A 30-year lease for the former Rosewood Lakes Golf Course that would preserve it as open space and restore it to its original wetlands state was approved Wednesday by the Reno City Council.
The city will have the option in 2050 to renew its lease terms on the 219-acre property with the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation for an additional 20 years. The foundation will pay $1 per year.
Councilman Oscar Delgado said he’s received positive feedback about the plans from constituents and from area homeowner associations.
“The excitement for the families and kids that there’s going to be something in their backyard of this significance is huge,” Delgado said.
Rosewood Lakes, 6800 Pembroke Drive, opened in 1991 and closed in June 2015 due to construction of the SouthEast Connector. Dermody Properties deeded the land to the city in 1988.
The city plans to enter into agreement with the Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation to rehabilitate the old course to a functional wetland system, including reuse of the golf cart paths as walking trails to create a public space where the community can learn about the environment and spend time in nature.
Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation was established after the 2008 recession to support parks when municipal park budgets were taking hits.
Foundation executive director Heidi Anderson said projects such as the one at Rosewood Lakes are in line with her organization’s goals.
“It fits our mission and vision of what we do, and preserving this space is of use for this community,” Anderson said.
Reno parks director Jaime Schroeder said restoring the property as a golf course would be cost prohibitive.
In addition to the former golf course, the Rosewood Recreation Preserve Project consists of three city-owned parcels across the street.
The city’s goals for those parcels include recreational amenities with fee-based athletic fields and other commercial facilities. It awarded an exclusive negotiating agreement to NNRSC, LLC in December 2018 for the development, operation and maintenance of flat fields and associated commercial development. City officials said development would likely happen in 2022.
