Shakopee up and coming? (Minneapolis, Bloomington: 2009, townhouses, safe area)

[iheartlkvl]

Shakopee has a lot of new single family homes being built, but its downtown is very outdated and rundown. Are there any plans for Shakopee to get some updates (more restuarants, more retail shops, movie theaters) in the near future? We are debating a move into one of the new developments, but are hesitant because it seems the town itself doesn't have much going for it (especially when you factor in the fence-less prison).

[big daryle]

I was born in Shakopee, so obviously it is the greatest town ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iheartlkvl]

not really a helpful response, but thanks for piping in.

[Slig]

This is completely my own personal opinion, but Shakopee appalls me. It's the epitome of urban sprawl in the Twin Cities. It's flat farmland converted to a sea of cheaply built townhouses and uninspiring single family homes. It's completely car dependant and not conveniently close to the city. Not to mention it sports a gross lack of diversity that plagues nearly all the Twin Cities exurbs (over 90% white). You take away the casino, Canterbury Park and Valley Fair and Shakopee doesn't exist to me.

[iheartlkvl]

Originally Posted by Slig

This is completely my own personal opinion, but Shakopee appalls me. It's the epitome of urban sprawl in the Twin Cities. It's flat farmland converted to a sea of cheaply built townhouses and uninspiring single family homes. It's completely car dependant and not conveniently close to the city. Not to mention it sports a gross lack of diversity that plagues nearly all the Twin Cities exurbs (over 90% white). You take away the casino, Canterbury Park and Valley Fair and Shakopee doesn't exist to me.

I feel much the same way, but thought that perhaps I wasn't aware of some hidden splendor that Shakopee might have to offer. My husband works in Edina and we're trying to find something closer to there in the $250k range. We're in Lakeville, but the 35 commute during icy/snowy winters can be anywhere from 45 mins to an hour.

[Slig]

There are a few houses in your range in Hopkins and Edina and alot in your range in St. Louis Park, Richfield, Bloomington and Southwest Minneapolis. All of those areas would be closer to your husband's work and are far better areas in my opinion.

[iheartlkvl]

Originally Posted by Slig

There are a few houses in your range in Hopkins and Edina and alot in your range in St. Louis Park, Richfield, Bloomington and Southwest Minneapolis. All of those areas would be closer to your husband's work and are far better areas in my opinion.

are richfield/bloomington safe areas? i haven't really branched out into bloomington except the area immediately around MOA. our only requirements are safe neighborhoods and good schools. the schools don't have to be fabulous, but i would prefer they not have a bad reputation.

[Slig]

We have friends that live in both Bloomington and Richfield and they all seem to like it and none of them have brought up any safety concerns in either area, although I haven't actually lived in either of them so I couldn't speak from personal experience. For schools, my best advice would be to speak with parents and teachers involved at the schools in the area to get a feel if they look like a good fit for your children. I honestly don't think you can go wrong with most Twin Cities schools since overall they are very good when compared nationally. If you go by the 2009 state test proficiency scores Bloomington's schools are actually better than Shakopee's.

[Minnehahapolitan]

Originally Posted by iheartlkvl

I feel much the same way, but thought that perhaps I wasn't aware of some hidden splendor that Shakopee might have to offer. My husband works in Edina and we're trying to find something closer to there in the $250k range. We're in Lakeville, but the 35 commute during icy/snowy winters can be anywhere from 45 mins to an hour.

169 will be worse, especially until they take the stoplights out at 494. Why go all the way out to Shakopee when you can get the same townhome or bungalow in Hopkins? You would have an 8 minute commute, the schools are significantly better and the town is much nicer.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Slig

This is completely my own personal opinion, but Shakopee appalls me. It's the epitome of urban sprawl in the Twin Cities. It's flat farmland converted to a sea of cheaply built townhouses and uninspiring single family homes. It's completely car dependant and not conveniently close to the city. Not to mention it sports a gross lack of diversity that plagues nearly all the Twin Cities exurbs (over 90% white). You take away the casino, Canterbury Park and Valley Fair and Shakopee doesn't exist to me.

Sure ... Shakopee used to be (and still is, really) a small town independent of the Twin Cities (it was incorporated as a town in 1857 according to City-Data), but the developers overran it, building all sorts of new housing, etc.

My wife used to live in the old town area of Shakopee, though, and there was very little need to go into the Twin Cities proper. She could find most of what she wanted in town, and if she wanted more she could drive a short distance to Eden Prairie Center, etc.

The "lack of diversity" is the normal population mix for smaller towns in south-central Minnesota. I'm not sure how you can fault Shakopee for not being an exception (for the midwest) in terms of population mix like the Twin Cities metro is...? It isn't that close to the Twin Cities, has a long history independent of the Twin Cities, and in reality is still a small town in many if not most respects. Remember that it had existed for over 100 years ... literally ... before things like Valley Fair were built in the immediate area.

What is the percentage of whites in the state as a whole? According to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, the breakdown is as follows:

* 88.0% White American
* 4.3% African American
* 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native
* 3.4% Asian American
* <0.1% Pacific Islander American
* 1.6% Other races
* 1.6% Multiracial American
* 3.8% Hispanic or Latino of any race

According to Wikipedia, Shakopee is:

91.61% White
1.33% African American
0.94% Native American,
2.41% Asian
0.04% Pacific Islander
2.14% from other races
1.54% from two or more races
4.40% Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.40% of the population.

Not very far from the demographics of the state in general.

Welcome to Minnesota.

Here are the Race graphs from City-Data for Shakopee and for a few other medium-sized cities in the same general area for comparison: