Longfellow (Minneapolis, Bloomington, Corcoran: appointed, rental, crime)

[kcitti]

I'm looking at a property in the northern part of the longfellow neighborhood. My goal has been to get in Seward or close. I was just looking for some opionions on the neighborhood as far as the types of people who live there, notable crime issues and quality of life issues.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

This site will give you a good general briefing of the area:

Seward - Minneapolis Neighborhood Profile

It is a mainly residential neighborhood with some industrial along Snelling and Minnehaha and commercial on Lake St. Although we live very close we hardly ever go over there, probably due to the fact that there isn't alot of draws to the area besides the river trail/park and a few businesses like Cub, Rainbow, Target, etc. I find the main draw to the area to be the proximity to downtown and the U of M, a quiet, safe and affordable area with a decent housing stock. Also, the Midtown Greenway runs through the neighborhood so if you buy there dust off your bike and take advantage of what I consider to be the best bike trail in the Twin Cities. I would've considered buying there but Powderhorn better fit my price range (a little less expensive) and is a little closer to some amenities I wanted to take advantage of.

I'd guess the current population there is around 55-60% White, 15-20% Black, 10-15% Hispanic and the rest being equally distributed between Asians and Native Americans.

To my experience it is fairly quiet in those parts from a crime standpoint. I rarely read about a high profile crime happening in that area. The most you'll probably hear about or experience is a periodic house and car break-in and possibly a random case of vandalism/graffiti. Crime shouldn't be an issue there, though, by any means.

[kcitti]

What amenities does powderhorn offer than aren't as readily available in this area. I did not check that area out in my visit.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by kcitti

What amenities does powderhorn offer than aren't as readily available in this area. I did not check that area out in my visit.

The Powderhorn neighborhoods Corcoran and Standish are on the light rail side of Hiawatha. Some people don't seem to find this advantageous but I do, I like walking to the light rail station without having to cross a busy road. The commercial corridor between 35W and Hiawatha are chock full of restaurants and other businesses. Two great places to eat/shop in the area are the Midtown Global Market on Elliot and E Lake and Mercado Central on Bloomington and E Lake. There is a huge new YWCA, a farmer's market, a big park (Powderhorn Park) and it's a little closer to Uptown than the Longfellow neighborhoods. In general I find Powderhorn to be a little bit more walkable as well. We commonly walk to the corner supermarket, barbershop, convenience store, movie rental store and to local restuarants, bars and cofee shops. I'm not saying this isn't possible in Longfellow but from what I've seen it doesn't have nearly as many options within short walking distance.

On the north side of Lake between 35W and Hiawatha is Phillips which is even more affordable than Powderhorn. We walk through there often and in my opinion it is one of the more fascinating parts of the city simply due to the huge variation you'll find in the homes and yards. In some ways I wouldn't mind buying up a cheap house there and living there. In other ways I think it would be kind of frustrating. I haven't seen a single block in Phillips where there are less than 3 houses that are or should be slated for demo. It's too bad too because there are some really great looking properties and alot of cool architecture there in general.

[kcitti]

Having already tried out a transitional neighborhood in my current location, I think I am going to avoid Phillips....although I did visit and don't find it alarmingly dangerous or anything- just a place i'd rather visit than live. Do you find that the run-down areas bleed into Powderhorn?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by kcitti

Having already tried out a transitional neighborhood in my current location, I think I am going to avoid Phillips....although I did visit and don't find it alarmingly dangerous or anything- just a place i'd rather visit than live. Do you find that the run-down areas bleed into Powderhorn?

Not really, but the first block or two off of Lake St are a little on the crappier side in general as far as the housing stock quality goes. I find that the housing stock steadily improves the further south you go. I'm on the 3200 block and overall my block is in pretty good shape. By the time you get to the 3500 block the housing stock is very solid and continues to improve the further south you go. I don't know how this is comparing to other parts of town but I've noticed a ton of rehabilitation projects going on in the neighborhood too so it seems like alot of investment has been happening here which is really promising. I bought the property last year thinking it was an improving area and so far I haven't been disappointed with the neighborhood's progress. When I moved in there were 5 vacant properties within a block of me (6 if you include the house I bought) and now every one of those properties is occupied and several have undertaken major remodeling/rehabilitation projects since then (myself included). It makes me feel better about the purchase when I see everybody around me investing significant time and money into their property as I am.

[kcitti]

I'd like to stay as far north (closer to the city) as possible. To that end, what sections of Powderhorn should I check out? I'd like to be able to access the LRT. So, Corcoran and Standish? How long of a LRT ride is it into downtown?

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Very short, from Lake St/Midtown to the last stop in front of Sneaky Pete's it's probably about 15 minutes.