August 2015

Folks in St. Paul’s Battle Creek-Highwood neighborhood have a lot to be proud of, most especially the local elementary school, Battle Creek. The school serves almost 450 students in grades Pre-K through 5, with 37 full-time teachers. The student/teacher ratio here is about 15:1.

The school’s location on the northern border of Battle Creek Regional Park is ideal for teaching students about nature and is frequently utilized to do just that.

The school’s curriculum is broken down into three core areas:

• Regular education
• Autism
• The Learning Center

The parent association at Battle Creek Elementary is quite active, promoting ways to raise money for the school. To help them, school leaders offer a yearly Family Engagement Plan that

Sales are up, prices are up and our inventory of available homes is shrinking. This is the story in most of the Twin Cities’ real estate markets, so it came as no surprise to us when we opened up our copy of the latest St. Paul real estate market statistics.

Let’s take a look at St. Paul’s overall real estate statistics and then we’ll break out some neighborhood stats.

St. Paul’s Inventory of Available Homes

Anyone looking at homes for sale in St. Paul knows that our inventory of available homes is tight and that homes in good condition are being snatched up quickly. The number of homes to hit the market last month fell nearly 2 percent in July after an even larger, 9 percent tumble the month before.

Since the number of homes sold also

Looking for a hot deal in the St. Paul real estate market? This month we’ve found two that we think are worth a look for those on a tight home-buying budget.

South Como Starter Home

This vintage home is adorable! It features 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom in 1,164 square feet of living space, ideal for singles, couples and even a small family. Inside you’ll find lovely woodwork, hardwood floors under the carpet and tile in the kitchen. Outside is a garage, a back deck and an amazingly cozy front porch.

It’s the location, however, that got this one onto our deals list this month. Just a 3-minute drive puts you at Marydale Park, 1 minute and you’re at Lake Como. This home is priced at $116,000 and you can see photos here.

Fabulous Update in

There is so much happening in St. Paul this month it was a real challenge to narrow down the list to just a couple of events. But we finally did it and here you go!

Music to Cure the Mid-Week Blues

Come on, feel like a kid again! Get out of the house tonight and head to the Excel Energy Center for Alice Cooper and Motley Crue in their “All Bad Things Must Come to an End” tour. In fact, this is the last time you’ll get to see the latter as they’re ending their touring career at the end of 2015. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. but there’s a happy hour at the gate from 5 until 7. Buy tickets here.

Celebrate the Irish

Set aside this Friday through Sunday (August 7 through 9) to celebrate all things Irish at the Irish Fair of Minnesota.

The West Side neighborhood has become one of the most active Latino communities of St Paul and offers several restaurants and businesses that bring that extra bit of culture and flavor to the city. Not only that, but it's a neighborhood with sub-neighborhoods that are as varied as the residents. If you're looking for a view, check out The Bluffs. Historic home shoppers may also like this neighborhood for it's many vintage homes, built between 1880 and 1920.

Life in the West Side neighborhood means never having to travel far for an amazing meal. The neighborhood's District del Sol is home to local favorite eateries such as Boca Chica (sip your Margarita on the patio!) and El Burrito Mercado (get some tamales to take home), or grab a chocolate-filled