February 8th, 2006

By Nhia Tongchai Lee, Pioneer Press

The Lilydale Tennis and Health Club’s days are numbered.

Owner Clayton Rein said he sold the club for $6 million Jan. 30 to developer Mendota Homes Inc.

Preliminary plans indicate that the 34-year-old tennis club will be torn down and in its place, luxury condominiums units will be built, Rein said.

Specific plans to convert the 9-acre property into residential housing will be revealed soon, said John Mathern, owner of Mendota Homes.

“It’s a tremendous location,” Mathern said. “It’s on a location that will support housing.”

The Lilydale club property, perched on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, is near another multifamily residential project in the works in neighboring Mendota Heights. That 25-acre area in the 800 block of Sibley Memorial Highway will include 62 town homes and 48 condominiums. It’s set to be completed in 2007.

The club will continue to operate on a lease until May 31.

Edward Mullarky, Lilydale mayor, said that despite some resident complaints, the new development plans would benefit the city.

“Our population will increase,” Mullarky said, adding that Lilydale has only five single-family dwellings. “It’ll help out the few retailers here, too. It’ll also bring in more tax (revenue), which is always a good thing for a city.”

Husband and wife David Weinberg and Cheri Rosenthal of St. Paul joined the club in August to play tennis and enjoy other fitness activities.

“We really enjoy coming to this club,” Weinberg said. “It has great ambience. We’re devastated to see it go.”

Rein, 89, said he is no longer able to maintain the property. His daughter, Judy Rein, is the director, and retirement plans loom in her future, too.

“It’s been in our family for so long,'’ Clayton Rein said. “But we’re all still really proud of the center and what it has provided for the community.”

Clayton Rein built the center along with two other clubs out of a love for tennis.

An avid player himself, he decided building the clubs in neighborhoods would draw the most patrons.

“My wife and I always wanted to play at a neighborhood club that was safe and convenient,” he said. “I knew that by building one, it would appeal to a lot of others, too.”

But the other two did not generate as much business as Lilydale.

One, in the Como area off Snelling Avenue, closed 25 years ago. The club at the Phalen Center in Phalen Park followed suit, closing about 15 years ago, Rein said.

Rein said he wanted to see the Lilydale Club continue operating.

“I would have rather had someone buy and operate the club as it is,” he said. “But there were no buyers interested in managing a tennis club.”

The club was built in 1972. It has 3,000 members, Judy Rein said. For full access to the club facilities, members pay $138 for a family or $94 for an individual per month.

“We have a wonderful staff with wonderful members, but it’s time to start a new chapter,” Judy Rein said.

Nhia TongChai Lee can be reached at nlee@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2120.