EDITORIAL: Quarry plans seem realistic, beneficial

The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Jun. 30—It has been roughly five years since the final rock was removed from Jefferson Quarry. The 54-acre property along the Minnesota River on the north side of Mankato was sold more than a year ago, and now we have seen what the owner plans for it.

In a word, housing. The two scenarios laid out Tuesday evening at Columbia Park in the nearby Germania Park neighborhood both envision about 10 multi-level apartment buildings and scores of townhouses. In either case there would be river access, parkland and some light commercial use as well — restaurants, offices, perhaps a brewpub.

But the basic proposals worked up by planning consultant Stantec on behalf of owner Pentagon Materials, which purchased the defunct limestone mine from Coughlan Companies, put the emphasis on housing, with some 500 units envisioned. And there is no doubt that this community sorely needs new housing units.

It would, obviously, be a drastic land-use change. Access to the quarry property, now limited to Cleveland Street, would have to be expanded, and the prospect of greater traffic and higher property values does not necessarily please residents of the adjacent low-income Germania Park neighborhood.

Transforming Jefferson Quarry into a densely populated neighborhood figures to be Mankato's first encounter with the pluses and minuses of gentrification.

Some in the community wanted to see the quarry site turned into parkland, with mountain biking high on their list. That notion was never realistic. The land is not public property, and it carries more value developed — more value to both to the owner, who justifiably wishes to profit from its investment, and to the community, which, again, needs the housing.

The quarry project carries echoes of the debate over the Good Counsel property near Tourtellotte Park, being sold off to pay for the care of the aging membership of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Many in the existing neighborhood want it left as green space. That, too, is impractical.

The city's role in all of this is limited but vital. Its twin goals should be adding the housing stock while protecting the livability of the existing neighborhood — which includes keeping Germania Park affordable.