Elegance restored, history preserved

The Summit-University neighborhood in St. Paul offers interesting character and a variety of home prices.

Printed Saturday, December 23, 2006

After eight years of living in California, where real estate prices are sky-high, Charles Goenner knew he'd found a deal in the Summit-University neighborhood of St. Paul: a decrepit 1880s Victorian-style house on Dayton Avenue.

"I thought, 'someone has to save this house,'"he said.

Goenner moved in and started renovating. That was more than 20 years ago and since then, much has changed in the neighborhood.

Goenner's story is common in Summit-University, which now has some of the Twin Cities' grandest homes.

But it hasn't always been that way. During the 1950s and 1960s, many once-grand houses fell into disrepair after a wave of residents fled to the suburbs.

Other homeowners simply lacked the resources to fix up those houses, many of which are now among the most expensive in the Twin Cities.

Realtor Steven Rosnow, a former Summit-University resident who has been selling homes in the area since 1997, said that history is the neighborhood's biggest draw.

"It's surely the most historic neighborhood in the Twin Cities,"Rosnow said, noting that most of the housing stock was built before World War II.

"The neighborhood has come a long way,"he said."A lot of people have spent most of their adult lives working to better the neighborhood."

Summit-University's southern boundary is Summit Avenue, which is lined with elegant Victorian-era mansions. Other historic areas within the district include Cathedral Hill and Ramsey Hill.

Because many of the original mansions, rowhouses and brick apartment buildings have been converted to condominiums, home prices are diverse. They ranged from $69,900 to $1.7 million during the past year, according to the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

The neighborhood is also popular because of proximity to shopping and restaurants along University and Selby Avenues.

Goenner on restoring his home and living in Summit-University:

What drew you to the house? I had never thought about living in an old house, but once I found it, I thought, 'Wow, this is really remarkable stuff compared to new-construction.' It's a three-story Victorian, with a big wraparound porch. It looks like Grandma's house. It was a substantial middle-class house when it was built in the 1880s.

What was the house and neighborhood like back then? There were a lot of scary things that occurred on a regular basis. It was a garbage house; it was completely wrecked, but it had some potential. There were 13 rental units in the house. Across the street was a halfway house and kitty-corner was another. Next door was a drug den. Once I moved in and started renovating, I got very active with historic preservation.

What's the neighborhood like today? It's 100 percent changed. It's a very nice place now. It's more of a traditional neighborhood that used to exist where you can walk to the stores. It has a lot of character; it's clean, safe. I like it and have no plans to move.