COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — The city of Council Bluffs is considering turning the 100-year-old Dodge Riverside Golf Course into a new housing development. The city has a very little available housing available to rent or to own. The Mayor says Council Bluffs employers, such as the hospitals and schools, say their workers can't find homes in Council Bluffs.
- Walsh and city leaders are exploring the idea of selling Dodge Riverside Golf Club, a public golf course along the river, to develop a mixed-use community.
- Golfers who use the course, and several other neighbors, are opposed to the sale.
- Walsh says that compared to the approximately $34,000 the city makes from the club, it could eventually gain $15-$20 million in property taxes from a housing development.
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY HERE
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The city of Council Bluffs is proposing turning this 100-year-old public golf course into a new housing development. Meanwhile, concerned neighbors are pushing back.
I'm your Southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter, Katrina Markel, at Dodge Riverside Golf Course.
Mayor Matt Walsh: “It's an old line, but the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location.”
Dodge Riverside Golf Club was built on land donated to the city by the Dodge family. It draws golfers, like Omahan Shane McGuire, from across the metro.
McGuire: “It's just a really, really fun course.”
The course even attracts players from around the Midwest.
Steve Holman organizes a group of 16 friends who travel from Minnesota to play every year during the Masters.
Holman: “We play golf for four days, we support a lot of local restaurants.”
However, Council Bluffs has a severe housing shortage — an issue I've been reporting on for years.
Walsh said, “So, we've got to create more rental housing. We've gotta create more owner-occupied housing to accommodate the current needs in Council Bluffs.”
Mayor Matt Walsh wants to develop the Dodge Riverfront Golf Club into a mixed-use community, with both rental and ownership opportunities. But neighbors like Terry Oswald, a volunteer with local conservation groups, are skeptical about losing the 100-year-old green space.
Oswald: “It has been here as public space so citizens that were less fortunate financially will have a place to play golf and also enjoy some open space along the river.”
Walsh says that there are only so many ways the city can grow its tax rolls without continuing to increase taxes on current residents: “If developed correctly, we think we can collect between $15 and $20 million a year in property taxes.”
But....lose out on business that's already there.
“It would force us to go somewhere else, and in my mind, it wouldn't be in Council Bluffs,” Holman said.
McGuire adds, “I'd be really bummed. It's an old-school golf course I don't see a whole lot of anymore.”
Regardless of what happens, Mayor Walsh says the city is just in its planning phases, and changes aren't imminent. I'm your Southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter, Katrina Markel, in Council Bluffs.
