Several major development projects are on tap for the area around Grey Clould Island, the quiet neighborhood nestled in a bend in the Mississippi River.
There’s a major business — as yet unknown — coming in Cottage Grove that may employ up to 1,300 people, new housing and a four-lane road.
But some residents of Cottage Grove and Grey Cloud Island Township are worried about the changes. Carla Inderrieden is among them. Her quiet life seems jeopardized. The recent suspected arson at a golf clubhouse on the banks of the river also makes her anxious.
“We are very upset and frustrated,” said Inderrieden, who has launched an anti-development petition on change.org that had more than 500 signatures Wednesday. Neighbor Adam Grams moved in only 10 months ago and said he, too, is concerned.
“It doesn’t seem like the same area when we moved in,” said Grams. “What is going on? What is happening over here?”
PERIOD OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
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Most of the changes in the southwest corner of Cottage Grove — including the housing and the road — have been planned for years.
Other changes seem more sudden, such as a business project the size of 42 football fields, and the destruction of a golf course clubhouse apparently by arson.
Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey said the development in consistent with zoning and comprehensive plans that have been in place for years.
“The City is in a period of sustainable growth,” he said in an email, “and every proposal or plan for private property within the City is vetted by our commissions and council.”
LYNCHPIN OF DEVELOPMENT
The lynchpin of development in the area is the Mississippi Dunes Golf Course.
Since the 180-acre course closed in 2017, developers have taken notice. They are drawn to some of the last developable metro-area land on the Mississippi River, with almost a half-mile of riverfront.
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No formal proposal has yet been submitted, but at a meeting in May, officials said the golf course owner was working with housing developers.
A city commission recommended public amenities for the site, in addition to the housing: a boat launch, fishing pier, amphitheater, four-season building, playground and trails.
Inderrieden’s petition drive asks that the city buy the land in partnership with other groups for a 180-acre city park.
She said that would complement the 237 acres of open space next to it — the Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area.
But a complication arose on Aug. 1.
ARSON CASE
Early on a Sunday morning, someone set fire to the golf course clubhouse on the banks of the river. The spectacular fire destroyed the building. Inderrieden had wanted that clubhouse to become a new building of the SISU Environmental School, a local charter school.
The arson made the neighborhood more nervous.
“This story is getting more interesting,” said Grams. City officials said Tuesday that there were no breakthroughs yet in the arson investigation.
To the north of the golf course, a tide of housing is advancing. Hundreds of new houses are being steadily added, including those in the Mississippi Dunes Estates and Summers Landing.
Nearby, one of the biggest industrial projects in the state is unfolding. At 100th Street and Ideal Avenue, an unidentified business is planning a warehouse/shipping complex with 2.4 million square feet – the size of 42 football fields enclosed in seven buildings. City officials expect to see a formal proposal for the property this fall — and the identity of the occupant.
Ultimately, the new highway would run along that project’s northern edge — directly to Grey Cloud Island Township. The township only includes a small part of the actual island itself, and exists mostly to the west of Cottage Grove. The island of Grey Cloud is almost entirely within Cottage Grove city limits.
Officials of Washington County and Cottage Grove have begun talks to build an east-west arterial roadway from U.S. Highway 61 and Keats Avenue, running along 100th Street, past the new mega-development.