The view looking out to the St. Louis River from land the could become part of the River Walk West development.
On the Duluth City Council agenda for a first reading on July 12 is an ordinance authorizing the sale of city property in the upper Riverside neighborhood between Spirit Mountain and the U.S. Forestry Department’s Superior National Forest headquarters.
The buyer, Spirit Valley Land Co., plans to develop the area, which surrounds a popular Grant-in-Aid trail.
Also on the agenda for a first reading is an ordinance to convey additional upper Riverside property to the state to allow for its future sale to Spirit Valley Land.
Where exactly is this land? In the map above, Spirit Mountain’s ski runs are in the section with the green line around it. The blocks of land up for sale are marked in blue. That is, if this old map is still accurate.
To check it out in person, find where Gogebic Street intersects the trail, then go east. It’s a very nice area, with at least one spot that has a phenomenal view of St. Louis Bay, Clough Island and Spirit Island.
This little marmot likes it there.
The developers already own some land in the trail area, and also below Grand Avenue. From what I’ve been told, plans are vague at this time, but the front man for the development group, Brad Johnson, loves the outdoors and isn’t going to disturb the trail, but intends to put some tasteful log cabin town homes in the vicinity.
That being said, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of information available about this to the general public — what with city land involved — although various groups like the Spirit Valley Citizens & Neighborhood Development Association, the Riverside Community Center and Spirit Mountain board are aware of the plans.
So I’ll do my best to get some answers to as many questions as I can think of and update this post as I go.
1) Who are the people involved in this development? One name I’ve heard thrown around is hotelier David Goldberg. (He owns the Country Inn on Haines Road, the AmericInn in Proctor, and motels in Iowa and Michigan, as well as the manufactured home company Easy Housing and the manufactured-home communities Vintage Acres and Zenith Terrace.) Also involved are Pete Lukovsky and Mark and Keith Youngren, who own land in the area.
2) What will become of the frequently used Grant-in-Aid trail? According to the ordinance, the city is reserving “an easement for utility and trail purposes over, across and under the northerly 50 feet of the former Duluth, Winnipeg and Pacific Railway, as measured from the centerline of said rail line.” So, it sounds like the trail will stay, but it will have a little less woods and few more homes along it.
3) What about all the little foot trails out there? Will the general public still get to use them? Probably.
4) What did people have to say about this area during the comprehensive planning process and zoning code discussions? Did they feel, as is stated in the ordinance, that this land is “surplus to the city’s future needs”? Or is it valuable green space?
5) Has the city of Duluth really done anything since the Honking House debacle to make clear to its citizens what land is protected and what land is for sale? Should the media help sort this out a bit?
