Hugo is Fastest Growing Twin Cities Suburb

In 1997, one farmer retired and sold his land to the city of Hugo MN. That 40-acre patch of land between Highway 61 and Interstate 35E has contributed to the doubling of Hugo's popualation within the past 10 years.

At the time Molitor farm was acquired, Hugo was a quiet farm town of 6,363. The city has added more than 640 new housing units and 168,000 square feet of new commercial and retail space since 2000, even as development in neighboring communities ground to a halt. The population was estimated to be 13,719 in July of 2009.

The development and population over a 10-year span and led the Business Journal to name Hugo the area's fastest-growing suburb. And though building has slowed in the past two years, it hasn't stopped. Hugo has been a leader in approving residential building permits in the Twin Cities area.

Strip malls and townhouses sit where other cornfields once extended. Residents, who had to drive to neighboring communities to find a pharmacy or grocery store, now can shop at home.

Anchored by Festival Foods, which opened in 2006, a retail complex off Frenchman Road now houses restaurants, dry cleaners and veterinary offices.

With the demolition of the old Carpenter's Restaurant and a nearby antique store, city officials say the next step is redevelopment along Hwy. 61 on the Carpenter's land, which is for sale, and 7 acres across from City Hall, owned by the city.

Homes for Sale in Hugo MN

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