Real Estate Saint Louis Park, MN

St. Louis Park’s convenient location to Minneapolis means you’re only minutes away from some of the Twin Cities’ most attractive amenities: lakes, the downtown theater district, shopping, plenty of diverse food options, universities and major league sports.

St. Louis Park is an established community of 10.8 square miles. In a little more than 115 years, it’s grown from a village of 45 families to a community of just under 49,000 residents. St. Louis Park has a sound economic base, a healthy mix of new and traditional housing, and a nationally renowned school district – where every school has been named a National School of Excellence.

Residential areas comprise the largest portion of the community. These residential areas are diverse in their social, religious and ethnic heritage – giving every neighborhood a distinct appearance and feel. St. Louis Park is also home to retail stores, restaurants, medical facilities, family-owned businesses, corporations, and churches and synagogues.

St. Louis Park is also proud of the numerous trails and parks in the community. The many trails connect us to downtown Minneapolis, the Uptown area, Hopkins and Chaska. There are 52 parks throughout the city to enjoy (11.5 percent of St. Louis Park’s land is set aside for parks). These parks provide recreation, community space and beauty to all St. Louis Park residents in any season.

Residents of St. Louis Park enjoy a multitude of different social and recreational activities to participate in, along with diverse religious, economic and education systems. The options are endless in St. Louis Park. Likewise, the City of St. Louis Park is a place to live for a lifetime.

Schools The city of Saint Louis Park is covered by Saint Louis Park Public School District # 283. District # 283 is a nationally recognized suburban public school district serving approximately 4,590 students. The District includes four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The District

also features a strong community education program for learners from birth to senior citizens at Central Community Center and Lenox Community Center.

History

In 1890, lumber baron Thomas Barlow Walker and a group of wealthy Minneapolis industrialists incorporated the Minneapolis Land and Investment Company to focus industrial development in Minneapolis. Walker’s company also began developing St. Louis Park for industrial, commercial and residential use.

August of 1886, 31 people signed a petition asking county commissioners to incorporate the Village of St. Louis Park. The petition was officially registered on Nov. 19, 1886. By incorporating, these citizens hoped to turn this small community into a boom town.

Around 1890, the village had more than 600 industrial jobs, the majority associated with agriculture implement manufacturing.

By 1893, downtown St. Louis Park had three hotels and many newly arrived companies surrounded the downtown. The St. Louis Park Tennis Club financial panic of 1893 altered the developer’s plans and put a damper on the village’s growth. Walker left St. Louis Park to pursue other business ventures.

In 1899, St. Louis Park became the home to the world’s first concrete, tubular grain elevator and provided an alternative to combustible wooden elevators. Despite the nickname of “Peavey’s Folly” and dire predictions that the elevator would burst like a balloon when the grain was drawn off, the experiment worked and concrete elevators have been used ever since. You can still see this former grain elevator (which is now on the Historic Landmark Register). It’s the tall chimney-like Nordic Ware tower near Highway 7 and 100.

In 1954, voters approved a home rule charter that gave St. Louis Park the status of a city. That action enabled St. Louis Park to hire a city manager to assume some of the duties handled by the part-time city council.

In those days, the primary concerns were the physical planning of St. Louis Park, updating zoning and construction codes, expanding sewer and water systems, paving streets, acquiring park land and building schools.

Today, most of St. Louis Park is developed, and much of the focus has shifted from building infrastructure to improving it. St. Louis Park actively encourages quality redevelopment and is a recognized leader in redevelopment aimed at creating livable communities, areas that are less reliant on cars and offer a mix of housing, shopping, entertainment and jobs within a short distance of one another.

Recreation

There’s always something fun to do in St. Louis Park. Explore the parks and trails, Westwood Hills Nature Center, two Dog Park’s, the Aquatic Park, the Oak Hill Park Splash Pad, recreational programs, outdoor concerts, Ice Skating and Hockey, and Health in the Park just to name a few.

Health in the Park is a grassroots initiative established in 2013. Working towards creating connections, engage in conversation and take action to inspire healthier, more active individuals. Health starts where we live, work, learn and play. Creating opportunities to be healthy are all around us.

St. Louis Park already has many policies, systems and environments that support health. Recognizing what we already have and building on those foundations strengthens our community and builds a healthier future for all.

Real Estate St. Louis Park, MN