A service-oriented semi-rural community
Situated along Highway 55, about 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis, lies the small city of Greenfield. A semi-rural area home to nearly 3,000 residents, “People are attracted to Greenfield because of its open green spaces and large acreage home sites,” says Realtor LeAnn Sather, who’s based in the neighboring town of Loretto. Access to several regional lakes, hiking trails and a 30-acre off-leash dog park, add to Greenfield’s appeal. Though most move here because they value privacy, this doesn’t mean residents want to live in isolation. Instead, many foster community through activities like volunteering. RiverWorks’, a local thrift store and development organization, offers year-round opportunities to give back: they run a local food pantry, a food truck for seniors and provide free school lunches for the Rockford Area District. Residents also join together each spring for the annual city-wide community development day, a day of service for the good of the Greenfield.
New developments and multiacre properties
Most listings in Greenfield take up at least an acre, about half are at least three acres and about a quarter are five acres or more. Sprawling single-family homes typically sit on these properties, though many buy vacant land to build a custom home. For those looking to live within a neighborhood, options are becoming increasingly available. “We have developments going on all the time because we have a lot of space to build,” says City Administrator Margaret Webb. “The Meadows of Whisper Creek is a prime example.” Designed to be a luxury community, this new development has homes with square footage in the thousands and price tags in the millions. Due to its large lot sizes, the average home value in Greenfield runs much higher than the average for the Minneapolis metro area. Some of the newer developments offer townhouses, providing more affordable options with prices starting in the upper $200,000s. Single-family home prices start in the mid $300,000s and reach the millions, depending on acreage and square footage.
Arts, STEM and IB in Rockford Area Schools
Students in Greenfield attend Rockford Area Schools. They start at Rockford Elementary Arts Magnet School before continuing to Rockford Middle School, a STEM magnet with a Green Ribbon. They then graduate from Rockford High, an IB school. All of these schools have B-plus ratings on Niche. Parents can apply to send their children to schools in the nearby Delano Public School District, which has an overall rating of A-minus on Niche. Greenfield is also home to the Salem Lutheran School, a private school for preschool through eighth-grade students.
Thirty miles northwest of Minneapolis
“People move to Greenfield because they want more privacy, larger lots, and still easy access to the city within 30 minutes,” Sather says. Due to these lot sizes, walking from place to place isn’t an option in Greenfield. There’s no public transportation, either: it’s an entirely car-dependent community. Greenfield is 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis. Its closest hospital is North Memorial Health in Maple Grove, 13 miles away. The Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is 37 miles away.
Rockford restaurants and the Delano Farmers Market
The neighboring town of Rockford has plenty of restaurants to satiate the appetites of Greenfield residents, like Tacos La Chule, a family-owned Mexican restaurant known for having the best margaritas around. Clays Bar and Grill is a classic hometown sports bar, with pull tabs and pool tables for adults and skeeball and claw machines for kids. On weekend mornings, most find themselves in front of a plate of pancakes, eggs and bacon at The Brothers Eatery, an all-American, nothing-fancy diner. The nearest grocery store is the Coborn’s in Delano, a neighboring town that also has a hardware store, sporting goods store and a movie theater. On Wednesdays from May through October, vendors at the Delano Farmers Market sell farm-fresh eggs and local produce.
Lots of lakes and trails, plus a 30-acre dog park
With its rural landscapes and wide open spaces, Greenfield attracts buyers looking for easy access to the great outdoors. The city has two lakes, with Lake Sarah being known for its 30-acre off-leash dog park and Lake Rebecca having an expansive log cabin-themed playground. The park also has over 23 miles of paved and unpaved trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, as well as a sandy swimming beach. The 17-mile Lake Independence Regional Trail runs alongside Greenfield on the east, connecting the Crow-Hassan Park Reserve in Hanover to Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain and the Noerenberg Memorial Gardens in Wayzata.
Community service brings neighbors together
RiverWorks, a community development organization based in the neighboring town of Rockford, offers residents plenty of opportunities to get to know their neighbors while giving back to the community. Each spring, the community comes together for the annual Thousand Hearts Serve Day, where residents complete community service projects depending on the year’s needs. The organization provides services throughout the year, like an ongoing food shelf, a food truck for seniors and free lunches for Rockford Area School District students in the summer. The organization lights a Christmas tree in Riverside Park for the annual Crow River Christmas each winter.
Photography Contributed By
Jeff Karels
