St. Paul Port Authority seeks housing suggestions for former Hillcrest Golf Course

When it comes to building 1,000 units of new housing at St. Paul's former Hillcrest Golf Course, still to be decided is how much will be rental and how much will be owned.

Between June and September, the St. Paul Port Authority is hoping area residents will weigh in. It's forming a volunteer housing working group that will meet this summer and help shape the overall housing mix at the site — now called The Heights.

It's separate from the site's Master Plan, which is being shaped through a different process, officials said.

"While the Master Plan will show us where housing will go on the 112-acre site, it won't dictate the balance between home ownership and rental options, affordability levels, or unit mix," said Todd Hurley, the Port Authority's interim CEO. "At the same time, these topics are of critical importance to the overall site development."

Luis Pereira, St. Paul planning director, said officials are hoping to hear what members of the community want to see.

"In addition to the preferences in the Master Plan, the Port and other developers need specific community input about what mix of options should be highest up the priority list," he said.

The plan is to bring together six to 10 community members to "be the voice for their community and represent the diversity of their neighborhood," according to a Port Authority statement. Working group members will be expected to attend up to six meetings. Meeting dates and times will be dictated by group members' availability. Homeowners and renters are encouraged to apply.

Working group members will receive a $50 stipend for each meeting attended, thanks to a grant from the East Side Funders Group. Child care, transportation and translation services will be made available upon request.

For more information and to apply to the working group, go to: sppa.com/housingworkgroup.