Boom towns: Look to the east

When Paul Mayer was a boy in New Richmond, Wis., he was one of 3,000 residents in what he remembers as a sleepy town far from the Twin Cities. He grew up and moved away from New Richmond for 40 years, but found a bustling city when he returned three years ago.

"We went from being a self-contained community to being somewhat of a bedroom community for the Twin Cities," said Mayer, now president of the New Richmond Area Economic Development Corp., about 40 miles northeast of St. Paul.

That's much the story throughout St. Croix County, where the latest census figures show significant increases in housing and population in the ever-growing outward march of the Twin Cities metro area. Since 2000, new housing has more than tripled, while population has grown by nearly 27 percent. St. Croix County, due east of Minnesota's Washington County, remains the fastest-growing county in Wisconsin.

Neighboring Pierce and Polk counties, smaller in population but strategically positioned for Twin Cities commuters, also saw substantial growth.

The trend is similar to an exurban expansion elsewhere in the Twin Cities metro area in recent years. Census figures show four Minnesota counties in the top 100 fastest-growing counties in the nation since 2000, as measured by new housing units: Scott County at 21st with a 49 percent increase, Wright County at 52nd with a 41 percent increase, Sherburne County at 56th with a 40 percent increase and Carver County at 74th with a 37 percent increase.

Although most of the growth in western Wisconsin happened before the housing downturn, the population influx has put new demands on roads and other public services and is nudging the region's rural character to somewhat of a more suburban nature.

St. Croix County explodes

New Richmond, now a city of more than 8,000, is opening new schools and remodeling others to accommodate the growth. The expansion appears in other ways, too, such as the long-running and acrimonious debate over the proposed St. Croix River Crossing bridge. Unincorporated towns such as Hammond have nearly doubled in population since 2000.

The biggest population gains happened in St. Croix County cities such as Hudson, New Richmond and River Falls, which added thousands of new residents since 2000. But the Town of Hudson, full of new houses on the east side of the city of Hudson, has grown by 1,700 residents, to more than 7,900, in eight years.

"Because we're so close to the Cities it's a pretty attractive commute for people," said Jeff Johnson, chairman of the town board. But he also said that the wave of foreclosures and other housing problems that started two years ago has left many St. Croix County communities "overbuilt" and looking for other uses for houses that stand empty.

Before the downturn, the Town of Hudson issued about 90 building permits a year. Now, Johnson said, that's down to about one a month.

It was housing that lured people to the far reaches of the metro area before the downturn, said Martha McMurry, a research analyst in the state demographer's office. "In some cases they can get more housing for their money, which is probably playing a role in the Wisconsin areas," she said.

Different markets are emerging, she said, with multiple family units outpacing single-family homes in some places. Influences such as land prices and affordability of different types of housing will determine new patterns of growth once the economy recovers, she said.

Mayer said New Richmond's cheaper land and housing appeals to new residents who want to enjoy a comparatively rural life while remaining close to urban culture and shopping.

"We still have a small-town atmosphere," he said. "It's just really a great place to live."

Kevin Giles • 612-673-4432