There's home offices, and then there's offices in a home

In the age of the Internet, more business owners and their employees work out of home offices. Not many are working in offices carved out of what was once a home.

In certain parts of the Twin Cities, a combination of friendly zoning, funky character, affordability and growing demand have resulted in office and retail uses in buildings that were originally constructed as residential houses. They're usually located along busy commercial corridors, such as Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis and Grand Avenue in St. Paul.

From the outside, they look like they could still be residences. Only the signs in front and the parking lot in back give away their commercial character.

Homegrown Lacrosse, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the sport among Minnesota's young people, last month became a member of that small club when it purchased a 107-year-old former residence at 3125 Hennepin Av. S. in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood to host its growing group.

Aron Lipkin, the organization's 31-year-old executive director and co-founder, said that after 11 years at various locations he and his seven full-time employees have found a true "home" in the three-story frame house, which is easily recognizable by a distinctive red and green paint job.

"I'm an Uptown guy, I grew up in the Linden Hills neighborhood, and this feels like coming home to me after we had been leasing an office-retail space on Raymond Avenue in St. Paul," he said. "There's a lot of good energy in this place."

This week, Homegrown Lacrosse employees were at their desks in spaces that once upon a time served as the living room, parlor, kitchen and bedrooms of the house, which city records show was built in 1908 by Mr. A.E. Jones. Its hardwood floors and narrow staircase to the upper levels still have the distinct feel of home life at the turn of the 20th century.

The zoning along that stretch of Hennepin is "OR1," which calls for a "small scale mixed-use environment of low-to-moderate density dwellings and office uses." The designation is meant to serve as a buffer between the intense commercial uses at the epicenter of Uptown and the nearby residential areas.

Small businesses willing to consider buying such converted homes in desirable locations aren't as rare as one might imagine, according to Christian Lindgren of Keller Williams Realty Integrity Lakes, who represented the seller in the deal.

"As density and demand for more commercial space in popular areas like Uptown increases, you'll see some of the remaining homes either get knocked down or be converted," he said.

For the Hennepin Avenue property, he said, "We had offers not only from Aron, but also from people interested in turning it into a law office and others who considered it for a day spa."

A similar 100-year-old home on the 3200 block of Hennepin also sold to another business owner recently. "I would suspect that eventually Hennepin Avenue, all the way out to Lakewood Cemetery, ultimately is going to be commercial," Lindgren said.