Building a garage onto your Minneapolis property

is a great way to give yourself a lot of extra storage, protect your car from the harsh Minnesota winters, and finally have a comfortable work space. Additionally, building a garage is a fantastic way to increase the value of your property and make it more appealing to house hunters.

It could also be a great way to help you make extra money if you add an apartment onto the second story of your garage and rent it out. However, before you can begin building a garage onto your Minneapolis property, there are some serious rules and regulations that you need to consider. Failing to follow the local Minneapolis building code will result in serious fines.

You also need to plan and budget accordingly in order to get the job done right, leaving yourself a healthy cushion of time and budget for anything unexpected that pops up along the way.

Before you can build your new garage, you are going to need approval from one, possibly two authorities; the City of Minneapolis’ planning board, and your homeowner’s association (if you have one). More information here. In order to get approval, you will need to have your Minneapolis garage building contractor draw up plans for your new garage that are in compliance with the rules set out by each authority.

Once the plans are drawn up and submitted, the planning board will review them and issue you all of the necessary permits for the construction of your new garage.

Reasons to add a garage to your Minneapolis Home

Minneapolis, along with its sister city of St. Paul, boasts one of the most vibrant and ethnically diverse cultures in the Upper Midwest portion of the United States. The Twin Cities are not only blessed to be located on both banks of the mighty Mississippi River but are also close by to thousands of smaller rivers and lakes. The area is truly a sportsman’s paradise.

It is not all “peaches and cream,” however. Minneapolis also endures some of the harshest winters in the U.S. In particular, temperatures in January can drop to to minus 41 °F and below with snowfalls approaching five feet on an annual basis.

It is safe to say that a garage is a must for protecting a vehicle but there are other reasons to have one in the Twin Cities area. Here are a few examples:

For office space – Minneapolis has prospered over the last few years. As such, office rates in the downtown business corridor have skyrocketed. Entrepreneurs in the city should consider the advantages of creating their own office space in their garage. It adds value to the entire property, saves you money on rent and makes your daily commute as easy as can be.

For storage space – Located in the “Land of a Thousand Lakes,” the residents of Minneapolis have ample opportunity to swim, boat and fish. All of these activities – as well as others like biking and camping – require a significant amount of specialized gear. It can be difficult to find room in the main house to store these items but an exterior storage space in the garage is an ideal solution to the problem.

For added income – In the past decade, the city of Minneapolis has seen a tremendous amount of urban renewal leading to a significant increase in its population. Housing starts having kept up with demand however. For this reason, homeowners looking to make a little extra income every month should seriously consider building out their garage to include an apartment.

For botanical space – As mentioned, the winters in Minneapolis can be quite cold and windy. Many plants simply cannot take the strain and must be protected from the wind and the snow during this time. A hothouse or arboretum is an excellent solution – the plants can be well-cared for while dirt and bugs can be kept out of the main house.