A golf course in Cottage Grove is officially dead — which could be a good thing for the city.
The 18-hole Mississippi Dunes course is permanently closed.
Its website is not taking reservations for tee times, the phone has been disconnected, and the owner did not respond to phone messages left earlier this week.
The closure could benefit the competing city-owned River Oaks golf course, said city administrator Charlene Stevens. And the city’s tax base could get a windfall if the 185-acre course on the banks of the Mississippi River is replaced by a housing development.
“It could be very beautiful,” Stevens said.
The course was listed for sale last October by Edina Realty for $10 million. At the time, it was considered possible that the course would remain open until a buyer was found.
Edina Realty agent Dave Johnson said Tuesday that it was still for sale, including Doc’s Landing restaurant, a banquet hall and a maintenance shed. Edina Realty is marketing the property as a housing development site.
That could bring a boost to the city’s finances.
Stevens said several developers have expressed interest.
Hypothetically, if the site were developed into homes on half-acre lots averaging $400,000 each, it would add almost $150 million to the city’s tax base.
Here are Twin Cities golf courses that have closed since 2000
And the closing will probably help the city’s River Oaks course less than four miles away — its nearest competitor.
Mississippi Dunes joins a list of other golf courses that have closed in the metro, including Carriage Hills in Eagan and Thompson Oaks in West St. Paul.
Those closures, Stevens said, can only increase the business for surviving courses.
Mississippi Dunes was put up for sale last fall, after the owner was accused of sexually harassing four former employees and or firing them for complaining about it.
Dr. William Doebler was ordered by a Washington County district judge to pay them $130,000. The golf course business had to pay an additional $20,000.