Highland

Greening Minnesota ~ August 2011

There are some great green initiatives and events happening in Minnesota, contributing towards a cleaner environment for residents. Read about how local communities are working towards creating a more environmentally-friendly world. There are more entries than usual this month!

Prodded by a homeowner whose prairie plantings were mowed against his will, the city of Minneapolis has come up with a plan to let lawns go natural. Some suburbs have already taken the step of allowing natural plantings in place of grass, accepting their environmental benefits over the objections of some neighbors who think they look unkempt. The proposal defines the new type of landscaping as an intentional planting of native or non-native grasses, wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, trees or forbs. They're allowed to exceed the city's normal nuisance ordinance threshold of 8 inches in height, or grass that has gone or is about to go to seed. They can't include noxious weeds and have to be maintained to avoid...

What $219,900 Buys in Saint Paul's Highland Park Neighborhood

Here is MLS # 3872226

 

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This luxury condo is located at 1800 Graham Avenue in Saint Paul, MN. This high-rise home was built in 2005. It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and 1,567-square-feet of space.

 

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This relatively new home features lots of windows and natural lighting, a private patio, granite counters in the kitchen and a fireplace in the living room. Its very open floor plan great for entertaining.

 

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Greening Minnesota ~ November

Here is a round-up of some environmentally friendly practices and green space expansions being carried out in and around the Twin Cities metro area and Minnesota.

Power from a new 10-megawatt hydroelectric plant located along on the Mississippi River, just below the new Interstate 35W bridge at the Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam,  will produce enough electricity for about 7,500 homes by the end of next year. The new $35 million plant is about 30% complete. Brookfield Renewable Power of Massachusetts, which owns it, will sell its electricity to Xcel Energy.

Members of the Pedro family, which had a longtime luggage business at 10th and Robert Streets, have donated the land to the city of St. Paul on the condition it be turned into a park. Trees and grass will replace the concrete and brick on one block of downtown St. Paul. According to the article, Carl Pedro Sr. left Italy for St. Paul in 1907 and opened his business, Pedro Luggage, in 1914. In the 1960s, the business...

Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis February 2009

New posted listings for homes in St. Paul, Minnesota, decreased in February according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  Throughout the month, there were 480 new listings in Saint Paul, compared to the 602 homes put up on the market during February 2008.  That is a decrease of -20.3%.  Comparatively, there were 548 new listings in January 2009.  The Merriam Park and West 7th saw increases in posted new listings, while the other St. Paul neighborhoods saw their listings decrease. Here is a breakdown of new listings by Saint Paul neighborhood:

Como 27 (-25.0%)
Crocus Hill 32 (-31.9%)
Downtown Saint Paul 34 (-41.4%)
East Side 111 (-3.5%)
Highland Park 35 (-16.7%)
Mac-Groveland 22 (-15.4%)
Merriam Park 14 (+27.3%)
North End/Frogtown 65 (-4.4%)
Phalen 60 (-33.3%)
Southeast 20 (-20.0%)
St. Anthony/Midway 15 (-54.5%)
...

Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis January 2009

The first St. Paul real estate market analysis for the year of 2009! New posted listings for homes in St. Paul, Minnesota, decreased in January according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  During the month, there were 548 new listings in Saint Paul, compared to the 562 homes put up on the market during January 2008.  That is a decrease of just -2.5%.  It was a mixed bag when the posted new listings are broken out by neighborhood, as some big increases while others saw decreases. Here is a breakdown of new listings by Saint Paul neighborhood:

Como 29 (-14.7%)
Crocus Hill 38 (-29.6%)
Downtown Saint Paul 32 (-45.8%)
East Side 138 (+26.6%)
Highland Park 36 (+9.1%)
Mac-Groveland 24 (-27.3%)
Merriam Park 14 (+16.7%)
North End/Frogtown 64 (-13.5%)
Phalen 84 (+16.7%)
Southeast 11 (-21.4%)
St. Anthony/Midway 27 (+3.8%)
...

Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis: December 2008

The last St. Paul real estate market analysis for the year of 2008.  Let’s get it done!  New posted listings for homes in St. Paul, Minnesota, increased in December according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  During December, there were 399 new listings in St. Paul, compared to the 351 homes put up on the market during the same month of 2007.  That is an increase of about +13.7%.  Unlike November, lots of neighborhoods saw increases in new listings.  The increase in new listings is a little unusual, given that December is so full of holidays. Here is a breakdown of new listings by Saint Paul neighborhood:  (Barker & Hedges blog entry about November 2008 St. Paul Real Estate Market Activity.)

Como 13 (+18.2%)
Crocus Hill 23 (+4.5%)
Downtown Saint Paul 17 (+21.4%)
East Side 104 (+25.3%)
Highland Park 16 (-5.9%)
Mac-Groveland...

Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis: November 2008

New posted listings for homes in St. Paul, Minnesota, decreased in November according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  During that month, there were 398 new listings in St. Paul.  In November the previous year, there were 481 new listings.  That is a reduction of about -17.3%.  The only neighborhoods which saw increases in new listings were the Phalen and Merriam Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul.  A decrease in new listings is to be expected now as the winter season really starts kicking up snow.  (Barker & Hedges blog entry about October 2008 St. Paul Real Estate Market Activity.)

Como 18 (-25.0%)
Crocus Hill 22 (-12.0%)
Downtown Saint Paul 14 (-33.3%)
East Side 98 (-28.5%)
Highland Park 23 (-43.9%)
Mac-Groveland 21 (-12.5%)
Merriam Park 17 (+54.5%)
North End/Frogtown 56 (-0.0%)
Phalen 60 (+1.7%)
Southeast...

Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis: October 2008

New posted listings for homes in St. Paul, Minnesota, fell in the month of October according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  During October, there were 515 new listings in St. Paul.  In October of 2007, there were 603 new listings.  That is a reduction of about -14.6%.  There were too many neighborhoods to list here that experienced declines of 20% to over 45%.  The only neighborhoods which saw significant increases in new listings were the Phalen and Merriam Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul.  (Barker & Hedges blog entry about September 2008 St. Paul Real Estate Market Activity.)

Como 31 (-6.1%)
Crocus Hill 40 (-35.5%)
Downtown Saint Paul 21 (-46.2%)
East Side 132 (+0.8%)
Highland Park 25 (-26.5%)
Mac-Groveland 22 (-47.6%)
Merriam Park 12 (+20.0%)
North End/Frogtown 56 (-29.1%)
Phalen 83 (+23.9%)
Southeast 12...

Saint Paul Real Estate Market Analysis: September 2008

In a change to what we have seen in previous months, new listings for homes in Saint Paul, Minnesota, rose during September according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors’ Market Update for 100 Twin Cities Communities.  Throughout the month, there were 621 new listings in St. Paul.  During September of 2007, there were 602 new listings.  That adds up to an increase of about +3.2%!  It may be small, but it is something.  The Phalen and Highland Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul saw the greatest boost in new listings during September at +44.3% and +32.4% respectively.  Conversely, the West 7th and Merriam Park neighborhoods saw decreases in new listings during September of -45.0% and -50.0% respectively.  (Barker & Hedges blog entry about August 2008 St. Paul Real Estate Market Activity.)

Como 31 (-24.4%)
Crocus Hill 42 (-26.3%)
Downtown Saint Paul 25 (-19.4%)
East Side 139 (+23.0%)
Highland Park...