Shop til you drop in Maple Grove, where the malls, stores, and shops are almost as common as snowflakes in the wintertime.
If shopping is your thing, then Maple Grove, MN, a mid-size city of just over 61,000, is for you. Located in the northwest area of the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, Maple Grove is home to one of the greater Twin Cities' largest shopping malls. The city has more than just stores of course, an excellent educational system, great medical care, and plenty of in-town employment opportunities. Less than twenty minutes from downtown Minneapolis, Maple Grove offers a strong sense of community with big city life a short drive away.
Rental Tips for Moving to Maple Grove
Commuting into the twin cities is fairly swift, with most residents commuting for work or pleasure by car. Within Maple Grove, youll find many recreational activities from local sports leagues for children and adults to the busy shopping scene. The smaller community feeling of Maple Grove is a good adjunct to Minneapolis-St.Pauls sophisticated urban feel a short drive away.
Youll want to start your apartment search several months before planning your move - Maple Groves modern housing and growing commercial scene make it a sought-after residence. Youll find three bedroom houses for rent in Maple Grove, apartment complexes, and apartment homes in the form of townhouses and condominiums, too. Many are in mixed use, pedestrian-friendly developments.
Drive through Maple Grove and get a feeling for the different communities within the town, to see which neighborhood - and which exciting retail district - suits you best. The town is conveniently situated close to major arteries leading to the Twin Cities.
Neighborhoods in Maple Grove
Maple Grove City Center: With plenty of land and recreational outlets around the city center, this community has a suburban feel, with many apartment rentals focused on town home developments. Many properties are new, built after the year 2000. Youll find many married couples and families here in this affluent neighborhood. Along with retail complexes, youll find cafes and community theater in this area. Many residents are employed in executive or sales positions. Youll find delicious bakeries here too, with residents tracing German and Norwegian ancestry. $$$$
Bass Lake Rd / W Fish Lake Rd: Here youll find more of an urban feel than in the well planned city center. An upper middle income neighborhood of medium size single family homes and town homes, the feel of this community is family oriented. Youll find many larger homes too, and residents are employed in executive and professional positions overall. $$$$
89th Ave N / Zachary Ln: This middle income community offers a range of apartment homes with the emphasis on single-family and attached town home properties. Here youll find a diverse mix of residents with German, Norwegian, Irish, and Asian ancestry. $$$
Living in Maple Grove
Sweet Shopping City
Maple Grove, MN is one sweet town. Once known for its large maple tree forest and as a source for maple syrup, the town has evolved into a shopping mecca with a strong community feeling, just a short drive from Minneapolis-St. Paul. Growing exponentially with highway upgrades in the 70s, this mid-size city has a strong family component and an appealing employment picture. The town is home to a research, manufacturing, and development facility of Boston Scientific, as well as hosting an Independent School District.
A former gravel mining area underwent redevelopment as a multi-use residential and commercial area. This included a low rise Main Street, the stellar shopping of the Shoppes of Arbor Lake, and the Fountains at Arbor Lakes. Utilizing the design characteristics of a mid-century village, the Shoppes include national chains such as Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, and Williams Sonoma. The decidedly upscale stores and style have been flatteringly copied in Woodbury, MN. The Shoppes houses over 65 stores and restaurants.
The Fountains at Arbor Lakes houses mainstream retailers Costco, Lowes, and DSW. It also includes a hotel complex and what has been called Minnesotas top energy-saving building, the Great River Energy Headquarters. An indoor water park takes away the chill come winter, and a Dave and Busters eatery serves up games with its burgers and fries. Reflections at Arbor Lake is a mixed use development with a hotel, senior housing units, retail shops, and offices.
Maple Grove sports yet another development, The Grove, containing the North Memorial/Fairview hospital and medical complex, a Super Target, and Home Depot, among other stores. The development is also mixed use and kind to pedestrians. The idea of each development is to create a small town atmosphere.
In fact, Maple Grove houses more retail shopping that virtually any other community in Minnesota except for the home of the mammoth Mall of America, Bloomington.
After Youve Shopped
When youre done with buying and browsing, you can bliss out at the Maple Grove Arboretum:fifteen acres spread with beautiful trees along Elm Creek. Trails within the Arboretum lead users further to both Rice Lake and to the Medicine Lake Regional Trail.
There are many parks and hiking and biking trails throughout the city. Over the fields and through the woods to not grandmothers house but lakes, tennis courts, playgrounds, and picnic grounds.
Fish Lake Regional Park is a major green space, hosting community activities year round. The Sports Dome houses local and regional teams and is available for rental by community groups.
The modern community center contains an indoor playground for the kids, an aquatic center, ice rink, and skate park.
Community Feel
Maple Grove is the type of town where you can become involved in your community by helping to catalog the large variety of trees in town, joining a local hockey team, or volunteering at the large, weekly Farmers Market. In short, Maple Grove is wholesome, yet sophisticated with its shops, mixed community and retail centers, and proximity to the big Twin Cities.
You can linger over multiple course wine dinners at the upscale Maple Tavern, or enjoy any number of national chain restaurants. Take note: the maple syrup at the local IHOP just may be locally sourced.
If you like making snow angels and snowmen in the wintertime, enjoy a mild spring and fall, and are looking for a growing, busy community, Maple Grove is for you. With an overall suburban feel, and an emphasis on town homes and single family residences, this pleasant community is an ideal spot for families.
