Eden Prairie No. 2 on Money's 'Best Places to Live List" 2016

What Makes Eden Prairie an Attractive Housing Market

Two small cities in Minnesota have been named among the Best Places to Live in 2016 by Money, the popular personal finance website owned by Time.com, but one of those cities made the list due to a contentious real estate project.

According to the aforementioned list, Eden Prairie is only second to Columbia, Maryland and Scottsdale Arizona in terms of quality of life. Woodbury, located less than 30 miles away, is ranked number 11. This is the second year in a row that Money and Time.com pay attention to communities in the periphery of the Twin Cities; in 2015, towns such as Chanhassen, Edina and Rosemount made the Top 20.

Healthy employment levels and public amenities such as athletic fields, parks and sports centers were the main factors considered by Money's editors when compiling the list, but a specific housing development named Eden Gardens was cited in the case of Eden Prairie.

Although Eden Gardens is a collection of just 36 single-family homes, it qualifies as a high-density residential community in Eden Prairie, where homeowners are used to very spacious suburban estates with lakefront views and large nature preserves overlapping subdivisions.

Eden Prairie residents were initially opposed to Eden Gardens because the housing opportunities it offers are smaller and more affordable than median properties in this affluent city.

When Eden Gardens was still in the planning stages, city officials were concerned about the luxury homes and rising property values across Eden Prairie, which was at risk of falling to widespread gentrification. Seeking greater diversity, city leaders approved the Eden Gardens project along with its energy-efficient homes and community amenities.

Median salaries, employee satisfaction and the ultra-low unemployment rate were also cited as factors that prompted adding Eden Prairie and Woodbury to the list. Both cities are considered to be ideal examples of a burgeoning social trend in the cash buyer real estate investors among the MidWest and SouthWest United States: families are returning to the suburbs they abandoned in the wake of the collapse of the American housing and mortgage markets in 2008.

Despite opposition by homeowners who believed Eden Gardens would dilute property values, the inclusion in Money's list will likely bring more attention to Eden Prairie, thus boosting interest in the local real estate market. In the end, a more diverse housing market proved to be a blessing for Eden Prairie homeowners.