Concord

Concord is close to the heart of Edina, less than 10 miles south of downtown Minneapolis. Just a couple miles west of France Avenue, along which the most popular shopping and dining districts in town are clustered, this neighborhood offers a suburban oasis on the edge of the bustling metro. Realtor Bob Johndrow, with Coldwell Banker, says that Concord’s atmosphere and location are its two most appealing features. “Edina’s right on the edge of Minneapolis, so it’s a suburb, but it’s still very urban, which is a lovely mix. And homes here hold their value well because of the good school district, access to parks, restaurants and highways. Concord is all of what’s nice about Edina wrapped up with a bow.”

Concord’s shade-dappled streets are lined with midcentury single-story ranch-style homes, two-story new construction and everything in between. Many feature design details reminiscent of earlier Craftsman and Farmhouse styles, and most boast broad front lawns, uninterrupted by sidewalks. Some homes sit at the top of a slight incline, and instead of a curb where the manicured lawn meets the street, you’ll find a brick or stacked stone retaining wall. For a midcentury, four-bedroom, three-bathroom ranch with an attached two-car garage, newly refinished hardwood flooring throughout and a freshly renovated kitchen, you can expect the list price to sit close to $599,900. The list price for a five-bedroom, four-bathroom new build, featuring two stories, hardwood flooring and a sleek, modern kitchen, will be closer to the $1 million mark. Most homes here sell for between $600,000 and $700,000, slightly over the median for Edina and well over the median for the greater Minneapolis metro. “Homes really hold their value here,” says Johndrow, explaining that neighborhoods in Edina are among the most highly sought-after Minneapolis suburbs.

Concord students are served by schools in the highly rated Edina Public Schools system. Youngsters in elementary school go to Concord, older students go to South View Middle and teens go to Edina High School. Concord and South View both earned an A grade from Niche in 2023. Edina High earned an A-plus that same year, along with an 8 out of 10 GreatSchools Summary Rating. It also earned a spot on U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 list of the top five best high schools in the state. At Edina High, students can learn skills to excel in college and beyond as Edina Rotary Scholars, a three-year program offered in partnership with the Rotary Club of Edina, Edina Morningside Rotary and the Edina Education Fund.

With St. Johns Park less than half a mile from most homes, it’s easy for residents to pop out to enjoy some fresh air. The simple park is a 1-acre, sunny field, big enough for a game of touch football. There’s also a baseball backstop at one end for aspiring ball players to practice their hitting. Lake Harriet, just 2.5 miles northeast of Concord, offers even more ways to enjoy the great outdoors. Sprawled over nearly 500 acres, the lakefront park has everything from beaches, fishing and watercraft rentals to a playground and a web of multiuse trails. “People walk, bike, run, even rollerblade around the lake. And the trail system actually connects all the city lakes, so you can go from Lake Harriet to any lake in the city via the trails,” says Johndrow.

Concord is convenient to tons of shopping and dining, too. Head just 2 miles north up State Road 100 to Jerry’s Foods for your weekly grocery shop. Or, for upscale and locally owned retail and dining, head 2 miles east instead. “The intersection of 50th Street and France Avenue is the shopping district in town that everyone goes to,” says Johndrow. “It’s got all the restaurants, boutiques, hair salons, everything,” he says, adding that it’s also where a lot of community events take place. “Once a year, we have the Edina Art Fair, where they close off the streets and artists fill them with their booths and sell their beautiful artwork,” he says. Johndrow notes that the bustling corner is also where you’ll find all the best local eateries. “There’s no fast food around here, almost no chains, just independent, locally owned restaurants,” he says, adding that one of his favorite places to get an authentic French croissant is actually a kitchenware store. “Cooks Bellecour actually sells cookware, knives, kitchen tools, the works, but they also have cooking classes and a full bakery,” he says, gushing that the store smells so good from the sidewalk that it’s impossible to pass by without stopping in for a pastry. Even closer to home, visit Town Hall Station for classic scratch-made American fare, locally brewed beers and craft cocktails. The casual diner-style eatery is housed in the old Wally’s Service Station building on Valley View Road, within a mile of most homes.

Written By

Megan Quintin

Photography Contributed By

Pat Vasquez-Cunningham

Video By

Jahlil Harris