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Contacts: Daniel Wolter, University News Service, (612) 625-8510
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/09/2006) — The University of Minnesota Board of Regents heard a recommendation today for the future of the university’s 12-square mile property -- UMore Park -- near Rosemount in Dakota County.The vision, assembled by a steering committee of university and community members, calls for turning the land into a unique and vibrant new sustainable community, developed with the full research engagement of the university.
“There are few universities and few regions of the country that have this kind of opportunity for forward-looking, research-based development,” university President Robert Bruininks said. “We’ve only just begun to explore the options for this new community, but we’re confident this effort will have a lasting impact on the quality of life in Dakota County and our state.”
In November 2005, the board approved a strategic planning process for UMore Park and later provided guiding principles for the development of UMore Park. With the analyses on regional trends and demographics, site characteristics and natural resources, market research and stakeholder perspectives, generated by Sasaki Associates, a national consulting firm based in Boston, the university steering committee concluded that the university should develop a new sustainable community that benefits from the integration of university research, education and engagement.
In addition to research and education benefits to the citizens of the proposed new community, the steering committee noted that:
• Development of a new community would contribute to a vital regional economy
• Enhance a university endowment that would support the academic mission in perpetuity, providing for academic investments generally not covered sufficiently by public sources
“This is a rapidly growing part of the metropolitan area,” said Charles Muscoplat, university vice president for statewide strategic resource development.“Selling the property might have short-term financial gain, but it misses the huge opportunity we have with UMore Park.And waiting to develop the property until everything around it is developed minimizes our options and diminishes the opportunity.”
Muscoplat said the long-term vision for the new community is to leverage the innovation, knowledge creation and broad-based engagement of the university to develop a community focused on lifelong learning, healthy living, environmental sustainability and renewable energy.
Local jurisdictions are in the midst of planning for future growth. The university planning should dovetail with its neighbors, he said.
UMore Park is a 12-square mile site 25 miles south of the Twin Cities.The former site of Gopher Ordnance Works, the property was deeded to the university by the U.S. War Department in 1947.The university has used the property for a variety of research and educational functions.During the 2006 legislative session, the university agreed to transfer 2,840 of the 7,646 acres of UMore Park to the state of Minnesota for public use under joint management with the Department of Natural Resources.
For a full copy of the vision for UMore Park, visit www.umorepark.umn.edu .