Saint Anthony

Nestled in Northeast Minneapolis about 15 minutes from downtown, Audubon Park charms buyers with its historic housing and retains residents with its easygoing lifestyle and strong sense of community. The area has ample outdoor space, including two neighborhood parks and a garden that hosts a seasonal farmers market. “Minnesotans are just so appreciative of nature, so when good weather comes about, everybody is out and enjoying it,” says Deborah Brister, Executive Director of the Audubon Neighborhood Association and a 30-year homeowner in the neighborhood. “The people are so friendly,” says Realtor Kathy Borys, who’s sold in Northeast Minneapolis for over 30 years. “You’ll see people walking around, walking their dogs or walking with the kids. Audubon Park has a very cool, very welcoming vibe.” “What people like about Audubon Park is that there’s a really good mix of homes in terms of style. You can find anything from a Craftsman-style house to a 1950s split level,” Borys says. Brister echoes this sentiment: “This is a really well-established neighborhood — the majority of homes were built pre-1939. There are a number of older, historic homes, and they are really well maintained,” thanks to the support of the Audubon Neighborhood Association. “Our neighborhood association offers home grant and loan programs,” Brister says. These programs help homeowners make repairs and improvements to their homes. Among the neighborhood’s historic homes are American Foursquares, Dutch Colonials, Tudors and farmhouses. The area often attracts buyers looking for homes with architectural charm, lawns shaded by trees and enough outdoor space for some patio furniture and a small garden. The market moves quickly here, with homes selling after an average of 15 days rather than the national average of 42. Prices tend to fall between $250,000 and $500,000, and Borys reports that prices have risen in recent years due to an increase in attraction to the neighborhood. “Many years ago, people didn’t know where Northeast Minneapolis was, and it was the best-kept secret in my mind,” she says. “Now, it’s in high demand and has been for years now.” Students in Audubon Park attend Waite Park Elementary School, which received a B-minus on the educational review site, Niche, and Northeast Middle School and Edison High School, which received C-pluses. Northeast Middle School, which is located within Audubon Park, is an International Baccalaureate school offering language instruction in Spanish, French and Ojibwe, and for many residents, it’s a point of pride for the neighborhood. “We love the principal at Northeast Middle, Vernon Rowe. He and his staff play a key role with our community as well,” Brister says. To incorporate nature into their learning, Northeast Middle has a rain garden on campus and partners with the Audubon Neighborhood Association to assist with their gardening projects. Winters in Audubon Park are spent at the neighborhood’s namesake, an urban park with some of the city’s best sledding. The park is also home to a playground, pool and rec center with Zumba classes and after-school programs. On the neighborhood’s northern end, Deming Heights Park is a densely treed outdoor space where residents go on walks and spot wildlife. “It’s home to some very elusive fox families,” Brister says. The neighborhood’s Northeast Market Garden grows produce to donate to local businesses and teaches gardening classes to residents of all ages. On Thursday evenings from June through October, the Audubon Farmers Market sets up at the garden to sell produce from a collection of local farms. Audubon Park has a small but diverse collection of local shops and restaurants, offering plenty of options for grabbing a bite to eat. “Right within walking distance, you can have Middle Eastern cuisine or Latino cuisine; we have Ecuadorian bakeries,” Brister says. “The Coffee Shop Northeast is one of my favorites. They have coffee, teas, baked goods and quick-grab lunches,” Borys says. Family-owned Sarah Jane’s Bakery sells pothole donuts, a nod to the city’s ongoing battle with weathered roadways. For a sit-down brunch or dinner, Hazel’s Northeast is a popular pick. “I love their French toast, and my husband absolutely loves the Friday walleye fish fries,” Brister says. Locals shop for groceries in the neighborhood at the Eastside Food Co-op, which is believed by many to have the freshest produce in town. Retail shopping is available a mile south of the neighborhood at The Quarry, which has retailers like Target, Michaels and The Home Depot. Audubon Park is located in Northeast Minneapolis, 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis and 20 minutes from downtown Saint Paul. The neighborhood is very walkable and bikeable and has Metro Transit bus routes running through it. Most residents are within a 15-minute drive of the nearest hospital, downtown’s Hennepin County Medical Center, and it takes about 20 minutes to get to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Northeast Minneapolis’ biggest annual event is Art-A-Whirl, an open studio tour put on by the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association and the largest of its kind in the country. Each May, over 1,200 artists, galleries and businesses display work at over 100 locations across Northeast Minneapolis. “People are out having food, having beer, supporting local artists,” Borys says. “It’s a fun event that brings people from all over.”

Waite Park residents thrive on their proximity to the buzzing Arts District. “The people who move here want to be close to hot spots – that sort of lifestyle is important to them – but they don’t want to live downtown necessarily,” says Realtor Jesse Lynch, owner of To The Twin Cities Real Estate. What's now The Arts District of Northeast used to be an industrial district in decline, but today its old warehouses hold public artist studios and modern galleries playing host to a variety of fairs and art crawls. Once vacant buildings have been converted into a vibrant artistic mecca teeming with life. “This is why people want to move here, close to the bars, breweries and trendy shops the area is known for,” Lynch says. Waite Park is under a square mile in size, so there aren’t a lot of properties on the market at any given time. “It’s a very competitive neighborhood, so if somebody wants to buy there, they are likely going to have competition,” Lynch says. Inventory consists of mostly single-family homes built between the early 1900s and 1950s, with plenty of bungalows and ranch-style homes. Pricing starts around $300,000 on the low end and can climb above the half-million mark for high-end renovations. “The median sale price is right around the median of the Twin Cities metro, so it’s not an especially expensive neighborhood, but it’s also not a discount neighborhood – it’s in the sweet spot of the market,” Lynch says. “Most things are going to go into multiple offers on opening weekend if they’re priced well and marketed right.” The average number of days on the market for Waite Park is less than half the national average. There are about 2,360 total homes in the neighborhood and the average home value for Waite Park is about the same as Saint Anthony but significantly lower than the average for the U.S. The largely residential neighborhood has a handful of businesses within walking distance, like Cosmic Coffee, a local favorite thanks to its breakfast burritos and pleasant atmosphere, which patrons often describe as "chill with good vibes.” Traveling a few blocks further south will open up a variety of additional dining options along the river. For a James Beard award-winning dining experience, visit Chef Ann Kim’s celebrated restaurant, Young Joni. “They have such interesting cocktails and it’s like a speakeasy inside with wooden walls and beams on the ceilings,” Lynch says. “The Korean pizza is so good.” Dogs are welcome at 56 Brewing, a big tap room with a revolving selection of food trucks. There are no big box stores or national chains within Waite Park, but groceries and essentials are within a couple of miles. Like the Eastside Food Co-op, a popular community-owned grocery store in Audubon Park that specializes in fresh, local and organic foods sourced from ethical farmers. Waite Park is served by Minneapolis Public Schools. Students can attend Waite Park Elementary School, a walkable K-5 school that received a B-minus from Niche and shares beautiful grounds with Waite Park. Students can go on to Northeast Middle School, a public magnet school rated C-plus by Niche, and Edison High School, which offers a 15-1 student-teacher ratio and also received a C-plus rating. Along with the neighborhood’s highly walkable layout, there are plenty of additional opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. At Waite Park, which shares the same name as the neighborhood, residents can enjoy multiple sports courts, playgrounds and a wading pool. Deming Heights Park offers a more relaxed experience with plenty of walking trails shaded by large trees, making it a popular spot for dog walkers. Cavell Park is a smaller option with a modest playground and a few sports amenities. Golf lovers will appreciate the close proximity of Columbia Golf Club to the west and Gross National Golf Club to the southeast. Waite Park residents can head south on Highway 65 and cross the Mississippi River into Central Minneapolis just 4 miles away, so additional retail and dining options, along with the University of Minnesota, are within easy reach. Downtown St. Paul is also 12 miles southeast of the neighborhood and can be accessed by Interstate 35 and Interstate 94.