Top Real Estate Agent In sites on Excelsior, MN

If you are looking for a lovely lakeside community, Excelsior offers a variety of events, shopping, recreational boating, top-notch restaurants and a sense of community like none other.  You will enjoy attending the well-known Old Log Theater, Art on the Lake, Apple Days, Girl’s Night Out, the 4^th of July Celebration, Crazy Daze, and the outdoor Farmer’s market.    During the holiday months, you will enjoy the outdoor German Christmas Market.  Girl’s Night Out is a Thursday night shopping event that occurs from June- August for a special get away just for the girls!  Special discounts are given for the ladies when shopping and dining and each event offers a different and creative theme.  The Farmer’s Market is open from May-October and offers a variety of plants, fruit, vegetables and various home-made items.  For recreational boating, catch a ride on the Minnehaha, the Queen of Excelsior or St. Alban’s Boat for a tour of stunning Lake Minnetonka.  Bike paths are set up surrounding the city for your enjoyment, with the added bonus of an exquisite view of the lake. While dining in Excelsior, outdoor seating is a must during the warmer months.  Your options are endless, with Maynards, Bayside Grill, Jake O'Connor and Hazelwood, all providing outside dining for your pleasure.  For those of you interested in going back in time, Antiquity Rose is a one of kind restaurant and you won’t want to miss it!  Don’t forget to make a stop at either one of the famous Ice Cream shops, Licks or Adele’s for dessert!  You’ll never be the same!  The commons and the beach on Lake Minnetonka provide plenty of outdoor opportunities for enjoying family events, sporting events or just hanging out on the playground or at the beach.

EXCELSIOR, GREENWOOD, SHOREWOOD

Boundaries: Excelsior: North: lake Minnetonka; East: Shorewood and Greenwood; South: Shorewood; West: Shorewood; area: 1 square mile; Greenwood: North: Shorewood and Deephaven; East: Shorewood; South; Shorewood and Excelsior; West: Excelsior and Lake Minnetonka; Shorewood: North: Deephaven, Greenwood, Excelsior, Tonka Bay, Lake Minnetonka; East: Minnetonka, Deephaven; South: Chanhassen, Victoria; West: Minnetrista

Excelsior is a quaint and enchanting enclave. In fact, Excelsior is so aes­thetically appealing that many artists and writers have made it their home, including the world famous fresco artist Mark Baima. It wasn't always so cute. It languished residentially, as just another run­ning-down village with a glorious past, until the 1990s when a local woman started renovating the old houses and painting them pink. That got every­body going, and now the center of Excelsior boasts a mix of mostly small, cottage houses, many of which have been supplied with new craftsman details. The rehabilitation efforts are paying off for anybody who wants to sell their Excelsior home, but not many do. The city's many long-time residents feel a great deal of affection for their town. They stay for generations and make a point of shopping locally in the pedestrian-friendly business district.

Like many other lake communities, Excelsiors' first success came as a resort town in the 1800s, and unlike most other lake communities, many of Excelsiors' homes and apartments are affordable. About half the city's residential units are rental apartments. Senior citizens, particularly, live in apartments in the town proper; but there are large complexes on the other side of Highway 7. Also south of Highway 7 you'll find smaller 1970s brick ramblers and two-story frame houses built in the vicinity of Galpin lake and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Recreation here revolves around the Commons or village green. It has a swimming beach, children's playground, tennis courts, tour boats, the city docks and a high promontory from which one can see to Wayzata, five miles away. (For more information about Excelsior see Quick Getaways.)

Excelsior is abutted on the east by .3 square mile Greenwood. Most of the houses in Greenwood are on the lake, either circling St. Alban's Bay or on a short strip of shoreline on the main lake that is oriented toward the west, offering beautiful sunsets. Some winterized summer cottages remain, but expensive new houses are replacing many. Much of Greenwood is characterized by small lots and houses set very close togeth· er. You will find recently-built large two-story houses set farther apart on lots with lake views along Lyman Boulevard. The Old Log Theater, 952-474-5951, is the heart of the village, offering hilarious British comedies and serving as the neighborhood meeting place. For recreation, Greenwood has one small park on Meadville Street, which has a play­ground and tennis court. The Southwest LRT trail passes through the vil­lage, paralleling the lake. Greenwood contracts with Deephaven (see above) for a city clerk and police protection, and contracts with the Excelsior Volunteer Fire Department for fire protection.

Major employers are Northern States Power Company and the Minnetonka Country Club.

Web Sites: www.excelsioronline.com, www.ci.shorewood.mn.us

Area Code: 952

Zip Code: 55331

Post Offices: 7730 Laredo Drive, Chanhassen; 545 1st Street Excelsior, 800-275-8777

Excelsior City Hall: 339 3rd Street, 952-474-5233,

Greenwood City Hall: 20225 Cottagewood Road, Deephaven, 952-474-4755

Shorewood City Hall: 5755 Country Club Road, Shorewood, 952,474-3236,

Police/Fire non-emergency: South lake Minnetonka Public Safety, 952-474-3261

Hospital: Methodist, 6500 Excelsior Boulevard, 952-993-5000, www.healthsystemminnesosta.com

library: 343 Third Street, Excelsior, 952-474-8760, www.hennepin. lib.mn.us

School: Minnetonka School District #276, 952-470-3400

Community Publication: Excelsior/Shorewood/Chanhassen Sun Sailor, 952-829-0797, www.mnsun.com

Bus Transportation: For routes and schedules call the MCTO, 612- 373-3333, www.metrotransit.org. Minneapolis Express Route 70: Downtown Minneapolis, Louisiana Avenue Transit Center, Highway 7, Hopkins, Shorewood, Tonka Bay; Minneapolis Express Route 71: Downtown Minneapolis, Plymouth Road Transit Center, Minnetonka, Deephaven, Excelsior