{"id":193,"date":"2014-11-04T14:34:33","date_gmt":"2014-11-04T20:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/50.28.89.84\/~cchs2\/wpcchs\/?p=193"},"modified":"2014-11-13T12:45:01","modified_gmt":"2014-11-13T18:45:01","slug":"the-planned-community-of-jonathan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org\/wpcchs\/history-topics\/the-planned-community-of-jonathan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Planned Community of Jonathan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of rapid urban and suburban growth. City planners in these decades were frustrated with the growing problems of pollution, traffic, and creating new neighborhoods as cities spread. One solution to this idea was the \u201cnew town\u201d movement. Designed as planned communities, these \u201ctowns\u201d tried to organize the design and growth of the town in advance to better deal with urban sprawl. The community of Jonathan, located within the existing city of Chaska, was built with these concepts.<\/em><\/p>\n

The idea of a \u201cnew town,\u201d designed to meet the needs of the people living there, has been around for centuries in military and trade towns. The idea did not really catch hold until an Englishman named Sir Ebenezer Howard suggested \u201cgarden cities\u201d within the area of London in the late 1800s. \u201cNew towns\u201d were planned in Finland, England, Scotland and the United States.<\/p>\n

One of the first to be built in the United States was Jonathan. Jonathan was the dream of former United States Senator Henry T. McKnight, who championed bills and acts protecting natural resources. On April 29, 1966, McKnight joined with others individuals to form the Ace Development Corporation, which became the Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967. Named after Jonathan Carver, the 18th century explorer, this self-contained town was built on eight thousand acres of woods, lakes and farmlands within Chaska city limits. Hazeltine Golf Course and the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum border it.<\/p>\n

Planned as a town within a town, Jonathan in Chaska was meant to be built over a period of twenty years. Plans included the growth of population, industry, housing and recreation. Thinking for the long-term allowed the city to save time in future construction, and protect the surrounding natural environment while allowing residents to be closer to it. Initial development plans left one0fifth of the land open for future development.<\/p>\n

Though within Chaska city limits, Jonathan was more than just a neighborhood. Designed to grow into a series of five villages, each with schools, churches, recreation areas and more, Jonathan was unique. This \u201ctown\u201d has a city center with offices, stores and restaurants. Housing was offered as apartments, townhomes, or houses. Jonathan fell under the jurisdiction of both the city of Chaska and the Jonathan Development Corporation.<\/p>\n

By October 1967, most of the land had been acquired. Community plans were made public. Construction began that same year. In October 1970, Jonathan became the first large-scale development to gain federal aid under Title IV of the New Communities Act, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. This act provided a loan guarantee for up to $21 million, allowing developers and builders to increase the speed of construction.<\/p>\n

Jonathan in the twenty-first century is not quite the \u201ctown\u201d it was expected to be. A recession and loss of interest in planned communities in the early 1970s affected growth. With the death of Henry McKnight in 1974, the driving force behind planning and development was lost. Rezoning removed industrial and commercial shopping areas, leaving behind only homes. Jonathan remains within Chaska\u2019s jurisdiction, but is governed by the Jonathan Association as well. Thought no longer a \u201ctown\u201d within a town, Jonathan remains unique, and true to McKnight\u2019s dream of remaining closer to the environment, with more parks, wooded areas, ponds and walking paths than most neighborhoods would have.<\/p>\n

Turning Point:<\/strong> When construction began in 1967, Jonathan became the first \u201cnew town\u201d, or planned community, to be built in Minnesota and the United States.<\/p>\n

Chronology:<\/strong><\/p>\n