A wealthy lakeside city in Minnesota has been given an unfortunate nickname after an increase in the number of metal buildings.
The tourist town of Crosslake, home to 2,500 residents, is being overrun by an influx of ‘barndominiums’, earning it the name ‘Tin City’.
The gigantic metal-paneled buildings take over the city, while the barns are built to store expensive off-season toys from wealthy homeowners and vacationers.
Some could also be mistaken for second homes, with some featuring bars, bathrooms, fireplaces and even bedrooms.
According to the Star Tribune, the ones in the area span up to 12,000 square feet and sell for more than $500,000.
The city is trying to step in and limit or possibly even ban the further multiplication of the units after seeing a boom in demand following the pandemic.
“That whole industry has just grown and grown and grown in the 50 years I’ve been here,” Dean Eggena, a business owner and developer, told the outlet.
“And they’re coming up with terms like ‘Tin City,’ you know, and that we’re just going to be storage buildings. And that’s so far from the truth.’
The gigantic metal-paneled buildings take over the city, while the barns are built to store expensive off-season toys from wealthy homeowners and vacationers
The gigantic metal-paneled buildings take over the city, while the barns are built to store expensive off-season toys from wealthy homeowners and vacationers
“Just hop in a boat and travel the thirteen lakes of the Whitefish Chain. You will see million dollar lake homes, you will see clean water, and you will see nice boats, jet skis and pontoons,” he added.
‘It’s a place where people come to relax, to enjoy themselves.’
“The area will always have more storage space than most other communities. I mean, 40 percent of our land is water and the majority of our homes here are on the lake,” Paul Satterlund, the city’s planning and zoning administrator, told the Star Tribune.
“And so, of course, there’s just going to be a greater demand for storage.”
Images of a Airbnb ad for example, one shows a building that looks more like a large garage.
Inside, one of the bunk bedrooms is clearly visible, with metal cladding on the walls.
The city of Crosslake had the hottest housing market in Minnesota this year, landing in the top ten in the country, according to a survey conducted by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Magazine.
Despite the area’s history as a logging community, tourism became the new “in” as the industry faded.
Now the average sales price for a home was more than $1 million in the third quarter of this year.
“Suddenly all these people were paying beaucoup dollars for lake property for the last five years,” Patty Norgaard, the former mayor, told the newspaper.
“We are a city that needs to meet the needs of these wealthy people both infrastructurally and economically,” she added. “Developers saw storage units as a way to do that.”
For example, images from an Airbnb listing show a home that looks more like a large garage
Demand for metal tin buildings has increased since the pandemic, when buyers began moving to the wealthy city and developing oversized, luxurious metal pole structures.
The city of Crosslake had the hottest housing market in Minnesota this year, landing in the top ten in the country
Sixty oversized barnominiums have already been built in recent years – and dozens more are lined up for future development.
City officials have issued several temporary bans on the buildings over the past decade, the most recent of which was lifted last October.
Other people in the city have objected to the buildings, claiming that the buildings are simply ugly.
“I don’t know where that’s going to go if we start legislating beauty,” Eggena added.
Eggena and other developers don’t see the harm in it: The private buildings expand the tax base by millions without using city services such as water, sewer or road maintenance.
Cynthia Holden, Eggena’s partner of 35 years, owns a 50-acre estate on the city’s south side that the couple has developed into nearly 30 parcels of personal storage units that exude a neighborhood feel.
The property shockingly went from a taxable value of $30,000 to a value of $3.5 million in just four years.
But further developments like Holden’s may not have a future in the tin-filled city.
Starting this year, the city will no longer allow personal metal buildings in commercial districts.
The city is also now enforcing ordinances and proper land use and is considering enacting further regulations – including a ban on water and septic tanks to prevent them from becoming overflowing guest houses or rentable vacation homes.
In addition, officials have instituted a new zoning ordinance that bans the use of commercial storage on the main corridors – making it the third time they have stepped in to change the rules, which typically happens when a new council comes into play.
They say it is intended to “protect and enhance aesthetics… by encouraging sustainable development that respects the environment and upholds the Northwoods character of the community,” according to the ordinance.
The decision also states that “certain land uses are prohibited in this district, along with stricter regulations on architectural standards to ensure the long-term protection of Crosslake’s beauty.”
But in 2025, a new mayor and a brand new council will both take over, leaving the future of the luxurious ‘barndominiums’ unclear.