As I was driving down Frontier Trail in Chanhassen the other day, I found myself captivated by the interesting terrain. It was unusually steep and densely forested in this area approaching Lotus Lake. It is a perfect setting for custom modern homes on sites long considered not buildable because they wouldn’t accommodate traditional houses. I remember showing a stunning Charles Stinson custom designed house at 7510 Frontier Trail built in 2004… and as I passed, I was again impressed with its commanding presence built into the hill high above street level.
This land was owned by the Kerber families in the 1930s. They were dairy and crop farmers, and this 44-acre piece of land with all the trees and hills was useless to them… of no value for growing crops or grazing cattle. It became Glen Acres summer camp for girls, which remained in operation from 1941 until 1961. I don’t know what happened after that but this stretch wasn’t developed during the rest of the last century to my knowledge.
This stretch of Frontier Trail still has hilly, wooded lots for sale on sites long considered unbuildable… but when I was there last week there were more modern houses, many below street level… and there was a new house being built. The sign in the photo above gives a phone number to call if you want to learn more about the availability of lots for sale… the sign says there are no building restrictions.
A notable home built in 1954 and designed by well-known MCM architect Ralph Rapson is not far from here on Mohawk Drive overlooking Lotus Lake – The Betty Poole House.
I love the contrast of clean, straight lines of a modern build… set into a unique wooded nature setting.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
