Author Archives: John Murphy

Spring Meadows – New Development in Northwest Plymouth Selling Well Ahead of Schedule


Posted by John Murphy
Spring Meadows Monument Plymouth Minnesota

Spring Meadows Monument

To say the Spring Meadows development, located in the Wayzata School District in northwest Plymouth, is doing well is to downplay just exactly how well they are doing out there.  The neighborhood is being built out substantially faster than the developers expected.  The demand for custom homes priced between $600,000 – $800,000 caught even the optimists off guard.

Feel free to check it out for yourself.  Take a drive to northwest Plymouth.  From downtown Plymouth at Highway 55 and Vicksburg, head north on Vicksburg about a mile and a half and you’ll see all the Spring Meadows new homes on the west side of Vicksburg.

In talking with the builders and the agents, the demand for new construction in the Wayzata School District does not appear to be slowing at all.

Other neighborhoods are also doing well including Taylor Creek and Woodcrest – both in the Wayzata School District.  Hampton Hills is doing well although probably not at the same pace as Spring Meadows in part as it’s located in the Osseo School District.  Osseo schools are good, but just not seeing the same demand as we are for Wayzata.

 

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Best Parade of Homes Since the Housing Bubble Burst


Posted by John Murphy

The Parade of Homes is officially over this year for the Spring Preview in the Twin Cities and judging by my conversations with many, many builders agents, this was a bang up Spring Preview.  It was no doubt the best Spring Preview since the housing bubble burst several years ago and it will be interesting to see if the momentum continues through the rest of the spring and in to the fall Parade of Homes.

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Case-Shiller Index: Minneapolis Home Prices Decline by 1.8% Year over Year – Signs of Improvement


Posted by John Murphy

The Case-Shiller Home Price Index was just published today and it showed that the Minneapolis Area saw home prices decline by 1.8% year over year.  The data was reported through January 2012.  That’s actually a significant improvement from where we have been.

For more on the most recent Case-Shiller Index, please see my post that I just published over at my other blog at John Murphy Reports.

Case-Shiller Jan 2012 Data Table Year Over Year Home Prices

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UPDATE: Xcel Energy Hollydale Project – New High Voltage Power Lines Planned for Plymouth and Medina


Posted by John Murphy

Xcel Energy and Great River Energy have been working on the Hollydale project for some time.  It continues to surprise me how few people know about the proposed 8 mile long upgrade for transmission lines running through parts of Medina and Plymouth Minnesota.  I had published information back on September 7, 2011 entitled, “Buying or Selling a Home in Plymouth or Medina – MUST READ Information about Xcel Energy Transmission Lines.” The project has started to receive some coverage and certainly those homeowners who are immediately affected by the project have been notified by Xcel and Great River, but many people still are in the dark. (Click to view the most recent notification to property owners mailed on December 8, 2011 - New Landowner Notification Dec 8 2011.

UPDATE: Today I had the opportunity to speak with one of the project analysts, Joe Sedarski of Xcel Energy, as I wanted to find out if a final route had been chosen yet.  It was my understanding that there was a proposed route and then an alternative route.  I was immediately corrected and told there are 13 alternate routes and two alternates for the substations thus making there 26 possible alternate routes.

Joe Sedarski informed me that the decision for the particular route will not be made until later this year.  That issue will eventually make it to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) later this year.  There are 26 alternate routes being considered and evaluated in addition to the initial route proposed by Xcel and Great River.  The Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) is conducting an environmental impact statement on this issue and they expect a draft issued by mid-April 2012.  He also noted that there is a ways to go in the permitting process before final decisions can be made on the route.

I have to say how impressed I was with Joe’s professionalism, understanding of the process and issues and his overall attitude about the project.  I came away feeling very confident that whatever happens in this decision, that all parties will have had a chance to be heard and that the energy companies and the government are very thorough in their efforts on this Hollydale Project.  I really can’t speak more highly of what my impressions were.

Below is the link to the pdf that Joe sent me.  It’s a 25 page document that was sent to the Department of Commerce on December 7, 2011.  If there is one document you should read, this is it.  Toward the back of the document you will find pages of color maps with all the various routes that have been proposed.  There are also links embedded in the document as well that might be helpful.

Xcel Energy Hollydale Project Environmental Assessment

How can you stay involved?

Information will be available at the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission site as well as at the Minnesota Department of Commerce edockets site.  (Be sure to enter the docket number year “11″ and the number “152″.  You may want to get on the mailing list to receive email communications from the PUC when there is any new public information about the Hollydale project.  I just signed up myself.

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Wayzata School Board Evaluates School Expansion Plans as Student Enrollment Grows


Posted by John Murphy

Wayzata Public Schools LogoThe Wayzata School District continues to expand in terms of the numbers of students within the district.  While the growth is not spectacular the district is still growing at a rate of more than 1% per year in terms of student enrollment.  That’s significant given the district is not brand new and many of the other districts in the Twin Cities are losing students.

The Wayzata School Board has a working session at the next board meeting scheduled for 4pm on March 26th at the district’s offices where they will be working through issues for elementary school or classroom expansion.  The district is considering adding on to schools like Oakwood Elementary or Greenwood Elementary as well as the possibility of building a new school on the land the Wayzata School District owns a 20 acre parcel on the north side of County Road 47 between Vicksburg Lane and Dunkirk Lane in northwest Plymouth.  If you’re family with the area, it’s just to the west of the D.R. Horton Steeple Hill development.  This is an important meeting as they will be considering all their options.  Of course any decision will likely mean they will have to modify the boundary lines for some of these elementary schools again.  That’s an issue most parents don’t take lightly and neither do the district’s leaders.  The fact of the matter is with all the growth in new construction bringing in new families the Wayzata School District needs to figure out how to smartly accommodate this growth.  The board will meet for a final vote on the matter on April 9, 2012 at the general school board meeting held at 7pm at the City of Wayzata offices.  It will also be broadcast.

Wayzata Schools Student Enrollment 2007-2011

Wayzata Schools Student Enrollment 2007-2011

As I was scanning the Executive Summary and Audit Report for the Wayzata School District, I came across this chart which does a great job of visualizing the growth that has occurred in the district from 2007 to 2011.  The chart and table below it break out the student population by pre-k, regular kindergarten, elementary, and secondary.  With the continued expansion of Plymouth, Maple Grove and Medina where those cities feed in to the Wayzata School District, I would expect we’ll see some continued growth particularly in the younger grades for the next 5-10 years as new construction gains steam.  For those in to analysis, this Executive Summary and Audit Report for the Wayzata School District produced by Larson Allen, LLC does a great job of highlighting the key area in the operations of the district.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Chart:  Larson Allen, LLC

 

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City of Plymouth, MN Planning Commission Meeting: Wednesday March 21, 2012


Posted by John Murphy

It looks like a relatively light agenda for this evening’s City of Plymouth Planning Commission meeting which will be held at 7pm at the city offices located at 3400 Plymouth Blvd.  Attached is the planning commission agenda for March 21, 2012.  It also has the notes from the February 15, 2012 meeting where the commission discussed the GWS Land Development proposal for the new Terra Vista neighborhood to be located at County Road 47 and Dunkirk Lane in northwest Plymouth.

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Wayzata High School Students Propose Plans for School Expansion


Posted by John Murphy

Wayzata High School is getting crowded.  It’s not a surprise given all the building that continues in northwest Plymouth and Maple Grove.  Wayzata High School students developed concepts for a school expansion and pitched one of the concepts to the Wayzata School Board recently.  According to the Star Tribune story, the board was quite impressed with the various plans submitted by the students.

In the Star Tribune article, Sue Droegemueller, Vice Chairwoman of the Wayzata School Board is quoted as saying, “I was so impressed. This level of work … it was something I would expect from undergraduate architecture students — certainly not at a high school level.”

Wayzata High teacher, Bill Waite, has a civil engineering class where they come up with real life projects for the students to work on.  It sounds like a great class that allows the students to go beyond getting book smarts.  From the Star Tribune story:

The class has been offered at Wayzata High School since 2008, and each year students tackle a final project that incorporates the various lessons of the year. Waite said the goal is to always make those projects as practical as possible. For example, in the past students have been asked to think about improving the school’s athletic facilities or classroom space — never a mall or a new Vikings stadium.

This year, the students focused on an addition to the high school, relying on their own daily experiences with swelling class sizes spurred by growth in the Plymouth area. The high school is currently 35 students over its capacity, according to a consultant’s report; 3,084 students attended the high school during the 2003-04 school year; next year, 3,185 students are projected.

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The Best Mud Room in the Parade of Homes – NIH Homes in Spring Meadows – Plymouth


Posted by John Murphy

Recently I stopped in to see the grand opening of NIH Homes’ newest model in Spring Meadows located in northwest Plymouth.  I had the opportunity to briefly meet and talk with the builder, Jeremy Skogquist.  It’s a gorgeous home at 16040 54th Avenue, Plymouth, MN and is priced at $699,900.  It has 5 bedrooms, 5 baths, a 3 car garage and 4,924 finished square feet.  The home is located in the Wayzata School District and is listed by Jeremy Skogquist of Keller Williams Integrity Northwest.  (Jeremy has given me permission to publish these photos).

All of this brings me to why I am writing this post…it’s a gorgeous, large home with many excellent details and finishings, but the one thing that immediately stood out, besides the stunning kitchen pictured below, is the massive and incredible mud room!  I know family life well and I can tell you that builders almost can’t build a mud room large enough for families.  That said, I think Jeremy and the team at NIH Homes may have achieved it!  This room is very large and could even accommodate a large family of six kids all coming in through the garage door at one time like my family does all the time!  (I don’t have the dimensions on the room but it felt like it might be about 10′ x 15′).  The tile looks great and the lockers are sure to be enjoyed by whomever ends up buying the home.

The home is gorgeous and I highly encourage you to take a look at it to see what NIH Homes has done with it.  The one thing I came away with on this particular plan is they have really thought hard about how families use space in their homes and they’ve done a great job of building a plan that works beautifully.

If you would like some help and consultation on new construction, please check out our new construction buyers representation services.  Also, you may wish to request your free copy of the Plymouth New Construction Report or the Maple Grove New Construction Report.  The Medina report will be produced in the next couple of weeks.

Click on any image below to enlarge.

 

 

 

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Hampton Hills Beauty by Homes by Tradition – Arlington Model’s Fabulous Lighting!


Posted by John Murphy

 

Homes by Tradition Hampton Hills Arlington Plan Parade of Homes #141

Homes by Tradition Hampton Hills Arlington Plan Parade of Homes #141

Homes by Tradition builds some beautiful homes and they certainly have done it again with the Arlington model which is being shown in the Parade of Homes Spring Preview #141 in the Hampton Hills neighborhood located in northwest Plymouth Minnesota.

It’s my understanding that his home is currently sold but you could choose to have this home built by Homes by Tradition on a different lot in Hampton Hills or Spring Meadows where they also have some lots available.

There were a couple of things that really struck me as I viewed the home.  There is a combination of old world charm combined with a light, bright open feeling.  The curvature in the entries is very different than what one finds in most new homes today.  That probably gives it the old world charm effect.  The floor plan is open and I’m sure the paint colors along with the many windows allow for lots of natural sunlight.  The home is good sized but not overly huge.  The main floor master suite is a big draw I’ve been told and can see why.

Homes by Tradition Hampton Hills Arlington Plan - 01

Homes by Tradition - Gorgeous Lighting in Informal Dining

What I wanted to call attention to was the striking nature of the lighting in this home.  It’s absolutely stunning.  Below are pictures so you can see them, but they really don’t do justice to the elegant, modern feel that they provide.  They really are an outstanding complement to the rest of the design of the home and they go way beyond much of the standard lighting seen in so many of the new homes today. The lighting was done by Southern Lights located in Burnsville Minnesota.

Homes by Tradition Hampton Hills Arlington Plan

Gorgeous kitchen lighting over Center Island - Homes by Tradition

Homes by Tradition and their lighting designer are to be commended for the choices they made.  I suspect the lighting may have pushed the budget a bit but what a difference it can make in a home.  A few thousand dollars in lighting can make a good home a spectacular home as long as the style works well with the rest of the home.

The rest of the home is just as beautiful and it’s no wonder the home sold during the first two weeks of the Parade of Homes.  Learn more about Homes by Tradition or certainly stop out and see their new homes on display during the Parade of Homes in Hampton Hills which runs through April 1, 2012.

Enjoy the gallery below of photos from the Arlington model in Hampton Hills.  The photos are courtesy of Homes by Tradition and are being published with their full approval.  To see even more of the pictures of this home or to view other beautiful homes that they have built, check out the Homes by Tradition Facebook Page.

If you would like some help and consultation on new construction, please check out our new construction buyers representation services.  Also, you may wish to request your free copy of the Plymouth New Construction Report or the Maple Grove New Construction Report.  The Medina report will be produced in the next couple of weeks.

Click on any image below to enlarge.

 

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Taylor Creek Draws Huge Crowds During Parade of Homes in northwest Plymouth


Posted by John Murphy

The Taylor Creek neighborhood in northwest Plymouth is drawing huge crowds during the Spring Preview for the Parade of Homes.  The Parade of Homes is free to the public and is sponsored by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. It was so crowded this weekend that it was very difficult to maneuver through the neighborhood to avoid crashing in to other cars or running over pedestrians.

Taylor Creek is an upper bracket neighborhood in the Wayzata School District.  There are five custom homes on the Parade this spring with prices ranging from approximately $775,000 – $1.1 million.  The builders include Gonyea Homes #129, NIH Homes #134, Creekhill Custom Homes #131, Donnay Homes #132, Swanson Homes #130, and Hanson Builders #133 and #295.

Be sure you request a FREE copy of the Plymouth New Construction Report or the Maple Grove New Construction Report.  Medina will be coming shortly.

Below are pictures from Saturday and Sunday so you can get a sense of the crowds.  Click on any image to enlarge.

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