Search the Bloomington MLS
Bloomington, Minnesota. Tourists from all over the
world have visited Bloomington, site of the now famous "Mall
of America," largest shopping mall in the United
States, all indoors, complete with its own amusement park,
restaurants, nightclubs, multiplex cinema, scores of
specialty shops (such as shops featuring: seashells,
mounted butterflies and exotic insects, Wisconsin cheeses,
knives of every description, model trains, educational
toys, American art collectibles, Oriental arts and crafts,
all leather clothes, alpaca rugs, sports supermarkets to
name just a few).
Besides the mall, there
are plenty of other commercial and retail outlets,
restaurants, hotels, etc. For outdoors and sports
enthusiasts, there is a new and very large REI outlet,
complete with inside restaurant, also in Bloomington just
off Highway 494.
Bloomington is the third
most populous city in the Twin Cities' area after
Minneapolis and St. Paul with a population of over 87,000.
The city has been around since 1858. Building really began
in the eastern part of the city, which is today a
working-class neighborhood dominated by rambler homes on
relatively small lots on neatly laid out grid-like
streets. Today there are about 35,000 homes in
Bloomington, most of them dating to before the '70's.
Average home sale price is around $130,000, with average
median household income at about $42,000/yr.
Central Bloomington is
different from the eastern part with mostly split-level
homes on curving streets, rather than the grid layout.
Western Bloomington is the more affluent section of the
city, located west of France Av. Bloomington, as a city,
is almost completely developed, with very little
residential or commercial land left. The city is
concentrating on providing more housing for elderly and
retired people.
For those renting, nearly
a third of Bloomington housing is rentals.
There is also a lot of
natural habitat in the city. These include several parks
and nature areas, as well as 208 lakes and ponds. Along
the Minnesota River are 14 miles of shoreline, as well as
the Nine Mile Creek Watershed area. Around
Hyland Lake Park Reserve is a beautiful area where
many of the more expensive homes are located and which
also features a massive "Chutes and Ladders" playground
for children, the
Hyland
Hills Ski Area and Ski School and is also home to the
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters.
This kind of natural terrain makes up about one-quarter of
Bloomington. |
