St. Louis Park Made Room for Fourplexes. Here's Where Its New Housing Is Actually Going

In St. Louis Park, the owner of an 80-foot-wide lot can split it into two 40-foot lots without a public hearing, a planning commission review or a city council vote. City staff check the application against the code and approve it if it complies. That rule came out of the city's 2025 zoning reform, which allowed duplexes and triplexes in low-density neighborhoods and four-unit buildings in medium-density areas along transit corridors. Eighteen months later, according to a report the city prepared for an October 5, 2026 council study session, the city had not received a single application for a duplex, triplex or fourplex.

Applications came in for something else: new single-family houses on narrower lots. The large buildings are all going up next to the three light rail stations that open next June. If you're comparing St. Louis Park with nearby suburbs this winter, that's the real picture of where new housing is landing, and it doesn't match the headlines.

Nine applications, and what they built

The city's report lists every application since the ADU ordinance passed in 2020 and the broader reform in 2025 that the old code would not have allowed. There are nine.

All of that adds up to 11 housing units the old code would not have permitted. Two of them required tearing down an existing home and an existing duplex, so the net gain is eight. Staff wrote that the pace looks like the city's historical rate of teardowns for new single-family homes, five to ten a year, which is what staff predicted during public engagement. City staff do expect two duplex applications before the end of 2026.

The table shows a pattern by neighborhood, too. Elmwood accounts for four of the nine applications, and it's the only neighborhood with both a lot split and an ADU.

Why the reform produced narrow houses instead of multiplexes

On paper, the 2025 code allows a lot. In all low-density residential areas the city now permits duplexes, triplexes and courtyard cottages. In medium-density areas along transit corridors it allows four-unit buildings, small townhouses and three-story apartment buildings. The reform also lowered minimum lot size and lot width, and that change is the one builders have actually used. The city's report calls the recent rise in lot splits "an intentional result" of phase one and points to the common 80-foot lot that can now become two 40-foot lots.

The process explains part of it. Applicants told staff they like the administrative path because it's faster and cheaper than a full subdivision application. The same report notes there's "no mechanism" to require that a split lot hold a duplex or triplex. Whatever goes up has to meet the same size limits as any other home in that zoning district, and the code can't set its price.

Trees are the main cost applicants mentioned. Replacement fees depend on how many significant and heritage trees must come down for the new house, and the fees paid so far have ranged from nothing to $33,315. So on a wooded block, what a split lot is worth depends partly on what's growing on it.

ADUs have a similar limit. Architects and homeowners told the city the permit process is simple but that the upper level is capped at a half-story. Dormers can cover up to half of each side. The city's accessory dwelling unit page allows one ADU per single-family lot and requires no extra off-street parking for it.

How neighbors find out, and what they've said

Because lot splits and ADUs are administrative, nobody holds a hearing. A different rule covers the construction itself. Any new house or demolition needs a construction management plan, which means mailed notice to properties within 200 feet, a sign on the site with the applicant's contact information, and a meeting where neighbors can see the plans. For a homeowner, that mailed notice will usually be the first sign that the lot next door is changing.

Feedback has been light. Staff have received no neighbor comments about the lot splits. For one detached ADU, the city received a neighbor's comment about lost privacy and a changed view, and the city's report notes that ADU sits well beyond the five-foot minimum rear setback. No one has complained about noise, parking or traffic from any of the three ADUs.

Where the real density is going: three station sites

The big buildings are concentrated at the stations. Metro Transit announced on September 26, 2026 that the Green Line extension opens to riders on June 12, 2027. The 14.5-mile line will run from St. Paul and Minneapolis through St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka to Eden Prairie. The Star Tribune reported that the line was originally supposed to open in 2018. Developers didn't wait for it. Finance & Commerce counted more than 1,000 housing units completed, proposed or under construction near the city's three stations as of June 2026.

Here's what's at each station:

• Beltline Boulevard. Sherman Associates is building 380 units in three buildings: 152 market-rate units, 82 affordable units and 146 market-rate units. The project includes retail and a 592-stall parking ramp. Finance & Commerce reported that about 45% of the ramp will go to commuter parking and that Building 1's commercial space may be anchored by a grocer, though no tenant had been named. The city's October 2026 update projected that Building 3 would finish in late October and the ramp in late November, with exterior work and landscaping continuing through April 2027. Lane shifts on Beltline and the closure of 32nd Street south of the site last for the length of construction. Two finished buildings are already on Beltline: Roers Cos.' 170-unit Risor at 3510 Beltline and Opus's 250-unit Corsa at 3440 Beltline.
• Wooddale Avenue. Zelia on Seven has 217 units and Arbor Court has 114 all-affordable units in a building that replaced a disused church at 3801 Wooddale Avenue S. The city-owned site at 5950 W. 36th St. is still a proposal. Saturday Properties withdrew in 2023 and Roers Companies dropped out in 2025. Sentinel Management Company's current preliminary plan calls for roughly 165 to 185 mixed-income units, about 4,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and a public plaza, and Sentinel is expected to apply for planning approvals in 2026, according to the city's project page.
• Louisiana Avenue. This has been the slowest of the three. Loffler moved into the renovated former Sam's Club building in 2023, and as of June 2026, housing on part of its parking lot was still only a very early idea, Finance & Commerce reported.

Compare the two counts. The station projects run to roughly a thousand units, mostly rentals in large buildings. The neighborhood reform added a net eight units in 18 months. When the city opened up the single-family blocks, the market kept building single-family homes there and put its density next to the platforms.

What the September numbers add

All of this is happening as the sale market loosens. In the Minneapolis Area REALTORS® St. Louis Park report for September 2026, inventory was 191 homes, up 18.6% from September 2025. Months of supply rose from 2.6 to 3.2, and homes that sold took 51 days on average, up from 38. Closed sales fell 17.6%, to 56. Across the Twin Cities metro that month, inventory rose 11.2% and the median rose 1.3%, to $395,000. The Star Tribune linked the shift to higher mortgage rates and more listings tilting leverage toward buyers.

The St. Louis Park median looks like it points the other way. It rose 5.7% in September 2026, to $415,750, while price per square foot fell 1.4%, to $240. When the median goes up and the price per square foot goes down, the homes that sold that month were likely larger, not more expensive per foot. MAAR's report notes that a single month can look extreme on a small sample, and 56 sales is a small sample. The rolling 12-month median is $395,050, up 2.4%.

For anyone buying this winter, that means a market with more listings, slower sales and a firm opening date for the train. The new zoning has added a few homes a year to the neighborhoods, while the apartments are rising at the stations.

Questions we hear about St. Louis Park's zoning and the Green Line

Can a neighbor split their lot without a public hearing?

Yes. Lot splits that meet the code are approved administratively, with no public hearing and no planning commission or council action. Building a new house or demolishing one triggers the construction management plan, which requires mailed notice within 200 feet, a site sign and a neighbor meeting.

Is the city still changing its zoning?

The city's October report says staff plan to finish a third phase of the zoning update in 2027. It covers updated handouts, website explanations, test development scenarios and amendments to make the code clearer. The city's Zoning Code Update Phase 1 page is the place to check current rules.

When can I ride the train from St. Louis Park?

Metro Transit says passenger service begins June 12, 2027. Testing, training and final construction continue until then.

All of this is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Before you count on what a particular lot can hold, confirm it with the city's zoning staff and the right professionals.

If you're weighing a St. Louis Park home near Wooddale, Beltline or Louisiana, or wondering what the lot-split rules mean for the block you're considering, McKevitt Perez Real Estate can walk you through the new construction and the current numbers street by street. Find the lifestyle you want, and know what's planned around it.