From early beginnings around 1851, Maple Grove has seen its share of growth.
From homes and apartments to commercial and roadway expansion, the city of Maple Grove estimates the population in our vibrant community will reach around 68,119 in 2015—a sizable leap from the approximate 1,155 residents living in Maple Grove around 1880.
“In 1950, the population had reached 1,778. By the late 1950s, the suburban sprawl was starting to reach Maple Grove, and the first growth was around the lakes. Then came I-94 and the area started growing again,” the city of Maple Grove shares on its website.
Of the thousands now living in the community, the city estimates around 45 percent are between the ages of 35 and 64—a trend that has been fairly consistent for the last 15 years, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Gender is evenly split, with an estimated 51.21 percent of the population female, 48.79 percent male.
From an ancestry standpoint, community members of German descent make up the largest portion of the Maple Grove population—about 24.93 percent—followed by undefined ancestry (22.03 percent) and Norwegian (10.36 percent).
According to census data and city estimates, approximately 81 percent of Maple Grove residents have some college education—an increase of about 12 percent from just 15 years ago.
Today, the 36-square-mile city continues to see both residential and commercial expansion with major roadway arteries creating an attractive location for living and doing business.
The real estate market in Maple Grove “is strong,” according to Maple Grove Realtor David Garves. He says 2015 “seems poised” to be the fourth straight year of growth in average sales price and average price per square foot.
Garves has seen the upside and downside of the real estate market in Maple Grove on the mortgage side and as a Realtor. “[Average] Maple Grove home sale prices peaked at nearly $326,000 in July of 2007,” he says. “The average sales price bottomed out nearly five years later, in March of 2012, at just under $252,000—a drop of more than 22 percent. Since that time, Maple Grove has seen values come back strong in 2013, and more reasonable gains in 2014.”
Residential development currently remains steady, but at a slower pace than what the city experienced years ago, according to Maple Grove community development director Dick Edwards. Recently, Maple Grove has seen the “significant growth of multi-family [apartment] neighborhoods and will continue to see future phases of those coming out of the ground,” Edwards says.
Commercial developments in Maple Grove have recently included a large-scale industrial distribution facility. The retail sector has also seen activity, according to Edwards, with construction and/or approval of restaurants and smaller retail shops not only in the Arbor Lakes area but also in the northwest sector of the city in the area of Interstate 94 and County Road 30.
Growth was a big part of Maple Grove’s past and it seems to be on the horizon for the near future as well. In 2020, the city estimates the population will be around 73,537.
The last large developable area in the city is the northwest area in the location known as the gravel mining area, which the city’s land use plan projects as a mix of residential and non-residential usage.
The most noticeable trends for growth have been the success and construction of high-density, multi-family buildings, according to Edwards. “There are a number of reasons for this across the country, including the general aging of the Baby Boomer population, and the trend suggests the Millennials are likely going, and will have the desire, to live in more urban environments with ease of access to mass transit and service areas nearby. It is also being suggested that the younger demographic will delay the purchase of homes until later in life than what we have historically witnessed.”
“I’m very excited about what the Maple Grove real estate market has in store over the next five to 10 years,” Garves said. “Economic diversity in the community will continue to drive our market, as Maple Grove homes offer plenty of options for first-time homebuyers, middle-income homes, and the upper price brackets.”
