Eagan Resident Makes 11th-Hour Offer to Purchase, Preserve Parkview

Days before the Eagan City Council is expected to vote on the controversial Parkview Golf Course redevelopment proposal, another buyer has stepped forward with an offer to purchase the property and preserve it as a golf course.

Longtime Eagan resident Jeff Varela said on Friday that he has made a "credible, seven-digit offer" for the 80-acre, 18-hole golf course, which is at the center of a hot debate over property use. Varela said he plans to operate a family-run golf course on the property, if the current property owners agree to take his offer.

Varela isn't the only one with eyes on the golf course property, which sits near the intersection of Pilot Knob Road and Cliff Road in southern Eagan.

Eden Prairie-based developer Hunter Emerson announced last year that it had negotiated a purchase agreement with the golf course owners and—pending council approval—plans to build a 177-unit housing development on the property.

The developer's plans drew stiff resistance from local residents, who say the proposal would bring traffic congestion to the area and limit recreational opportunities in the city.

Members of the Save Parkview Golf Course Coalition urged Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire and the council members to reject Hunter Emerson's proposal and save the golf course. Parkview Golf Course co-owner Robert Zakheim, however, claims that the private golf course isn't profitable anymore, and that the city can't force him to keep the course operating just because residents want green space.

Maguire responded in a letter to the editor last July, telling residents that a "credible buyer with a concrete business plan" would be needed to preserve the golf course.

It was a call to action that resonated with Varela.

"I love golf, I love Eagan, I love green space, and I think we can make a fair profit," Varela said on Friday.

Varela is a 30-year Eagan resident with a home close to the golf course. He has worked as a high-level sales representative and divisional vice president for a large company, but admits he has never owned or operated his own golf course.

If the Parkview owners are willing, Varela said he would like to close on the property as early as June 17, and reopen the course for golf by July 1. Because of the pending redevelopment proposal, the current golf course owners had no plans to open the course for play this spring.

Hunter Emerson representative Kurt Manley confirmed on Friday that the golf course owners received Varela's offer.

Council members are expected to vote next week whether to approve rezoning, a site plan, a preliminary subdivision agreement and a Comprehensive Guide Plan amendment for the redevelopment.

On Friday, Mayor Mike Maguire said the council will have to consider the credibility of the buyer, taking into account the amount of the offer, the buyer's financial background and the buyer's business plan and entrepreneurial experience.

The council, Maguire added, may choose to delay a decision while it considers the new offer.

"We want to get this right. After almost a year, this deserves a vote, but it doesn’t so deserve a vote that we won’t have a complete analysis of it before we do it," Maguire said.

Save Parkview Coalition member Mark Skweres, a vocal opponent of Hunter Emerson's plans, hopes the new offer will cause the council to think twice before approving the housing development.

"A significant cross-section of people across Eagan are concerned that Eagan has been building on every square foot of land they have, and now all the easy stuff is gone," Skweres said. “I think most of us are starting to say, 'I think we have enough houses for now, and green space is more important to us.'"