Best for Fixer Uppers: Old Highland, Minneapolis, Minnesota • An

Best for Fixer Uppers: Old Highland, Minneapolis, Minnesota
April 2012, This Old House Magazine
• An active neighborhood association makes newcomers feel welcome
• Fixer-uppers cost under $50,000
• Just a 15-minute walk from the city's trendy Warehouse District
Photo: Courtesy of Tracy Loso
The Neighborhood
Encompassing 30 blocks of hardscrabble North Minneapolis, this Victorian-era enclave is the kind
of place where people fall in love first with a house, then with the neighborhood. "This area has
always been stigmatized as a rough part of town, so it wasn't on my radar," says resident Amy
Narum, who moved into her partner Mary's 1904 duplex a few years ago. "But I quickly realized
that people here are really friendly and really close." The area, named for its location high above
the city's Bassett Creek and Oak Lake, was largely developed during the 1880s, when architects
designed residences for well-to-do merchants operating businesses along its main thoroughfares
of Washington, Plymouth, and West Broadway. Middle-class migration to newer suburbs, combined
with absentee landlords, put the neighborhood on the decline by the 1970s. But residents fought
back, forming a neighborhood association that's the basis of the tight-knit community.
Photo: Courtesy of Tracy Loso
The Houses
Most are 2,500- to 3,000-square-foot Queen Annes, Prairie-styles, and Craftsmans constructed
from the late 1800s to early 1900s. While prices for restored houses were reaching the $300,000
range during the housing boom, you can now get one for as little as $150,000, while fixer-uppers
can be had for as little as $40,000.
Photo: Courtesy of Tracy Loso
Why Buy Here?
Absentee landlords who'd scooped up properties in Old Highland during the real-estate boom are
largely out of the picture, resulting in housing stock that's well-priced, lived in by locals, and much
better maintained than it was before. Because of the low prices, many homeowners here are
purchasing properties on their own blocks and restoring them for use as rentals.
Shown: Fred and Tracy Loso have lived in Old Highland since 1986.