The neighborhoods of Battle Creek, Highwood and Sunray make up the southeast corner of St. Paul. The neighborhoods' borders are Minnehaha Avenue to the north, McKnight Road to the east, the Mississippi River to the south, and the western border is comprised of Hazelwood Street, Birmingham Street and Warner Road.
Due to the steep and heavily wooded bluffs east of Highway 61, not to mention the vast stretches of marsh land surrounding Pig’s Eye Lake, the Sunray-Battlecreek area remained undeveloped until after World W II. That is with the exception of Highwood, where an unsuccessful attempt was made in the late 1880’s to develop a commuter suburb. Some unique Queen Anne and shingle style homes from this time period can be found along Point Douglas Road and East Howard Avenue.
A majority of the rest of the houses within Sunray-Battlecreek-Highwood were built during the 1970s and beyond. Originally, they were mainly bedroom communities for the large 3M Corporation factory and head quarters. Minnesota's largest employer, 3M is located at Interstate 94 and McKnight Road. The population has become more diverse since then. Now there are more families and single professionals living in the area. In fact, this makes for a great place to raise a family.
One reason is because the Saint Paul neighborhoods of Battle Creek and Highwood contain a large amount of green space. Battle Creek Park and Pig’s Eye Lake Park are popular recreation areas for the locals. The parks offer picnic areas in addition to popular biking and walking trails.
Sunray-Battle Creek-Highwood is also close to shopping centers along I-94, including the Sun Ray Shopping Center. A developed area across I-94 from Sunray has several big box retail stores and a grocery store.
The housing has become very diverse over the years! Whether it’s single family or multi family dwellings, there is lots of real estate types to choose from in Sunray, Battle Creek and Highwood. There are apartments, condominiums, town homes, split-levels and ramblers within the Sunray Battle Creek Highwood neighborhoods. Mostly, the housing density is relatively, with the neighborhoods looking more like nearby Maplewood and Woodbury. The northwestern corner of Sunray is the exception, as it has many turn-of-the century bungalows and Midwestern squares, and looks much more like the adjacent neighborhood of Dayton’s Bluff.
The houses in Battle Creek and Highwood are decent and affordable, even with many homes providing great views of the Mississippi River. Prices for the houses, condos, and townhouses are above average for St. Paul, but well below the most expensive neighborhoods. In 2005, the median sales price of a single family homes, townhouses, or condos in the Sunray-Battlecreek-Highwood neighborhood was $208,450.
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