March 9th, 2006

By Frank Jossi

After more than three decades of serving tennis players and fitness enthusiasts from atop a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River, the Lilydale Tennis and Health Club will roll up its nets on May 31 to make way for condominiums now being designed by Mendota Homes, Inc.

Owner Clayton Rein, 89, had attempted to sell the 3,000-member club on Highway 13 and I-35E to someone who would continue its operation. However, daughter and fitness club director Judy Rein the only people who were interested in the site were developers.

C.G. Rein Company, which also owned and managed four apartment complexes and several commercial properties in the Twin Cities, was sold for an undisclosed amount early this year. “About a year ago we decided to close operations,� Judy Rein said. “We sold everything this year.�

Mendota Homes bought the 9-acre tennis club property for $6 million and plans to construct a multi-story, one-building condominium on the site, said company CEO John Mathern. “It’s the location, being on the river and on the bluff, and we’d worked with the city of Lilydale before,� he said. “It’s a reasonable government to work with and this is one of the last parcels it has for development.�

Mathern is a well-known developer locally. He built the Lilywood Lane complex in Lilydale about a decade ago and in St. Paul has build Lexington Commons on Lexington Parkway, the Rowhouses on Snelling Avenue, River Ridge on Benson Avenue, Parkway Commons on Ford Parkway, Cleveland Commons on Cleveland Avenue, and Crocus Place on Grand Avenue, as well as units in Lowertown and on Armstrong Avenue off West 7^th Street.

Both the city of Lilydale and the state have rules regarding development on the Mississippi River bluff, and Mathern said he will abide by them. He plans to stay well within the 50-foot height limit for the condominium and will maintain a roughly two-acre sloping open space on the riverfront side.

Mathern said he plans to select materials commonly used along the river corridor for new buildings and will attempt to tie the development into existing recreational trails. No retail will be incorporated into the development, he said.

Though the site sits above a busy freeway, Mathern does not see that as a hindrance in selling the units. “Some people have the wrong impression of being next to a freeway,� he said. “The location gives you wide open vistas and we’ll work to reduce the volume of noise through our design. The units will have four-season porches to block the sound while offering views of the river.�

Despite the complaints from some of the 3,000 members who hated to see the club go, Lilydale Mayor Ed Mullarky said the development will increase the population of his town of around 600. “I can’t say if it will be good or bad,� he said, “but I know it will increase the tax base and help the few retailers we have in town.�

Another housing project is now going up near the tennis club on the former 26-acre Ecolab campus. Opus Corporation is building 48 condos and 62 luxury twin townhouses on the site. City manager Jim Danielson said he believes Highway 13, as currently configured, can handle the increase in traffic from both new developments.

For Judy Rein, the club’s closing represents the end of an era. Her father opened the Lilydale Club 34 years ago, along with two other tennis clubs in the Como and Phalen neighborhoods of St. Paul. The other two clubs closed years ago. However, as tennis waned in popularity nationally, the Lilydale Club continued to attract individuals and families while adding whatever was in vogue at the time, including racquetball courts and later a workout area.

The club, which has 93 full- and part-time employees, was remodeled in 2002, Rein said. It added more courses in hot fitness trends, such as yoga and Pilates, and membership grew as tennis rebounded. “Two or three years ago we talked about how tennis was down, but then we saw it pull up again,� she said.

The club had a rare policy of only charging a monthly membership fee and not an additional hourly court fee. It offered several tennis leagues and employed two popular teaching professionals, Rick Yates and Jim Dixon.

Club members will have to find other indoor clubs, Rein said, though the list is short. The closest ones are the Fort Snelling Tennis Center in Minneapolis and the St. Paul Indoor Tennis Club on Desoto Street.

As for Rein, she said she plans to indulge in art and writing after the club closes. The tennis center will be remembered, she believes, for the sense of community it created.

“There are people who made many friendships through the club and they’ve watched each other’s children grow up,� she said. “My dad used to say, ‘I wanted to create a neighborhood club where I’d want to play,’ and that’s what he did.�

Original Story posted in The Villager Newspaper February 22 – March 7, 2006