Interactive link to median sales price featured in the picture above: http://northstarmls.stats.10kresearch.com/infoserv/s-v1/Zgyv-9mX
Located just 10 minutes south of Minneapolis–St. Paul, the city of Bloomington is right in the middle of Twin Cities action. Since its founding Bloomington has thrived, emerging as a dynamic urban township that rivals nearby Minneapolis and St. Paul. In fact, Bloomington is the 5th largest city in Minnesota with a population of 85,000.
Thanks to the Mall of America, several large company headquarters like International Dairy Queen, Toro, Ceridian, HeathPartners, Best Buy, and a booming hospitality network, the city of Bloomington has more jobs per capita than either St. Paul or Minneapolis. In all, there are more than 100,000 jobs.
Benefiting from its location near major transportation routes and the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, Bloomington is a major hospitality center with nearly 8,000 hotel rooms. The city of Bloomington’s #1 attraction by far, is Mall of America, the largest shopping center in the United States, welcoming over 40 million visitors annually. This shopping mecca boasts 2.5 million square feet of retail space, over 500 stores and countless entertainment options that range from nightclubs to the Nickelodeon Universe® theme park to a 14-screen cinema. If a shopper spent 10 minutes browsing at every store, it would take them more than 86 hours to complete their visit to Mall of America.
Visitors and residents alike are drawn to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Spanning 14,000 acres, the wildlife refuge has miles of hiking and biking trails, prime bird-watching opportunities, and an extensive visitors center. Another highlight is the Hyland Lake Park Reserve – Recreation Area, a scenic retreat in the heart of Bloomington. The 2,565-acre Hyland Lake Park offers breathtaking prairie landscapes and a major body of water as well as a large play area, the Richardson Nature Center, an 18-hole disc golf course and a 3-hole disc golf practice area. Plus there is both a ski area and set of Nordic ski jumps. The Nordic ski jumps are maintained by the Minneapolis Ski Club, and several U.S. Olympic ski jumpers have trained here.
The city is home to The Works, an popular interactive children’s museum that focuses on technology and engineering, as well as four colleges. The two-year Normandale Community College serves about 18,000 full and part-time students. Northwestern Health Sciences University focuses on natural health care and patient research, in the areas of chiropractic, acupuncture, oriental medicine, and massage. Bethany Global University is a small Christian school focused on missionary preparation, and Rasmussen College offers more than 70 programs leading to associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and a variety of certificates and diplomas.
Locally, the city is informally divided by Interstate 35W into “West Bloomington” and “East Bloomington.” West Bloomington is mostly residential with newer housing stock, along with multi-story office high-rises along Interstate Highway 494 in the north. East Bloomington contains more industry, destination retail centers, and the majority of Bloomington’s less expensive housing. Some place the dividing line as far west as France Avenue, where the high school attendance boundaries meet.
The history of Bloomington, Minn. is as rich and interesting as the community itself. According to the city’s historical society the area was first established in 1818 by settlers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and the Carolinas. They were so impressed with all the lush, green life that surrounded them that they dubbed the area Blooming Grove. Or, as another tale has it, the early pioneers who moved to the Bloomington area named their new settlement after their hometown: Bloomington, Illinois, which means flowering field.
Whichever story you go with, it is obvious settlers were impressed by the natural amenities here, and saw the potential for this place to bloom. Be a part of it yourself.