The rolling hills of farmland located near the intersection of County Road 42 and Eagle Creek Avenue will soon look significantly different.

The City of Prior Lake approved the preliminary and final plat for Marlow Ridge during its June 9 council meeting. Pulte Homes of Minnesota had submitted applications requesting amendments to the city’s 2040 land use plans and zoning map on behalf of the Vierling Family Limited Partnership, which currently owns a significant portion of the undeveloped land in that area.

Discussion on development proposed for the site continued during Tuesday’s council meeting, and the project was given the green light as a planned unit development and for its preliminary plat plans. Community Development Director Casey McCabe outlined proposed changes to the parcel which requested dividing the property into three separate parcels, with development on one to start soon.

Pulte has proposed to purchase nearly 88 acres of the platted area for future residential development. Pulte’s plans focus on “life-cycle housing,” which will include townhomes for first-time homeowners, various sizes of single-family homes, along with single-level twin homes aimed at the 55-plus community and couples. In total, the development firm expects to build 262 residential units on the site.

Approximately 22.5 acres on the north side of Marlow Ridge has been reserved for business park development. Fountain Hills Drive, which extends off of Pike Lake Trail and currently dead-ends, is expected to be extended to Eagle Creek Avenue as a minor collector road in the future. The remaining 55 acres that abuts Carriage Hills Parkway, is planned for future low-density residential. The Vierling partnership would continue to retain ownership of both of these parcels. McCabe said there are no current development proposals other than Pulte’s on file with the city for either swath of property.

His presentation indicated Marlow Ridge will be a multi-phase development that will be surrounded by portions of Fountain Hills Road, Surrey Lane, Carriage Hills Parkway and Eagle Creek Avenue. Sanitary sewer would be extended south from Fountain Hills Drive, while water services would be extended north from Carriage Hills Parkway.

McCabe said public hearings outlining development plans produced comments and questions related to housing density, which is estimated at 3.75 units per acre within Marlow Ridge. There is no parkland reserved within the development, but two existing parks — Carriage Hills and Knob Hill — are located within a half-mile of the proposed development.

Increased traffic was also a cited public concern. McCabe said Carriage Hills Parkway was originally designed as a major collector road that could handle up to 9,000 trips per day. A recent traffic study conducted by Pulte suggested the current average traffic count runs around 1,900 trips per day. The traffic study also evaluated a five-year crash analysis at intersections included in the project area. No crashes had been reported at the intersection of Eagle Creek Avenue and Carriage Hills. He added that once the land reserved for business development proceeds, improvements will most likely be needed where Fountain Hills Drive and Eagle Creek meet.

The development’s impact on Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools was also discussed during Tuesday’s meeting. The district continues to experience declining enrollment, and McCabe said the development could help stabilize enrollment and provide additional per-pupil funding needed to support staffing and school programs. Development in the area was anticipated by the district and the Pulte proposal was not expected to create overcrowding issues at any school, including Jeffers Pond Elementary, the building located closest to Marlow Ridge.

The Prior Lake Planning Commission previously recommended approval of the project with a 5-0 vote. City council members followed suit with another unanimous vote.

Pulte intends to begin the first phase of residential development on the south end of the property this year, with home sales beginning in 2027. The second phase would cover a two-year period through 2028. Full build-out of homes in Marlow Ridge is expected by 2032.

Vierling family members have maintained ownership of the property since the 1860s. At one time, the farm encompassed nearly 500 acres that extended from County Roads 42 and 18 to Eagle Creek Avenue, according to historical documents. The former farm site contains one of the largest pieces of undeveloped land within Prior Lake.