"The Edgewater" in Uptown

Minneapolis' Most Discounted Condo?

I've blogged previously about deeply discounted single family homes in the Twin Cities.

A second-floor condo (#201) in The Edgewater (pictured above) may very well be the Twin Cities' most discounted condo.

Now at $749,823, the unit was originally listed for $1.981 million almost exactly three years ago.

That's a whopping 62% reduction!

"But Can You Afford the Property Taxes?"

The catch?

Not the A+ location, just off the Northeast corner of Minneapolis' Lake Calhoun.

And not the 2005 building it's in, a gleaming glass-and-stone structure with sleek walls of windows, great views, and open floor plans.

Rather, my guess is that it's the $19,000 annual property tax bill that is still attached to the unit, courtesy of its $1.35 million tax assessed value.

Opportunity Knocks

Does such a mismatch spell opportunity?

In this case, I think it does.

That's because the property isn't a short sale or foreclosure, where the tax authorities can (and do) argue that the ultimate purchase price doesn't reflect fair market value since it was a "distressed sale" -- and therefore disregard the sales price.

Translation: if you pay say, $725,000, that's also presumptively the new tax assessed value -- and that $19k property tax bill plummets.

In fact, if the Buyer closes in the next few months, they still have time to contest Hennepin County's 2012 assessment (determined January 2, 2011).

Watch this Space: Lake Street & Knox Ave. South

New Luxury Apartments Uptown

What does it take to break ground -- in Minnesota in December, no less -- for a new commercial project in a weak economy for development?

An "A+" location, a proven concept, and access to capital (#3 follows #1 and #2).

In this case, CPM Development and Shelard Group just broke ground off the northeast corner of Lake Calhoun for what will be a $10 million, mixed use property with both 55 luxury rentals and ground-floor retail space.

The official address is 1738 West Lake Street.

The project follows in the footsteps of other, mixed use developments near the City Lakes emphasizing luxury rentals, such as The Ellipse on Excelsior (see, "Pendulum Swings Towards Rentals").

Occupancy is scheduled for Summer, 2011; no word yet on pricing or model units.

"Calhoun Lake??" Is that by Isles Lake?

Neighborhood Expertise -- and Lack Thereof

Want a sure sign that a Realtor doesn't sell much by the City Lakes?

They refer to "Lake Calhoun" as "Calhoun Lake" in their marketing materials.

Fish (er, Realtor) Out of Water

It may be forgivable to confuse Forest Lake (the city 40 miles north of the Twin Cities) with Lake Forest (the St. Louis Park neighborhood just west of Cedar Lake and north of Fern Hill).

But getting "Lake Calhoun" (pictured above) wrong is pretty glaring -- just imagine someone calling it "Minnetonka Lake," or "Superior Lake."

In turn, a Realtor who doesn't know the local landmarks is often a sign that the home owner hired a family friend or relative, opting for a personal connection over local expertise.

P.S.: If instead it's just a typo -- it's a big one.

Lake Calhoun (Building) Crane

New Tower in South Minneapolis?

What new building is going up just Southeast of Lake Calhoun?

Area residents -- and observant lake walkers (I'm the latter) -- have noticed the crane for at least six weeks now.

It turns out that the crane is located on the grounds of Lakeview Cemetery (where Hubert Humphrey is buried, along with many, many other local notables).

I don't have any more specific information, but I'm guessing that the crane is there for some kind of building maintenance (given all the skirmishing over high rises closer to Lake and Hennepin about a half mile north, I seriously doubt that some new tower -- on cemetery property, yet -- is in the works).

Sunday Open House Near Cedar Lake

Art Deco Gem

What: historically designated, Moderne-style Art Deco just south of Cedar Lake. Features 5(!) Bedrooms, 5(!) Baths (almost 3,800 square feet total); first-floor Owner's Suite; and stunning, period detail in everything from the light fixtures to the hammered iron railings.
Where: 2700 Chowen Ave. South
Who: hosted -- and listed -- by Ross Kaplan (broker is Edina Realty).
How much: $875,000
When: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday (June 6). Listed . . . today!

Interested in buying one of Minneapolis' landmark Art Deco homes? (The home was historically designated by the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission in 1996).

Know someone who might be?

Please stop by my open house at 2700 Chowen Ave. South this Sunday, in Minneapolis' Sunset Gables neighborhood.

Not an architecture buff?

The home's also perfect for someone who wants a large, light-filled home on a corner lot just steps to Cedar Lake (and blocks to Isles and Calhoun).

Hope to see you!

Text Messaging Neophyte

"Oh! Now I Get It!"

As a text messaging neophyte -- I've only been using it for a few months -- I'm still discovering situations and contexts where it's superior to voice messaging.

Like, when you're standing in line at Tin Fish by Lake Calhoun on a sunny Memorial Day and don't want to be the obnoxious guy on his cell phone.

Lake Calhoun Tableaus

Good & Evil at the Same Spot, Days Apart

The Northwest corner of Lake Calhoun (pictured on this blog's masthead, and at right) was the scene of two very different incidents this week.

The first one occurred Monday night around 10 p.m., when a gang member was apparently ambushed and killed just off the lake's very popular walking and hiking paths.

Area residents (I live about a mile away) knew something was up because we heard the sound of very loud helicopters hovering nearby (we sometimes hear helicopters fly overhead, but they don't hover).

The next morning, a Realtor in my office reported broken windows and bullets holes in the nearby residential tower where she lives.

Good Samaritan

Lake Calhoun incident #2, which occurred early Thursday evening, was slightly less notorious and involved . . . me.

Around 5:30 p.m. I parked my car in the lot at the northwest corner of the lake, and proceeded to take my dog for a walk on a gorgeous late Spring evening.

At the beginning of the walk, my cell phone was on my belt clip; at the end, it wasn't.

When a search of the area around my car didn't turn anything up, I immediately went home and spent the next few hours scouring my PC for any sensitive data (I synch my cell phone and PC daily) and changing passwords as needed.

The next morning, when I was literally heading to the Sprint store to obtain a replacement, I checked my work voicemail.

There was a 9:01 a.m. message from Ackerberg Property Management, a tenant in the office building on the northwest corner of the lake.

Somebody in their office had found my phone; it was waiting for me at the valet parking station on the west side of the building.

And it was!

Minneapolis' Great Lawn

No Celebrities -- or Crowds

OK, so the buildings ringing it are only 5 to 10 stories tall, not 50 to 60 stories -- and none of them are famous (unless you count the Calhoun Beach Club).

And you won't see any celebrities throwing Frisbees or otherwise kicking back.

But Minneapolis' equivalent of Central Park's Great Lawn is a lot less crowded, and actually abuts a real lake -- Calhoun (Central Park's Great Lawn is a couple blocks south of a reservoir).

Where exactly is this lawn?

Just off the northwest corner of Lake Calhoun.

While perhaps one-third the size of its (infinitely) more famous New York counterpart, Minneapolis' "no name" lawn is every bit as inviting on a spectacular Spring day!

(And no, I only spent my lunch hour there today -- not the whole day, tempting as it was).

City Lakes Too Crowded? Try a Park Instead

Where: 17xx Morgan Ave. South in Minneapolis' Kenwood neighborhood

What: 4 BR/4BA home with 4,337 FSF built in 1925 (and completely renovated since)

When: listed March 8 (11 days on market)

How much: $1.9 million

Who: listed by Mike Nash and Sherrill Kruse (broker: Edina Realty)

Minneapolis doesn't have a Park or Fifth Avenue, where people who "have arrived" live in glorious penthouses.

Instead, it has lakes -- specifically, Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, Cedar Lake and Lake Harriet.

The homes overlooking these lakes are amongst the nicest in the area, and can (still) easily fetch $3 million or more.

(Note: other city lakes include Lake Nokomis, Lake Hiawatha, Brownie Lake, Wirth Lake, Grass Lake, and Diamond Lake. However, homes on these lakes typically don't trip seven figures.)

The only catch -- besides the price tag and property taxes -- is that such lakeside homes come with lots of traffic, particularly in the summer months when everyone else likes to enjoy the lakes, too.

So, a nice alternative to overlooking a lake is overlooking a park -- like the home pictured above.

The park in question, Kenwood Park, is located just north of Lake of the Isles, and about a mile southwest of downtown Minneapolis.

Oh -- and the glorious grounds in back in back of the home -- including an architect-designd summer home -- are just as impressive as the view in front.

Really Cheap Housing

Boobie Prize Winner -- Winter, 2010 Edition

[Editor's Note: sort of like the blog equivalent of a broken clock, this post is timely twice a year in Minnesota. The last time I ran it was mid-December]

Walking around Lake Calhoun just before dusk last night, I spotted what appeared to be not one but two ice fishing houses (no, this isn't a picture of one of them -- it's a stock photo).

I doubt it's been cold long enough to even stand on the ice, let alone put a structure on it.

Just trying to be first, I guess (as in plucked from the water -- if they're lucky).

Winter Walk -- In a Hurry

YWMMV ("Your Walking Mileage May Vary")

I definitely prefer walking around Lake Calhoun in the summer.

For one thing, the people watching is better -- there are more of them about, and, minus the bulky winter clothing, you can actually tell the genders apart.

For another, you don't have to worry about below zero windchill's giving you frostbite.

However, winter walks do have some redeeming virtues.

Like, if you're running late for something, you can always abbreviate your walk simply by cutting across the middle of the lake!

Bare Ground -- For Now

Waiting for the Next Wave -- Part 1

When the economy comes back, where will Twin Cities developers pick up?

Most likely, where they left off when the recession and downturn arrived.

Here are six now-idled, high profiles sites in the Twin Cities that would appear to have better days ahead of them once credit eases and real estate prices firm.

Whether the developer and project stays the same, however, remains to be seen.

One. "2626 West Lake" (pictured above).

Don't recognize the sleek, contemporary buildings at the north end of Lake Calhoun, and just east of The Calhoun Beach Club?

It's because they were never built.

Unfortunately, Michael Lander's four building, luxury condo development is no more; a victim of disappointing pre-construction sales, the site now appears to be bank-owned.

I saw the (very impressive) 3-D sales presentation, and would have loved to see the buildings go up. Too bad.

My guess: either Lander or another developer takes another crack in the future. This is way too expensive a location for an empty lot to sit indefinitely.

Two. 36th and Wooddale Ave. in St. Louis Park.

This empty lot is sandwiched between two new condo/townhouse developments: Village in the Park Lofts, and Hoigaard Village.

Short-term, the immediate area may have some absorption issues to deal with, i.e., all the nearby new supply is ahead of demand.

Long term, however, the area is an affordable alternative to Excelsior & Grand, about a half-mile southeast (if you can give up proximity to Trader Joe's). Plus, it's just 2 blocks to a planned light-rail station at Wooddale and Highway 7.

Three. "The Bancroft."

Located at Chowen and 50th St. in South Minneapolis on the site of a former funeral home, The Bancroft targeted more affluent condo buyers looking for bigger spaces: over 2,500 square feet, at prices starting north of $500k.

You'd speculate that both those numbers are likely to shrink before any revived project breaks ground.

Part 2: Projects #4, 5, & 6

Great Location, Cheap -- Why?

What's the Catch? (Hint: There's 2)

Where: 31xx East Calhoun Parkway in South Minneapolis

What: 5 BR/4 BA with 4,500 FSF on .29 acre lot

How Much: originally listed for $925k on 9/21; just dropped to $825k yesterday

Who: Broker - Edina Realty; Agent - James Keane

Even in a soft market for upper bracket homes, a 4,500 square foot home, on a .29 acre lot -- overlooking Minneapolis' Lake Calhoun, no less -- stands out.

So what's the catch, besides what some might say is the plain curb appeal?

Looking for Catches

The home doesn't appear to be dated or run-down; in fact, the interior pictures are actually quite flattering.

And no, it's not a foreclosure or short sale.

So what, then?

There is a high-rise tower immediately to the north looming over the home (and no, it's not in the pictures).

Not a huge deal, perhaps, but not exactly an amenity, either,

Catch #2

The other catch -- at least until the taxes catch up to the lower valuation? (Like many expensive Twin Cities homes now, this one is listed for well below the tax assessed value.)

An almost $17,000 annual property tax bill.

In truth, property taxes are a looming issue for many, many other upper bracket homes as well, but particularly in Minneapolis (by way of comparison, you'd expect an $800k Edina home to have a $10,000 property tax bill, give or take).

Lake Calhoun Visitor

Big Fish in a Little Pond?

The first thing you notice isn't the Bald Eagle, it's the crowd of people all watching something.

So, you stop, too, and pretty soon it's apparent: a big, Bald Eagle sitting on Lake Calhoun's Thomas Beach late yesterday afternoon.

While infrequent, I've now seen a couple Bald Eagles on and around Lake Calhoun the last couple years.

Fall Treat

I've always assumed that they wandered over from the Mississippi, which they supposedly follow south this time of year -- and which you'd assume has more and bigger fish to choose from.

So, maybe the lakes really are getting cleaner.

Of course, it's also possible that the eagle was after something else found near the city lakes: a big, fat duck.

P.S.: the other way to spot a Bald Eagle is to watch them in flight: they look like 747's compared to the various ducks, sparrows, etc. that are also airborne.

June New Home Sales

Exactly Where Are All Those $206k New Homes??

As [new home] sales rose, median prices . . . continued to fall, slipping to $206,200 from $232,100 in June a year ago.

--Jack Healy, "New U.S. Home Sales Rise Sharply as Prices Fall"; The New York Times (7/27/09)

The big financial headline today is an unexpected monthly rise in new homes sales. According to the Commerce Dept., June sales of new, single-family homes increased 11%, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 384,000.

What caught my eye, though, was the median price: $206,200.

Suffice to say that that's not the price of new homes going up in Edina, around Minneapolis' city lakes, or in Minnetonka.

Rather, that's the price of new homes in places like Albertville, Ostego, and Farmington -- areas 30 miles or further away from the city center, where developers threw up tract homes by the thousands.

Closer in, new homes are strictly custom, one-at-time "leapfrogs" from former tear-downs to, well . . . something much nicer.

A quick look on MLS confirms that.

Since 2008, 24 new "spec" homes (built for resale) were listed in MLS Areas 300 and 309 (roughly covering from Cedar Lake to Lake Harriet).

Average price: $1.03M. Median Price: just under $800k.

(The difference is explained by several, extremely high-end new homes in Lowry Hill, which pull the average up.)

High-Tech Servants' Entrance

High-End Trend?

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to let the furnace contractor in* without waiting for them to show up during their seemingly days-long "window"? Or, once they got there, if they could proceed directly to the utility room, without traipsing through your front hall (and past your messy Kitchen)?

The (very high-end) new home just being finished at the south end of Minneapolis' Lake Calhoun has that one solved: the utilities room has its own contractors' entrance. That's where the mechanicals, plus the "central nervous system" that runs this high-tech home, are located.

Like to see it (or partake of the view)?

You'd better know the owners (or perhaps, be a big sponsor of the major league sports team they own): the home isn't on the market.

*The rest of us will just have to rely on lockboxes, drop cloths, etc.

Recession Casualty: Pretense

Starbucks vs. Burger Jones

One restaurant doesn't exactly make a trend, but the new burger joint new Lake Calhoun -- aptly named "Burger Jones" -- appears to be embracing an anti-Starbucks marketing strategy.

So, forget Starbucks' "Tall," "Venti," and "Grande" for "Small," "Medium," and "Large" (or, is it the other way around?).

If you order a burger at Burger Jones -- and that's pretty much what people do -- the choices aren't "rare," "medium," and "well-done," or gradations thereof.

The choices are: "some pink" and "no pink."

A Curb Appeal "10"

"You Know it When You See It"

"Curb appeal" is one of those real estate terms that you really can't define, but "you know it when you see it," as they say. (That unscientific formulation also happens to be the Supreme Court's definition of pornography -- really!).

At any rate . . . this brick, center hall Colonial -- located just south of Minneapolis' Lake Calhoun -- has curb appeal in spades. Note that the photo was taken at dusk, with the interior lights on, to create an especially dramatic impression.

The price was just reduced to $1.396M; Lakes Sotheby has the listing.

Open House Sun. 2-4 p.m.

Linden Hills Charm

Looking for a character-filled home near Lake Calhoun that's perfect for a professional couple or family with small kids? Come by my open house at 3929 Washburn Ave. in South Minneapolis this Sunday (1/25/09) from 2-4 p.m. Highlights include: 4 Bedrooms, 2 Baths and over 2,200 finished square feet; a hillside setting with commanding views; and a private, level backyard. Price: $479,900