Future of coon rapids with commuter rail in late 2009... (St. Paul: real estate, apartments)

[sunsoul]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie here n this is my very first post. I live in coon rapids very close to Riverdale park n ride (within a mile). If you guys know northstar commuter rail is going to start hopefully in late 2009 which will be on this route..I mean will stop at riverdale. I love this area bcoz I'm close to riverdale mall..which if anybody has visited here would vouch for...also I'm close to mercy hospital n have a nice park just 1 block from my house. But I work in st. paul downtown n due to long commute now planning to move to little canada which is closer to st. paul.

My first question is how good is little canada for a family with school going kids and second question is that, I've been hearing, once the commuter rail starts the price of coon rapids area will go up....is that true? Wht does everybody think? I know that housing market has hit its lowest but still ...will the commuter rail thing will help this area or it will bring more crime here? just curious...Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Sunsoul

[Minnehahapolitan]

I don't know much about Little Canada. As for the Northstar Line, it will boost real estate prices for those homes within about a .5-1 mile distance of a station. The market is bad, but you can almost always sell; just not for what it would have demanded two years ago.
Crime will not come to Coon Rapids on a rail line. You would need a series of cheap, dense rentals which are secluded from the richer areas of the city; a la Brooklyn Park. Coon Rapids is pretty far out of town. I would not worry; new transportation generally gentrifies an area.
Rail will not adversely affect the price of your home, it is a question of if it will help it enough as to offset the decline of the market.

[golfgal]

Little Canada isn't much of a town. It is mostly a spot on the highway with some rentals and industry. If you want to be closer to St. Paul and in a more family centered area check into Eagan, West St. Paul, Mendota Heights area. The schools are excellent, 10-15 minute drive into downtown, nice established areas. If you don't mind driving a little further, 20 minutes, try Apple Valley and Rosemount.

[kg1701d]

Business, condos, apartments and homes are going to boom when the rail is put in. Its already happened long the light rail from MOA to MPLS downtown. If you can tolerate the commute for a bit longer, I'd bet anyone you'll get thousands and thousands more for any property that you have near the rail line.

[newcastle]

The rail line is supposed to run from Duluth down to St. Paul and stop in Anoka/Coon Rapids. Every county along the rail line (except Carlton) has particpated in the study. The study expects the train to travel at 115 MPH and run 8 trains a day between Duluth and St. Paul.

The study suggests that the impact on Duluth alone will bring $100 million in new development. I can bet that the impact in Coon Rapids will be big too.

[sunsoul]

thanks everybody for your replies...I think I'll wait out to see how this area changes. Northstar is going to start in late 2009 for sure and I think I can wait till then... BTW I thought that little canada is very nice area...didn't know much about it. thanks.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by newcastle

The rail line is supposed to run from Duluth down to St. Paul and stop in Anoka/Coon Rapids. Every county along the rail line (except Carlton) has particpated in the study. The study expects the train to travel at 115 MPH and run 8 trains a day between Duluth and St. Paul.

The study suggests that the impact on Duluth alone will bring $100 million in new development. I can bet that the impact in Coon Rapids will be big too.

These are two seperate lines. One line will go to Duluth; Oberstar is championing it in Congress. It would probably fall under Amtrack jurisdiction as the line did before it was closed in the 1980s. The original post was in reference to the Northstar Commuter Rail Line; which as proposed will connect Downtown Mpls. to Big Lake via Anoka County. This would be a Metro Transit line and falls under the 2030 transportation plan.

[sunsoul]

Originally Posted by Minnehahapolitan

These are two seperate lines. One line will go to Duluth; Oberstar is championing it in Congress. It would probably fall under Amtrack jurisdiction as the line did before it was closed in the 1980s. The original post was in reference to the Northstar Commuter Rail Line; which as proposed will connect Downtown Mpls. to Big Lake via Anoka County. This would be a Metro Transit line and falls under the 2030 transportation plan.

Yes, Minehahapolitan is correct..check this route map
http://www.mn-getonboard.org/map.html]Route (broken link) Map : Northstar Commuter Rail

[newcastle]

Yep, you both are right. I think the Duluth route is considered the "Rush Line" because it was orignially supposed to go to Rush City only. Then it was proposed to go all the way to Duluth.