With the development of a former golf course between interstates 94 and 494, Maplewood has the opportunity to do something rare for a mostly built-out inner-ring suburb: figure out what to do with what, for this city, is a sizable chunk of land.

Last month, representatives from developer D.R. Horton presented plans for a housing development to Maplewood community members at the former site of the Ponds at Battle Creek, a 92-acre, Ramsey County-owned nine-hole golf course that closed in 2021.

Residents brought their opinions. Many are still angry the course — which they called uniquely beautiful for its namesake wetlands — was shuttered. Some balked at the density developers pitched, at 239 homes. Others worried that home prices, approaching $500,000 for single-family houses and $400,000 for townhouses, are too expensive for Maplewood, where median household incomes are about $87,000 per year. Members of a local environmental group voiced concerns about the effect of development on wetlands and on wildlife they’ve spotted there, including the endangered rusty patched bumble rubee. There were also concerns about noise from the nearby St. Paul Police gun range.

Residents weren’t the only ones who balked at developers’ plans. “I was rather disappointed,” Mayor Marylee Abrams told developers when they presented plans at a City Council workshop in July. “I think this is the biggest site in Maplewood that is not developed. I’m going to pay particular attention to the quality, that it matches what that property really deserves.”

Council Member Rebecca Cave said she felt the plans “look like pretty cheaply built homes.’”.

At the second and less rancorous of two community meetings, held last week, D.R. Horton representatives acknowledged the feedback and said they expect to come back to the city with revised plans later this year.

The future of the former golf course has been in question for years, and it’s not the first local golf course redevelopment to inspire debate. As the popularity of golf ebbs, many in the Twin Cities have closed with plans for redevelopment, including Hillcrest in St. Paul, being redeveloped as the Heights, Thompson Oaks in West St. Paul, Mississippi Dunes in Cottage Grove and Carriage Hills and Parkview in Eagan.

County officials announced plans to close the Ponds in 2019, citing operating losses, which teed off contentious conversations about its future.