Carriage Hills plans advance

The new developer of the former Carriage Hills golf course in Eagan plans to keep a third of the land undeveloped, with much fewer homes than previously planned for the site, which has been the focus of litigation and a public referendum.

On Tuesday night, members of the city's planning commission approved new plans by U.S. Home Corp., a subsidiary of Lennar Corp., a Florida Fortune 500 company with developments in 17 states, including 17 Minnesota communities.

The plan for Carriage Hills now calls for 362 units on 115 acres, with 35 acres of open space.

A different developer's 2008 plans had called for up to 480 housing units on 121 acres, with 30 acres of open space.

Last year, the city bought six acres of the land for $450,000 to build its new fire safety campus. Carriage Hills is south of Yankee Doodle Road and west of Wescott Woodlands.

Even with a new plan that contains 118 fewer homes and more open space, some residents at Tuesday's planning commission meeting said it should have even more open space and fewer houses.

And some expressed concern that traffic will increase in the area as Duckwood Drive is extended through the property to Wescott Woodlands.

The City Council will consider the plans March 16, taking into account Tuesday's approval by the planning commission and earlier approval by the parks commission.

Contentious history

Neighbors and others who tried to keep the 121-acre area as open space had fought from 2003 through 2008 against the former developer, Terry Wensmann, and his plan to build as many as 480 homes.

He had an option to buy the golf course from Ray Rahn and his family. The family had operated a golf course there until 2005 on land zoned for parks, open space or recreation.

The Rahn family and Wensmann sued the city after it refused to amend its comprehensive plan to allow residential development.

Now, Lennar's proposal reduces the number and modifies the type of housing units to include single-family houses, townhouses, twin homes and one senior housing building with up to 100 units.

It also includes a series of trails leading through the undeveloped area to Mueller Park. The developer pledged preservation of wetlands and trees, too.

Lennar has another project in Eagan: Nichols Ridge in the Cedar Grove redevelopment area. Lennar's condominium project was to include 84 condos but was curtailed during the economic downtown, and only 14 were built. Now, Lennar is seeking permission to build 59 townhouses there.

Economic pickup?

Lennar's plans are not the only indicator that building activity is reviving in Eagan, said Tom Garrison, a city spokesman.

In November, Bluff Properties of Mountain View, Calif., bought that 39,000-square-foot property, the Shoppes of Cedar Grove, for $4 million from Wallingford Properties.

Two months before that, on the Eagan Promenade, Stonehenge USA bought the old Ethan Allen furniture building for $3.8 million. It's now reopened as a 14,446-square-foot strip retail center.