Developers were clear that a park within the development is a possibility, but currently not planned.

I’m not necessarily opposed to putting a park in, but it’s not as simple as just saying ‘let’s have a park.”

Kevin Thoresen, Advisor to LandEquity Development and 310 Build and Design

Residents got a renewed look at the upcoming 186-lot Walden development located at Highway 316 and Michael Avenue last week at the first public development discussion for the revamped design project.
Jeff Richter, Vice President of LandEquity Development, Bob Rick, an Independent Contractor with 310 Build and Design, and Kevin Thoresen, Advisor to LandEquity Development and 310 Build and Design, all fielded questions from residents, many of whom live near the proposed development and have concerns ranging from the increased traffic to a future park to drainage in the area.
The design for the 71-acre development has changed radically from its initial design as “lifestyle housing” with a range of different units from apartments, townhomes, single family homes to senior living and assisted living units proposed in 2023.
“There are no rentals in this development and that’s on purpose,” said Thoresen.
Instead, Walden will look much like many other housing developments in town featuring only single-family homes and villas at a price point of $500,000-$600,000 for villas and $500,000-$700,000 for single family homes, according to Rick.
That price point is notably above the median home value in Hastings for 2025 of $331,700, according to Dakota County’s Jan. 2, 2025 Residential Homestead Market Value Statistics.

Timeline
The developers were confident that the long-stalled project would break ground next year for rough grading of the entire site by next summer.
“We’re going to build. It’s going to happen,” said Thoresen.
Land for the project was annexed into the City of Hastings in 2023 and the Planning Commission reviewed a preliminary plat for the project in March and again in April 2024. Since then, there has been little progress.
As recently as August of this year, Hastings Economic Development Director John Hinzman had expressed frustration with the stalled project saying, “Who knows,” about the future timing of the development.
According to Rick, much of the delay had to do with demand from the market, especially tied to high interest rates after the pandemic.
“The market has just been so soft,” said Rick.
Multi-family units especially became a hard sell in recent years which is why the project has pivoted away from them, said Rick.
Despite that delay, the three men were confident in the demand for housing in Hastings and the project to move forward without further delay.
Part of this confidence had to do with the builder’s incentive to build the homes because that’s where more of the money is made.
“It’s still a profit world,” said Rick.
The project’s design is 98% completed, according to Rick, with civic engineering work now being done for utilities and storm water.
The development will be built across three different phases which could overlap depending on interest and sales.
“The timeline for the entire development is three to five years. It all depends upon how quickly things sell,” said Thoresen.
A final plat is expected to come before the Planning Committee in February with street improvements and a model being constructed later in the spring.

Park
Many residents’ questions centered around the future park in the development, which sits alongside the Hastings Sand Coulee Scientific and Natural Area. As the development moves forward, 13 acres of land are expected to be donated to the site.
Developers were clear that a park within the development is a possibility, but currently not planned.
“There is space to possibly do something, and that’s why we’re here, to hear from you guys,” said Thoresen.
Rick discussed the heavy park dedication fees that come with the creation of the new park, as well as the fact that the development wouldn’t then pay for maintenance which would fall to the city.
“I’m not necessarily opposed to putting a park in, but it’s not as simple as just saying ‘let’s have a park,’” said Thoresen.
The lack of a park within the development fits with a recent Hastings Parks and Recreation Commission recommendation that the city should focus on the upkeep of current parks rather than the creation of new ones.
“We did have the Parks and Recreation Commission take a look at whether a park should be placed in this development or whether cash should be paid to our park fund to improve parks that already exist. Their recommendation was that we should not have a park there. We should take the funds that we paid and use those to improve existing park facilities,” said Hinzman.
While Rick was open that a park could still be created in the development, especially if it is a specific request from residents and city officials, “I’m just not going to pay for it and not get any credit.”