Empty Nesters

Excelsior -12.7%
Founded in 1853 by New Yorkers (making it older than Minneapolis), this south Lake Minnetonka town still basks in charm, thanks to a well-preserved downtown district, now home to funky and fashionable shops (see LifeStyle, page 88) and eateries. Add to that the 1996 restoration of the steamboat Minnehaha, which docks in Excelsior for summertime cruises, and it’s obvious why this small town (pop: 2,397) with a small-town feeling enjoys an enviable amount of recreational and buyer action. (Pros regard last year’s 12.7 percent decline as an aberration.) The amenities feed into a “micro-urban phenomenon,” says Woody Love, president of the Excelsior Chamber of Commerce and an agent with Coldwell Banker Burnet. “People are attracted to Excelsior for the same reasons they are to neighborhoods in larger urban settings,” he says. “You can walk to the lake or downtown for sushi and a movie. It’s just on a smaller, and some would say more delightful, scale.” Empty nesters with time for midweek cruises—when summer lake traffic is a tenth of that on weekends—find Excelsior very appealing.

What Empty Nesters Crave: Walking distance to stores and restaurants. Less space to clean. Universal design features (easy-to-use kitchens and baths, single-level living). Low or no maintenance. Hobby rooms and space for collections.

Minneapolis–Downtown +2.3%
No surprise, Downtown Minneapolis’s key neighborhoods appeal to empty nesters who want to be in the middle of it all. Some neighborhoods, such as the North Loop and the Mill District, are newly emerging. Others, such as Elliot Park and Loring Park, are older (at least residentially) but continue to evolve. No matter the exact spot, access to the enormous variety of cultural and business activity is easy, whether it’s a simple stroll along the Mississippi or to one of two strong farmers’ markets (Nicollet Mall Market and Mill City Farmers’ Market) or catching events at venues big (Target Center, Orchestra Hall, Guthrie) and small (Open Book, Jeune Lune, MacPhail). Restaurants and most shopping needs (the new Lunds in Northeast Minneapolis may soon be joined by an additional large grocer or two) are met here, and the airport is an easy, inexpensive ride away on the Hiawatha Line light rail. “When I moved to Downtown six years ago, my neighborhood, the North Loop, really didn’t exist,” says Edina Realty agent Fritz Kroll, who specializes in Downtown housing. “To see it come together has been amazing.” With $4 gasoline convincing potential buyers to forego their dream of half an acre of sod for a skyscape view, Downtown’s inventory of condo proper-ties—in all price ranges—is not expected to last long.

St. Paul– Crocus Hill -2.4%
If there is an idealized inner-city neighborhood, this is—still—it. Grand and gracious old homes, most very well maintained, blend with a steadily improving stock of restored condos and apartments. This is the apogee of historic St. Paul. Although the MLS simplifies the entire area to the designation “Crocus Hill” and hills named Cathedral, Summit (another name for Crocus), and Ramsey may seem a little insidery, the area is remarkably friendly and architecturally superb. “Here you have the Ramsey Hill Historic District, where you can belong to a social group that is part of the neighborhood and have a built-in social network immediately,” says longtime St. Paul real estate agent Laura O’Hara. “It’s a pretty unique feature, and even for people from out of town, it’s a draw.” Though the area is probably not the first choice for middle-class buyers, its charm and access to Grand Avenue’s restaurants and shops and Downtown St. Paul make for as rock solid a housing investment as you can find in the Twin Cities metro.