GRAND FORKS — Though he won’t know for sure how nearby residents feel about an updated proposal to renovate Ray Richards Golf Course until a meeting next week, the association president of Garden View Homeowners said he likes the changes and has so far heard some positive feedback about them.
Dan Kasowski, who was at a meeting on
Aug. 12
and heard how plans for the course renovations have changed, said he believes the alterations planned by the University of North Dakota and contractors mostly meet community requests.
“I think it’s still kind of mixed, but I think it’s more on the positive side of most people,” he said. “I think they’re happy the university is making an effort. Obviously, there’s still people that would like to have nothing done there, leave it the way it is.”
Kasowski said he’ll get a clearer picture of the Garden View Homeowners residents’ opinions on Tuesday, Sept. 9, the day of the annual association meeting. He believes UND President Andrew Armacost would like approval from residents about the plans before the university moves forward, though Kasowski acknowledges UND can proceed with or without Garden View’s support.
The Ray Richards Golf Course redevelopment was first proposed by UND earlier this year. Due to monetary loss from the course over the years, the university decided to make changes that could garner revenue. Parts of the proposal included 300 apartment units and a Suite Shots driving range. Pushback from neighbors of the course spurred a series of meetings between residents and UND, along with the contractors for the project. Suggestions from neighbors were taken into account and led to the new proposal shown on Aug. 12. Key changes include the reduction of apartment units to 167 and the relocation of the proposed Suite Shots to the west side of the course.
Armacost said he had multiple people approach him with comments of appreciation following the meeting on Aug. 12. Though there were smaller concerns given during the meeting, Armacost believes their specificity appears to show the university handled the bigger issues.
Some of the smaller issues raised include parking issues that could rise near the proposed apartment complex, how Suite Shots will handle the winter, noise and traffic and a tax incentive for which the
Grand Forks City Council has approved a pre-application
.
The pushback and concerns from residents were not at all a surprise to Armacost, he said.
“It’s quite common in any development project that local neighbors express their concern about the impact on their neighborhood, and so that was natural,” he said. “In fact, we anticipated this. It was either November or December last year, when our group at UND – our selection team that was choosing among alternatives that were coming in as proposals – when they began their work, one of the issues that I said they need to pay close attention to and honor are the opinions of the neighbors.”
Concerns from neighbors
have focused on the density, noise and traffic that may come to the area following the redevelopment. While some residents said they like the idea of the redevelopment, they don’t want it in their neighborhood.
Kasowski voiced his concerns with the project before the updated proposal. In April, he spoke before the Grand Forks City Council with other residents against the project.
“One hundred and fifty-foot poles in our backyard with the music and the lights and the beer and the partying — it’s going to ruin our neighborhood,” he said.
Though he sees the changes to the proposal as positive, Kasowski said he doesn’t want to speak for the neighborhood before he has a chance to hear everyone’s opinions. He does appreciate UND’s willingness to work with them and alter the proposal to address resident suggestions.
“I haven’t talked to all of my residents. I think it’s going to be more positive, but I’m just speculating,” he said. “I don’t want to answer that for the people yet.”
Otto is the region reporter for the Grand Forks Herald.
