Features
Planning And Zoning
The 110 acre 9 hole golf course has been in operation since 1925. As the number of rounds of golf played has continued to drop over the years golf has become a less profitable business. The future use of the golf course property may continue as it is currently being used or be completely changed. Initial discussions with the City of St Croix Falls have indicated a willingness to entertain any number of development opportunities for the site.
The property is currently zoned Rural Development (RD). A proposed single use of the land consistent with the permitted uses in the Rural Development Zoning District would only require a site plan approval from the city. If, however the property were to be planned for multiples uses such as residential, commercial and business the site would need to be rezoned and platted to accomodate the various uses or platted under a Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning. PUD zoning would require concept review, preliminary plat/PUD approval through a public hearing process and final plat/PUD.
Physical Characteristics
The St Croix Valley Golf Course is 110 acres of beautifully rolling fairways, specimen trees and old growth forest. The Topography of the site includes a high point of 1200’ in the vicinity of the clubhouse and undulates to the west and northwest to a low point of 980’. There are areas of steeper slopes which would present a challenge but these slopes are located in the forested areas. The fairway areas are less steeply sloped and offer a more amenable slope for development.
The Soil profiles across the site are ideal for development and building. Soils across the site are in the Manahga group. The parent material of this group is outwash sand. The Managha soils are represented by three different types. The first type, MnB is a loamy sand with 1 to 6% slopes and makes up about 13 acres of the site. MnmC is the second type which, again is loamy sand with 6 to 12% slopes making up about 18.5 acres of the land. The other Managha type is MnD. MnD is a loamy sand with slopes with 12 to 25% slopes encompassing about 60 acres. Other smaller groups include Rosholt sandy loam, Amery sandy loam and Cromwell sandy loam making up the balance of the site.
There are several man-made Wetlands, as you would expect, on the golf course. Two of the ponds are close to the clubhouse and two smaller ponds are further west. There is a possibility that these ponds may be re-located based on the use of the property.
Part of the beauty of the golf course is the Vegetation. The northwest, west, southwest and western areas of the property contain old growth forest. The forested area has oaks and basswood together with some ash, cherry and some poplar. The golf course area itself is planted with mature maple, birch, oak, and ornamental trees together with a large number of spruce and pine.several
Transportation
The city of St. Croix Falls offers good transportation connections including a major state highway (US Highway 8) connecting eastern Wisconsin to Minnesota and a major north/south route (State Highway 35) connecting northern Wisconsin at Superior and southern Wisconsin at the Iowa border. The SCVGC is situated along the south side of Hwy 8 at the intersection of Golf Course Road (220th Street). The intersection allows for full right and left turns with 220th Street traffic using stop signs.
US Highway 8 connects to Minnesota and travels west to join with Interstate Highway I-35 which connects to the Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP) metro area. Wisconsin State Highway 35 going south from St Croix Falls connects to Hudson, Wisconsin where it intersects Interstate Highway 94 which connects to MSP. It is about a 40 minute drive from MSP to St Croix Falls.
The confluence of roads connecting to US Highway 8 produces a traffic volume in excess of 16,000 vehicle trips per day at the SCVGC site. The full turn intersection at 220th Street makes this property a desirable location for travel related businesses. Accessibility to the SCVGC property is further enhanced by a traffic controlled signalized intersection just to then east at Glacier Drive.
City Services
Sanitary sewer is currently located in 220th Street (Golf Course Drive) extending from US Highway 8 south to the golf course clubhouse location. Full development of the property will require an extension of the sanitary sewer to the northwest corner of the site where it would connect to an existing manhole.
City water services are located in 220th Street extend from US Highway 8 south to the clubhouse location. Future extension of the water services would entail a loop system starting and ending in 220th Street.