A plan to turn part of the former Mississippi Dunes golf course in Cottage Grove into a riverside park got a boost on Tuesday.
The Washington County board approved a letter of support for Cottage Grove’s request for state funds through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and committed up to $800,000 in matching funds.
The funds, which would come from the Washington County Land and Water Legacy Program, would be used to help conserve 20 acres of land; the county would receive and hold a permanent conservation easement over the project area. Cottage Grove would own and manage the area, and cover the cost of future park infrastructure.
The project is at 10351 Grey Cloud Trail S., on the Mississippi River and Mooers Lake and across the river from the future Grey Cloud Island Regional Park. It is adjacent to a future 12-acre expansion of the nearby DNR’s 237-acre Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific Natural Area and nearby Cottage Grove Ravine Regional Park.
The land is south of a proposed 400-unit development on the rest of the Mississippi Dunes property. Pulte Homes is proposing building 239 single-family homes, 130 townhomes and a 130-unit building for senior citizens on the site of the former golf course, which closed in 2017.