The golf course sale is a huge change for Falcon Heights. With a population of only 5,000, and half of its usable land devoted to either the State Fair or the University of Minnesota, there\u2019s not much room to grow. Given the scale of the golf course site, the city\u2019s population could theoretically double in the next decade or so, which is why the folks in the room wanted to get on the same page.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One big goal was to clarify how to increase community density and sustainability by using land for low-carbon housing. That\u2019s a big change for space long used mostly as a scenic backdrop for small groups of people to whack tiny balls, or for cross-county recreation (both skiing and running). Previously a cow pasture, the course has been university property since 1916 and enjoyed special zoning status under state law.<\/p>\n
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Falcon Heights is beginning to consider the future of the University of Minnesota\u2019s Les Bolstad Golf Course property, which is up for sale. Credit: University of Minnesota<\/p>\n
But due to a budget crunch, university administrators put the course up for sale last year, and the moment the sale goes through the land will be under Falcon Heights\u2019 zoning jurisdiction. That means the city is already playing an active role in the sale process, but whatever happens, it will be a big change for the city.<\/p>\n
The general vibe in the room last week was that people wanted to learn more about the possibilities and process for changing the land. The message from the three panelists was to preach about the need for a sustainable 21st century neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Related: Rules of the road are at the center of the ICE occupation and resistance<\/a><\/p>\n The first speaker, state Rep. Larry Kraft<\/a>, DFL-St. Louis Park, has emerged over the last few years as one of Minnesota\u2019s leaders on climate<\/a> and housing. In the Legislature, he\u2019s sponsored a large bundle of ambitious bills covering zoning reform, transportation, taxation and other policies focused on the intersection of public policy and climate action.<\/p>\n That night, he patiently explained to the audience of mostly older white people why they should welcome density. He told the story of how got involved in housing policy issues by knocking on doors around his St. Louis Park neighborhood, and realizing that housing affordability was top of mind for his constituents.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t subsidize our way out of this,\u201d Kraft said, citing state funding for affordable housing. \u201cWe have to get the market working for us, and so I\u2019ve been working on housing bills for the past seven years. It\u2019s a tough issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Citing both bipartisan support and bipartisan opposition, he called for folks to push for more housing in the area, close to the city, where carbon emissions will be lower than just about anywhere else you might build a new home.<\/p>\n He was followed by Spencer Miller-Johnson, a planner from St. Paul with a passion for design, who introduced the audience to a few nearby examples of how future development might look. Pointing to Midwestern case studies, he gently moved the bar up from single-family typologies into more of what he called the \u201cmissing middle\u201d or medium-density housing scales of two to four stories.<\/p>\n For example, Miller-Johnson invoked the nearby Highland Bridge<\/a> development in St. Paul, about the same size in terms of acreage but (likely) a higher scale of density: around 4,000 housing units. Miller-Johnson pointed to the varied housing types in Prairie Queen<\/a>, a 50-acre suburban development in Omaha, Nebraska, as a model to emulate.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regarding the 135-acre Highland Bridge development, built on an old automobile factory site, Miller-Johnson cautioned that he \u201cdidn\u2019t want to scare anybody\u201d by invoking greater density. But he praised the way that Highland Bridge was financed,\u00a0using tax increment financing (TIF) to build public space before actual housing. That process fostered community and a sense of place early on, and Falcon Heights should consider that approach.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, I think density can be super beautiful,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The final speaker, Mike Hirabayashi, a volunteer and activist for Unidos St. Paul, who has been involved in development at The Heights<\/a> in St. Paul. Another obsolete golf course, The Heights offers a great parallel for the Bolstad property. Hirabayashi\u2019s main point was that advocates should ask for top-shelf climate infrastructure, specifically a networked geothermal heating and cooling system like the one currently being installed on the other edge of town.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Minnesota\u2019s riverfront cities can learn a lot from Stillwater<\/a><\/p>\n Calling it a \u201cgold standard\u201d that is \u201cby far the most efficient, longest-lasting, and cheapest [option] to maintain,\u00a0Hirabayashi cautioned that it would not be easy. He said that for The Heights project, developers and funders kept pushing back against the initial upfront costs and added complexity, and it took sustained pressure from the community to invest in low-carbon infrastructure.<\/p>\n (This rings true for me: the proposed Minneapolis geothermal aquifer system<\/a> I wrote about back in 2021 never did bear fruit; the developer pulled out of a commitment to the infrastructure project for undisclosed reasons.)<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WaterFeatureHighlandBridge940.jpg\")
St. Paul\u2019s Highland Bridge project is being looked at as Falcon Heights prepares to zone and plan the future of the University of Minnesota\u2019s Les Bolstad Golf Course property. Credit: MinnPost file photo by Bill Lindeke<\/p>\n