University of Minnesota poised to sell Les Bolstad Golf Course for $30.5 million

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota is poised to sell Les Bolstad Golf Course to a residential developer with a proposal that is expected to be approved later this month.

Les Bolstad sale proposal

What we know:

University officials brought the proposal to the school’s Board of Regents meeting on Thursday. The school is in agreement with Rachel Development, Inc. on a $30.5 million sale for 140 acres of land located on the edge of the St. Paul campus in Falcon Heights. The course is located at 2275 Larpenteur Avenue.

The land in the sale includes 16 holes and the driving range north of Larpenteur Avenue, and the two holes south of Larpenteur Avenue. It does not include the John W. Mooty Golf training facility, outdoor short game training range, the Gophers’ soccer stadium, pump house, golf maintenance facility or KUOM Radio transmission tower.

The net proceeds from the sale will primarily be reinvested in supporting and upgrading the St. Paul campus. About $1 million in proceeds will go back into securing investments for the Gophers’ men’s and women’s golf programs.

How the sale will work

By the numbers:

University officials say they got five proposals for the land, and the best fit was with Rachel Development, Inc., a residential builder out of St. Michael.

The purchase includes $300,000 in earnest money, and the buyer has a one-year due diligence period to complete the sale. The purchase has up to three six-month extensions, with each requiring additional earnest money. Rachel Development is expected to use all three extensions as they negotiate how the housing neighborhood will be structured.

What we don't know:

The Board of Regents is expected to approve the sale at their next meeting on June 26.

Les Bolstad petition fails

Why you should care:

As word of the pending sale got out, several members of the Board of Regents were getting emails and phone calls to save the golf course. There was a petition with 3,500 signatures, but nobody stepped forward with enough financial backing to save the golf course.

"You hate to see stuff like this go, but in a world where we have declining revenues and we have high needs and we’re trying to revitalize the St. Paul campus, this is something that needs to happen," said Doug Huebsch with the Board of Regents. "I mean in a perfect world we could keep it, but we live in an imperfect world and there’s so much need on the St. Paul campus that’s higher and better, and we need to take that into consideration."

What's next:

The school announced in June 2025 its intent to sell the facility last June due to financial and infrastructure needs. Les Bolstad Golf Course closed at the end of 2025, with no intention of reopening.