DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) – Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert’s priorities for 2025 include the future of Lester Park Golf Course.
Last year Reinert tapped community stakeholders to start a working group to study next steps for the dormant Lester Park Golf Course.
The group’s deadline is coming up April 1, and Mayor Reinert said the group’s chairman will present their findings to the City Council next month.
“Now I heard a lot about Lester on the campaign trail,” said Reinert during his State of the City address Tuesday. ”Last year, I created a working group charged with exploring year-round recreational activities, including, but not exclusive to, golf.”
Reinert tapped Tim Meyer to be the chairman of the group. They conducted surveys and studies to see what made the most sense for the old course that has sat vacant since 2020.
“It was very clear, the overwhelming majority of people in Duluth wanted the golf course reopened,” said Meyer.
He said while their group has their opinions, it will ultimately be up to the City Council to decide what to do next.
“We were charged mostly with studying redevelopment options and then present those to the council so they can make a decision on best way to move forward,” said Meyer.
He said the city should have options, as multiple private investors have expressed interest in redeveloping the area.
Meyer said there is interest from both local and out-of-state groups. He says those ideas come with a wide range of price tags but none of which will be on the city’s dime.
“The money is not there for any municipal bonding of work at the golf course, so this has been looked at as entirely private,” said Meyer.
He said one of the proposals includes 650 units of housing, a new commercial district and a hotel. While these ideas are exciting, Meyer believes there is still a long way to go before golf returns to Lester Park.
“I think golf is going to return in some form,” said Meyer. “Unfortunately, it’s probably later more than sooner, there are a couple options where golf could return in a year or two. But, I think the long term is what the mayor is focused on. We want to make a good long-term decision for Lester Park and so people might have to be a little patient.”
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