Category Archives: Wayzata Schools

Plymouth Minnesota New Construction Report for 2012 is Completed!


Posted by John Murphy

You don’t need a report from me to know that new construction is booming in Plymouth, MN.  In fact, the northwest Plymouth area was one of the first places to really turn the corner a couple of years ago as we bottomed out in the real estate market.  Growth in 2012 has only accelerated and given the continued massive investment firms such as Gonyea and Lennar are doing in the area, 2013 and 2014 should see similar activity.

In the full year report for 2012, you’ll find the following comparisons:

  • Wayzata vs. Osseo
  • Wayzata schools – finished basements vs. not finished
  • Osseo schools – finished basements vs. not finished
  • Wayzata vs. Osseo – comparison of finished basements
  • Wayzata vs. Osseo – comparison with no basement finishing
The first data table is found below and compares the homes built in the Wayzata School District vs. the Osseo School District in Plymouth, MN.  All homes were built in either 2011 or 2012 but they closed in 2012 (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2012). The source for this data was the NorthStarMLS system – 13 County Metro. Search was performed by me, John Murphy, Prudential Lovejoy Realty on February 10, 2012.
Plymouth – All
By School District
Wayzata Osseo
Number of Homes Sold 129 14
Average Sold Price $625,028 $545,046
Sold Price as % of Orig. List 99.16% 100.00%
Price per SF $140.64 $153.64
TFSF 4249 3642
Abv. Grd. 3276 3033
Blw. Grd. 972 609
FSZ 1556 1435
BR 4.91 4.5
BA 4.69 4.29
GAR 3.04 3
Lot 0.35 0.3
If you’d like to receive the brand new 2012 Plymouth New Construction Report, please fill out the form found on the page linked.
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Wayzata High School Looks to Expand Capacity


Posted by John Murphy

The Wayzata School District may be one of the most in demand school districts in the State of Minnesota. In the world of social networks, it sure seems like word is out that this is the place to be.  Of course with that has come the stress and strain of accommodating the substantial growth in housing which is bringing in more families and children.  The Wayzata School Board has been keeping a keen eye on capacity with the existing facilities and every 6-7 years, they have to redraw the district boundaries particularly for the elementary schools.

But the big issue on the table right now is the need to handle capacity at Wayzata High School.  This is a massive, state of the art facility for high school students and they are at capacity of 3200 students.  With the continued growth expected in the school district which includes in some way parts of Plymouth, Maple Grove, Medina and Corcoran, the Wayzata School Board and the district administrators have agreed it’s time to seriously look at expanding the facilities at Wayzata High School.

Hundreds of homes will be built over the next several years and people are moving their families out to the Wayzata School District because of the reputation for outstanding education.

The district is currently dealing with trying to acquire the land adjacent to the high school which is Elm Creek Golf Course.  I will report more on this in the future as this is a big topic for those looking to move in to Northwest Plymouth.


Gonyea Homes Wins Builder of the Year 2012 from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities – BATC


Posted by John Murphy
Gonyea Homes wins BATC Builder of the Year

Gonyea Homes wins BATC Builder of the Year

The Builders Association of the Twin Cities announced that the winner of its Builder of the Year goes to Gonyea Homes.  Congratulations to Tony Sonnen and the whole company.  It’s a well deserved honor.

The Star Tribune published a brief story today and some of the highlight mentioned were:

  • Sales increased 112% this year compared to last year
  • Sales have increased by 400% compared to 2009
  • Staff has doubled in size

Gonyea Homes has built many homes in Spring Meadows, Taylor Creek, Prominence Woods, Prominence Creek and has broken ground on the latest development in northwest Plymouth – Terra Vista.

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Toll Brothers Announces The Woods of Medina – New Luxury Homes on the Gorman Property


Posted by John Murphy

Toll Brothers LogoToll Brothers finally looks like it might be coming to the western suburbs in a big way.  They have purchased the Gorman property in Medina, MN.  It’s a highly sought after 80 acre parcel located between Wild Meadows North to the east and Foxberry Farms to the west.

The neighborhood is called The Woods of Medina and will be accessible from both Hackamore Lane to the north and County Road 116 to the west.  Toll Brothers is proposing to build 125 luxury homes on the site.  There is no pricing available at this time, but I would suspect we’ll see home prices in the $550,000 – $750,000 range.  These homes are in the Wayzata School District.

There is a public meeting that will be held on Thursday, October 4th from 5 – 6:30pm at the Hamel Community Building located at 3200 Mill Drive in Uptown Hamel.  Toll Brothers staff will be there to answer any questions.

Medina has seen two significant developments launch in the past year.  Lennar has been quickly building out its neighborhood in Uptown Hamel call The Enclave.  Mattamy Homes will soon be opening it’s new neighborhood located just to the south of Foxberry Farms called the Fields of Medina.  Each of these neighborhoods serves a slightly different segment of new home buyers.

Toll Brothers will certainly be competing with many of the local custom home builders who will soon be starting up again in the Terra Vista neighborhood in Plymouth.

If you’d like to stay informed on this project be sure to come back and check this blog as I’ll continue to report on the progress of the new development.

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Lennar’s The Enclave in Medina, MN – Home Sales Booming!


Posted by John Murphy

Lennar The Enclave Sept 2012Lennar has another very successful neighborhood on its hands with The Enclave tucked away in Uptown Hamel in Medina, MN.  Many people struggle trying to find this neighborhood because it’s off the beaten path, but  clearly plenty of home buyers are finding it since 23 homes have been sold already!  It’s a fabulous location in my opinion.  You have to go to Uptown Hamel first and then head south on Hunter Drive to the neighborhood.  Home prices seem to run generally in the $450,000 – $500,000 range.  The Enclave is located in the Wayzata School District.

Here’s a photo gallery from earlier today.

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Lennar’s Enclave Neighborhood Medina, MN – Steadily Expanding – 13 Homes Sold


Posted by John Murphy

I must confess that I’m really do love the location of Lennar’s newest neighborhood in the Minneapolis northwest suburbs.  The Enclave neighborhood located behind Uptown Hamel is a gorgeous, quiet setting and yet it’s not too far from civilization.  (Remember, there is a Target, Starbucks and Caribou within one mile of the development :) ).  This neighborhood is also located in the Wayzata School District.

As I was driving through this weekend, I thought I would stop and take some photos of the neighborhood as it is developing nicely.  The big sign promoting the neighborhood says they have no sold 13 homes!  I believe the neighborhood will eventually have slightly more than 100 homes when it is completed.  If you’d like more insight on the neighborhood and what Lennar is doing in Minnesota, be sure to check out my conversation with Bill Burgess, President of Lennar Minnesota.

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Terra Vista Breaks Ground – Plymouth’s Newest Neighborhood – Wayzata Schools


Posted by John Murphy

Ground broke recently for the newest neighborhood in northwest Plymouth called Terra Vista.  Below are some pictures that I took of the area earlier this week.  The neighborhood is being developed by the same people who developed Spring Meadows and Taylor Creek in Plymouth as well as Prominence Woods and Prominence Creek in Maple Grove.

Earlier in the year I published more detailed information about the development plans for Terra Vista.  This neighborhood is located in northwest Plymouth.  County Road 47 is to the north, Dunkirk is the boarder to the west and Vicksburg to the east.  It is located in the Wayzata School District.  They are planning to build some 128 custom homes over a couple of phases.  I have not seen an official list of builders yet, but I’ve been told the following builders will be involved: Gonyea Homes, McDonald Construction, NIH Homes, and Homes by Tradition.

If  you are thinking about buying a new construction home, we do offer New Construction Buyers Representation.  I’ve created a couple of new construction reports that will be updated later this year but if you’d like the data and reports from 2011, please complete the New Construction Reports forms.

 

 

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City of Plymouth Buys 5 Acre Parcel on Dunkirk Lane for New City Park


Posted by John Murphy

The City of Plymouth, MN just purchased a 5 acre parcel of land from Myron and LeeAnn Kuklok for $655,000.  The land will be used for more park space.  The 5 acre parcel is located on the east side of Dunkirk Lane in northwest Plymouth where there is lots of new development going on and based upon what I was able to find on the tax records, here’s the link to the subject property.

Dunkirk Lane is currently a gravel road with no city sewer and water, but it is expected to develop over the next couple of years.  Ground is just being broken right now on the newest Plymouth neighborhood called Terra Vista.  Spring Meadows 2nd addition runs along the east side of Dunkirk Lane about one mile south of County Road 47.  This area is all within the Wayzata School District.

Having a dedicated city park along Dunkirk Lane will make it even more appealing to develop other properties in the area.  Rumor has it that demand for the new Terra Vista neighborhood is very strong even though they just started breaking ground this past week.

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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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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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