NE Minneapolis? (Columbia Heights, St. Anthony, Waite Park: homes, neighborhoods, theater)

[Justabitoff]

What can you tell me about NE Minneapolis? It looks like there are a few homes that are in our budget and that look nice, but I'm not sure about the area. Some of the homes are in Holland, near a train yard it looks like. Is it nice there? Or is it loud? Are there particular parts of NE Minneapolis that are nicer than others? I've seen St. Anthony mentioned... anything else to look at?

[katmu]

Originally Posted by Justabitoff

What can you tell me about NE Minneapolis? It looks like there are a few homes that are in our budget and that look nice, but I'm not sure about the area. Some of the homes are in Holland, near a train yard it looks like. Is it nice there? Or is it loud? Are there particular parts of NE Minneapolis that are nicer than others? I've seen St. Anthony mentioned... anything else to look at?

The nicest parts of NE are going to be east of Central Avenue and from just north of the Quarry shopping center (around 18th Ave NE) up to 37th Ave NE. St Anthony Village starts east of Stinson Boulevard and just south of St. Anthony Parkway, north to Silver Lane and east to about Old Highway 88.

Holland, is definitely near Shoreham yards (the train yard), and it's not really a bad neighborhood but I'm not sure it would be my 1st choice though either. There has been some talk about redevelopment projects on part of the Shoreham yards site but nothing definite at this point. And there definitely are freight trains that pass through that area fairly frequently.

[xandrex]

Northeast Minneapolis is a huge area and so it's hard to give a concrete description for you. Unlike many other areas of the city, we don't typically break this area down by neighborhood (we simply call the entire area "Northeast" or "Nordeast").

The neighborhoods span from urban and gentrifying (the Old St. Anthony/Hennepin-Central area), blue collar areas, artsy enclaves, and immigrant neighborhoods.

But in general it's a safe and quiet area. It's definitely the quietest of the police precincts. As for train noise, the trains aren't typically going fast, but freight trains can be heard in certain areas of town (I don't have knowledge of NE Mpls specifically, but I did live near a line in adjacent SE Mpls and heard train noise in the background at night).

What exactly is it that you're looking for in a home? How close do you want to be to things? Is access to transit a priority?

Hopefully with a bit more information we can help!

[Mplsite]

If you're too far east of Central and north it gets really quiet and amenities much fewer. Waite Park has a coffee shop: that's it. I lived in Holland and it was mostly fine, but I'd keep a buffer from the deuce deuce (a divey strip club) on University and 22nd: some ne'er do wells somehow end up in that area causing trouble. The part of Holland immediately NW of Central and Lowry is a little iffy in parts too.

[missashe]

I think it depends on how close you want to be to something. I'm up in Waite Park and while I'd love for there to be more things in my neighborhood, I can walk to both the shops and restaurants at 29th and Johnson as well as the Heights Theater and DQ up in Columbia Heights. Do I want to see more in my immediate neighborhood? Yes. And I hope to support what's here and encourage more businesses to open. But it's not like neighborhood boundaries are impassable and I've been pleased with how easy it is to get around to all the different parts of Northeast, as well as the rest of the city.

There are other neighborhoods that have more to do in the immediate area, but some of those areas are also more isolated from the rest of the twin cities.

I would keep NE on your list, but the other neighborhoods listed in the other thread would be good options too. For what it's worth, although parts of northeast are quite residential, it's hard to match the combination of good affordable housing stock, safety, access to the entire city as well as some great local businesses. You won't get everything on your wish list, so it will be about finding the balance that works for your family.