Just 20 minutes from Minneapolis along MN Highway 7, the City of Excelsior reposes along the beautiful southern shores of Lake Minnetonka. With a population of only 2400 residents, it is a quaint and historical city with a vibrant, yet restful atmosphere. It is also home to one of the most most beautiful stretches of Lake Minnetonka shoreline.
Although it is rather small, the Excelsior real estate market contains some of the most unique and interesting property listings in the entire Twin Cities region. Victorian style homes, replete with old-world touches like leaded glass, narrow-plank oak floors, built-in buffets, turrets, and gingerbread millwork comprise a significant portion of the available market. Charming bungalows adorned with alcoved entryways and Japanette style porches co-exist with large lake Lake Minnetonka lake home estates that claim hundreds of feet of the most demanded lakeshore that Minnesota has to offer. You can find farm homes that were built in 1988 and remodeled in recent years to become wonderful single family homes, often with an art studio or office addition.. Tidy little rambler style Excelsior homes from the 1950’s line the streets, and contain mint-condition hardwood floors, built-ins, blonded woodwork, and other relics of that era. Almost all of them have wonderful gardens. In the heart of walk-about Excelsior, you will find homes that were built in the 1900’s that make great restoration projects, but the value of the land would also make them logical candidates for tear-down and rebuild. Either way, you could hardly go wrong. Many of these Excelsior homes have already been meticulously restored and updated with everything from stainless steel appliances to Pella windows. A stroll down along Excelsior streets lined with Arts and Crafts cottages is a walk back in time.
A Proud History
Ancient Indian Tribes settled here long before George Bertram traveled to the area in 1852 looking for land to buy and develop. In 1853 Bertram began to build homes and business sites in Excelsior. Due to its location along the lake, scenic beauty, rich soil and abundance of hunting and fishing the town grew and was incorporated in 1877. It became a tourist attraction for local and international travelers drawn to the luxury hotels and excursion steamboats that crossed the lake. With access from Minneapolis by streetcar, Excelsior grew by leaps and bounds, along with the demand for summer homes and cabins.
The Excelsior Amusement Park was erected in 1925 and was a very popular entertainment spot for almost 50 years. The ballroom attracted famous musical entertainers like Tommy Dorsey, Lawrence Welk to the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones. In 1940 the Old Log Theater opened and is still attracting theater goers today.
Excelsior is proud of its history and retains its roots to this day. The steamboat The Minnehaha was found in the depths of Lake Minnetonka and was raised in 1980 and restored. In 1996 it began making roundtrip schedule runs between Excelsior to Wayzata during the summer months. In 1991, Street Car No 78 was put back into service and runs from May through October. The Streetcar Museum in Excelsior is also home to four more cars that are restored or waiting restoration.
Excelsior’s historic Water Street is home to many shops and restaurants and attracts residents and visitors alike. Vintage architecture is an integral feature of the Water Street shopping district. Commons Park is at the north end of town and is a recreation area on Lake Minnetonka that offers a swimming beach, playground, tennis, baseball and picnicking.
Excelsior MN Real Estate for Sale
At the time of this writing, there were only 28 Excelsior MN homes for sale, listed for an average price of $552,132. Prices range from $225K to $1.8M. Selection is eclectic, but limited.
If you want a carefree lifestyle but still want to live next to Lake Minnetonka, you would be interested to know that there are a few condos for sale at Excelsior Bay Gables. These offer heated-underground parking, a sauna, exercise room, and best of all, a dock on Lake Minnetonka. There are a few other Excelsior townhomes for sale in the heart of town, all within a short walk of the Lake.
Lakeshore Homes for Sale
Given the overall size of this market, there are seldom many Excelsior MN lakeshore real estate listings available at any particular time. Turnover is low. Call us if you are interested in being the first to know about new Lake Minnetonka lakefront listings. As of this post, there were only two lakeshore properties currently for sale; one on Gideon Bay and Alban’s Bay. Both boast prime shoreline property. Contact us for a private showing or detailed information on these or any other Excelsior MLS listings currently for sale.
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