Developer Given Option To Buy Part of Lester Park

DULUTH, Minn. –The Duluth Economic Development Authority, DEDA, voted unanimously to approve an option agreement to sell a part of the Lester Park Golf Property to Oppidan Investment Company, a developer based in Excelsior.

The option, which begins January 1, gives the developer the right to purchase nearly 37 acres of the Lester Park property. However, DEDA is requiring certain conditions to be met before the sale can be completed.

DEDA Executive Director Development Authority, Chad Ronchetti, said, “We need to come to terms with what the site is going to look like and how many units are they going to produce and what kind of units. So there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Ronchetti says he looks forward to Mayor-Elect Roger Reinert getting involved in the planning of what the development will look like.

“Whether it’s golf, whether it’s golf operated by a non-profit, whether it’s year-round activities with snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. I think Lester provides us with an opportunity we don’t get normally here in Duluth, a green space to develop.”

Mayor-elect Reinert has been in favor of keeping golf, in some form, at Lester Park. He is quoted in the Duluth News Tribune as saying, “There is still a lot of interest maintaining public recreation out there, and those two things are not mutually exclusive and quite possibly could be very complementary.”