfing in their own hometown,” he said.
This story was updated at 2:18 p.m. Dec. 23 to correct the timeline for the final closure of Lester Park Golf Course. It was originally posted at 8:38 a.m. Dec. 23. The News Tribune regrets the error.