Jonathan, Minnesota is a
homeowners' association
A homeowner association (or homeowners' association, abbreviated HOA, sometimes referred to as a property owners' association or POA), or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either '' ipso jure'' in a building ...
that is a remnant of a
planned community
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
development within the city of
Chaska,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
in
Carver County. It was named for Jonathan Carver, for whom Carver County also is named. In 2008, it is the largest homeowners' association in the State of Minnesota, with 2,300 households.
[HERÓN MÁRQUEZ ESTRADA - Clothing, manicures and charges of theft. Ex-bookkeeper for the Jonathan Association in Chaska is accused of misusing the group's credit card. Star Tribune, August 19, 2008] It was planned by the Jonathan Development Corporation and begun in 1967.
[Meltzer, Jack - City Planning. World Book Encyclopedia, 1976, Volume 4 p460b] It was the idea of Minnesota State Senator and real estate developer Henry T. McKnight. The planners chose a site outside the
Twin Cities
Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...
urban area and
Interstate 494/694 belt line.
The town site was centered on the intersection of
Minnesota State Highway 41 and the Pacific Extension of the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.
History
A large single town center was envisioned to straddle the railway between McKnight Lake and Jonathan Lake, and have shops, businesses and higher density housing.
Surrounding the center were to have been smaller villages.
It was expected to have a total population of 50,000 by the 1980s.
In 1970, Jonathan became the first new town in the United States to receive a guarantee of financial assistance from federal government as part of Title IV of the
Housing and Urban Development act of 1968
The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, , was passed during the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration. The act came on the heels of major riots across cities throughout the U.S. in 1967, the assassination of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther ...
.
[Hauser, Philip M. - City. World Book Encyclopedia, 1976, Volume 4 p453]
In 1971, Jonathan hosted the very first
Minnesota Renaissance Festival, then known as the Minnesota Renaissance Fair and promoted as "A Celebration of Nature, Art, and Life!" It would later move to nearby
Shakopee, and grow into one of the largest
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...
s in the nation.
The development corporation folded in 1979, and Jonathan was annexed by the city of Chaska.
Between 2005 and 2007, a majority of the Jonathan Association Board of Directors supported an effort to break up the homeowner Association by allowing some neighborhoods to leave.
In October 2007, the majority of the board members voted to go to court for a declaratory judgment as to whether or not neighborhoods brought into the association after the 1979 demise of the Jonathan Development Corporation were annexed properly.
[Francisco, Mollee ]
Jonathan board votes for court
Chaska Herald, October 11, 2007 In February 2008, six (6) of the nine seated board members, all of which supported seeking a declaratory judgement were voted out of office at the Association's Annual Meeting.
Personnel
Minnesota State Senator and real estate developer Henry T. McKnight was the chief executive. Chaska resident Julius C. "Jules" Smith served as counsel during the development and now serves on the
Metropolitan Council
The Metropolitan Council, commonly abbreviated Met Council or Metro Council, is the regional governmental agency and metropolitan planning organization in Minnesota serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area, accounting for over 55 pe ...
. Current Chaska city council member Robert J. ("Bob") Lindall was the president of the Jonathan Development Corporation from 1974 through 1979. Other board members included J. F. Deckenbach, Lewis Krohn, J. Kimball Whitney,
Mandell L. Berman, Robert J. Dahlin, Ben C. Cunningham, Duane E. Joseph, and H. Richard Korsh.
References
Bibliography
*Downie, Leonard (Jr.)
The Midwest: An Unlikely Laboratory for New Towns The Alicia Patterson Fund. September 27, 1971
*Hawkins, Beth
Arrested Development - How Minnesota philanthropist and developer Henry McKnight's utopian vision of suburbia became a blueprint for modern exurban nightmares Citypages. July 13, 2005
*Martin, Frank Edgerton (Jr.)
Although Chaska's 'new town' development failed, it transformed how we live Star Tribune. June 18, 2016
*Pub. L. 90-448, title IV, Aug. 1, 1968
NEW COMMUNITIES ACT OF 1968(Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968) - GUARANTEES FOR FINANCING NEW COMMUNITY LAND DEVELOPMENT. United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
*Saylor, Thomas
Jonathan: Planned City of Tomorrow Minnesota History. Fall 2013
*Sturdevant, Andy
'Ex-town' Jonathan still has distinct touches of its futuristic beginnings MinnPost. May 30, 2012
External links
Chaska City WebsiteJonathan AssociationExecutive Summary
February 1970 (PDF of scanned typed document)
{{Minnesota
Populated places in Carver County, Minnesota
Planned cities in the United States
Neighborhood associations
1967 establishments in Minnesota
Neighborhoods in Minnesota
Chaska, Minnesota