The end of the urban golf course?

Byline: William Morris

A golf course isn't just a place to play golf. It's also a huge expanse of lightly-developed land often located square in the middle of landlocked and rapidly growing urban communities.

Developers, governments and course operators are finding it increasingly easy to connect the dots. The National Golf Foundation reported closures equal to nearly 200 18-hole courses nationwide in 2018, while only 12.5 18-hole courses were opened. That 1.2% decline, which continues a trend stretching back to 2006, is driven in part by a steep decline in the number of people playing golf, but also by the demand for developable land in communities rapidly running out of room to grow, said Herb Tousley, director of the University of St. Thomas' real estate program.

"Most of these courses that we're talking about were put in a long time ago, and neighborhoods grew up around them in a lot of cases," Tousley said when describing the appeal of golf courses for developers. "I don't think that you're seeing too many golf course developers going out and buying new sites to put in new golf courses."

Minnesota has seen a number of golf courses closed and redeveloped in the past 15 years, including both municipal and privately-owned facilities. In just the past year, the St. Paul Port Authority has purchased the defunct Hillcrest Golf Club in St. Paul for redevelopment, while Excelsior-based Oppidan is building 153 apartments on the shuttered Thompson Oaks municipal course in West. St. Paul.

Cities are viewing municipal courses in particular as opportunities to meet growing needs for housing and other development. Duluth last week issued RFPs for portions of two city-owned courses, asking for "proposals that include mixed-use residential at a range of price points, including affordable housing."

"There are few areas of significant comparable development opportunity available in Duluth," the city wrote in its request for proposals. "As such, development of the proposed site represents an infrequent and generational opportunity."

Not every golf course will become a new subdivision or office park. Edina closed its nine-hole Fred Richards course in 2014 and on Monday will hold the grand opening of a neighborhood playground that represents the first step in a master plan adopted by the city, Parks and Recreation Director Perry Vetter said. Future steps include trails, overlooks, a "great lawn" and facilities for pickleball, basketball and other...