A new house, finally.

2012 may put us in the looney bin, but here we go.  Hand-in-hand with our decision to start a second adoption, we have decided to build a house.  The small, 2 bedroom house that we have loved for the last 8 years is starting to close in around us.  We looked for the extra functionality without giving up our convenient location...  apparently it doesn't exist.

Last October, when we bought a tear down house in St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, MN.  It's 4 miles from downtown Minneapolis.  With more than a year of planning and indecision - we have decided to move forward.

The Lot

St. Anthony Park is heavy on the "park".  The lot is no exception.  The lot is only 50' wide, but 230" deep.  The woods and quiet setting really made us fall in love with the potential.  There is a current house that will need to be torn down, probably in mid-December.

The Plan

Not terribly big (about 2,300 sq ft), the plan gives us all of the things we have been missing in our current house:  3 bedrooms on the same floor, a 2 car garage, an open kitchen, a master bath, and a mud room.  

Our biggest challenge was the narrow lot.  Unfortunately, there is no alley access.  That means we needed to get the house and a driveway on the 50' lot.  We will have a 2 car detached garage behind the house.

What's Next?
In the next few weeks, we will be cutting down trees, tearing down the existing house, and getting a foundation.  John, our contractor said that the whole thing should be done in 6 to 7 months.  If you geek out on this sort of stuff, follow along.  We are hoping for input on the thousands of decisions coming out way!