Highland Knoll sold to Twin Cities builder Ryland Homes

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A Twin Cities home builder will soon give life to an empty development in Woodbury.

Ryland Homes snatched up the 28 tax forfeited lots in Highland Knoll for $1.5 million with plans to build custom single family homes starting this spring.

The builder made an offer to Washington County last week with a deposit of $156,800 and the remaining to be paid next week.

“This is a positive step forward for the development and for the surrounding residents,” associate planner Eric Searles said. “Most importantly, the transaction means the city will be fully reimbursed for all public dollars invested for the necessary utilities and streets.”

After sitting vacant for years, the property was auctioned off in March.

A number of bidders were available at the auction, but Ryland Homes was not ready to bid until all the title work was resolved, said Mike DeVoe, division president of Ryland Homes in the Twin Cities

“Basically just paper work,” he said. “We needed to get the paper trail organized.”

Once the proper documentation was in place, the company was eager to increase the number of properties it acquires in Woodbury.

“Once we finalize the transaction we’ll begin building our model immediately,” DeVoe said. “And hopefully that model will be done by late spring … and we’ll start selling at that point in time.”

The model home will demonstrate a typical floor plan, however, buyers will be able to design their own homes, he added.

Ryland Homes constructed townhomes in the Dancing Waters development. The company was looking to acquire single family lots since there seems to be a shortage of single family lots in the city, DeVoe said.

“We love the city of Woodbury, we think it’s a great community,” he said. “There is a strong demand for people wanting to live in Woodbury.”

The property is generally located north of Oak View Drive, west of Cottage Grove Drive and south of the Eagle Valley Development.

Highland Knoll has sat empty since it was created in 2004 then went into foreclosure a few years later.

The property was forfeited to the state for nonpayment of taxes since 2007.

The city’s share of the taxes totaled $51,000 including interest and penalties.

Now that Ryland Homes acquired the development, it will be responsible for new taxes until each lot is sold.

DeVoe said it takes about 90 days to build each home, which is helpful in a market where families want to move quickly if they’re already selling other properties.

“It is pretty quick,” he said. “When the customer says they’re ready to go we can move pretty rapidly.”

The 28 new homes will join one other single family house in Highland Knoll.

Tags: news, government, woodbury