September 1, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

Happy Labor Day to all! While scouring the inter-web for HOA related news, I saw a Business Journal article about a huge Lake Elmo development that seeks to build hundreds of townhomes, apartments and homes, with much of it under HOA control.

Minneapolis-based Maplewood Development’s so-called Limerick Village development would turn 79.4 acres of farmland west of Manning Avenue North into almost 1 million square feet of residences. The project would be Lake Elmo’s largest single residential development, according to city documents.

The project is quite large, and the numbers of new properties are impressive.  The Business Journal cites that 67 single-family homes, 221 townhomes, 271 apartments and 120 senior living apartments will be built. A park is also included in the development.

The apartments would likely be market-rate, Mario Cocchiarella, Maplewood Development’s owner and CEO, said at a Lake Elmo Parks Commission meeting last year. He also said that the single-family homes and townhomes would be part of an HOA.

Pricing for such homes is always of interest to me. The Business Journal also reports:

Neither the apartment rental costs nor prices of the homes have been disclosed. As of this month, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Lake Elmo is $1,729 per month, according to data from CoStar Group. Over the past twelve months, the median sale price for a townhome in the city was $388,650, and $699,900 for a single-family home.