Buying a Home in Woodbury, MN: From Red Rock Township to the Gold Line's Last Stop, and the Southeast Neighborhoods Still to Come

For its first year, Woodbury was called Red Rock. The township organized in 1858 under that name, after a painted rock on the east bank of the Mississippi. Another Minnesota community turned out to have the name already, so in 1859 the township was renamed for Judge Levi Woodbury of New Hampshire, a friend of the first town board chair. The city's own history page tells that story.

Woodbury is a Washington County city that grew from dairy farmland to 75,102 people by the 2020 Census, with three METRO Gold Line stations, the Woodwinds hospital and new neighborhoods planned in its southeast corner. I'm Jeff Moran, NMLS #483943, a mortgage broker licensed in Minnesota through C2 Financial Corporation, and I've been in the mortgage business since 1996. I wrote this page for you if you're thinking about a home in Woodbury. It goes further into this one city than the Twin Cities area guide can, and everything on it comes from public sources I checked on November 2, 2026.

From Red Rock Township to 75,000 people

Residents voted to incorporate on February 14, 1967, and the Village of Woodbury was incorporated that March 7, according to the state's municipal boundary record. About 6,184 people lived here in 1970. Woodbury Magazine's history of the city's growth says dairy farming was fading by then, and much of the farmland belonged to investors or retired farmers. The first homes went up as a cluster in the northwest corner, called Woodbury Heights, and the city spread east and south from there. The count passed 20,000 in 1990 and reached 75,102 in 2020.

The Schilling farm was Woodbury's last dairy, and it stopped milking in 2004. The farm was auctioned in September 2014, and MPR wrote at the time that "there hasn't been room for the farmer in the city in years." Woodbury's first mayor was Orville Bielenberg. The city's sports center carried his name until HealthEast bought the naming rights.

The Gold Line's last three stops

The METRO Gold Line opened on Saturday, March 22, 2025, and its eastern end is in Woodbury. There are three station areas here: Tamarack Station on Bielenberg Drive, Woodbury Theatre Station on Guider Drive near the Woodbury 10 theatre, and the end-of-line Woodlane Station Park & Ride at Guider Drive and Woodlane Drive. The project also built a new bridge over I-94 that connects Helmo Avenue in Oakdale with Bielenberg Drive in Woodbury, all laid out on the city's Gold Line page. If you'd ride it to work, it's worth checking how far a home you like is from one of those three stops.

Woodbury Village is the shopping center on Bielenberg Drive near Tamarack Station, and the city's station-area plan lists Target, Kohl's and Lunds & Byerlys there. CityPlace is on the east side of Radio Drive, across from the Tamarack Village shops. It's the redevelopment of the former State Farm Insurance campus, and Twin Cities Business reported that the plans included offices, shops and two hotels.

Homes are being proposed along that stretch as well. A 150-unit project on Bielenberg Drive, apartments plus one other kind of home, went before the Planning Commission on February 23, 2026. The commission's minutes show the developer asking the city to change the zoning on the land and approve a first map of its lots and streets. I couldn't find the City Council's final vote on it, so please treat it as a proposal until the city says otherwise.

Woodbury Lakes, Woodwinds and the city's employers

Woodbury Lakes, an open-air shopping center built by Opus and RED Development, opened in 2005, according to Wikipedia's article on the center. Bring Me The News reported in March 2026 that Shake Shack was under construction there, its first east-metro location, and I couldn't find a report that it had opened by November 2.

M Health Fairview Woodwinds Hospital opened in August 2000 as the first hospital in Woodbury, and it is still the only one. The American Hospital Directory's 2024 listing shows 86 staffed beds. The City of Woodbury's community profile lists the city's employers, including M Health Fairview, HealthPartners, Summit Orthopedics, Allina, 3M, Assurant, EcoWater Systems and Target.com. If your job is with one of them, it's worth timing the drive from any home you're considering.

Parks, trails and Woodbury Days

The City of Woodbury owns more than 3,600 acres of land, with 180 miles of trails and 63 parks, according to the city's parks page. That page is a good way to see which parks and trails are near a home you like. Eagle Valley Golf Course is an 18-hole public course the city owns and runs, and Explore Minnesota's listing dates it to 1998.

The sports center's first pieces, an air-supported bubble and an arena, opened during 1995. A $22 million expansion added a 90,000-square-foot fieldhouse that opened in September 2014, according to the Star Tribune.

Woodbury Magazine's look back at the festival's first 40 years says Woodbury Days started as a community picnic in the late 1970s and moved from Potawatomi Park to Ojibway Park in 1980. The festival's own site had this year's running August 28 to 30 at Ojibway Park, with Saturday fireworks and the Grande Parade along Commonwealth Avenue, Sherwood Road and Woodlane Drive. Park entry is free, and the rides, food and some activities cost extra.

Three school districts serve Woodbury

Three public school districts cover parts of the city. South Washington County Schools, which goes by SoWashCo, is the main one, with Woodbury High and East Ridge High. Stillwater Area Public Schools runs Brookview Elementary at 11099 Brookview Road, a K-5 school that opened in 2017, according to REBusiness. North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale serves at least part of Woodbury as well. I couldn't find a published source showing which streets belong to which district, so please check any address you're considering with the district itself.

SoWashCo voters turned down a larger plan in 2022. On November 7, 2023, they approved two bond questions and a property tax for school technology, about $260 million in all. That money is paying for work at 15 schools over five years. The district's May 2026 construction update had drywall, the new outside walls, the kitchen and the locker rooms in progress at Woodbury High. An earlier update put the high school's finish in 2027.

The southeast, where the next neighborhoods are planned

Woodbury started in its northwest corner, and the city's newest plans are on the opposite side. In May 2026 the city approved the Cottage Grove Drive Area Master Plan, covering about 370 acres of southeast Woodbury. The city calls that land Phase 2D and Phase 3, its names for the areas in line to grow next. The city's plan page also proposes a greenway from Woodbury Drive to Andy's Bark Park and a neighborhood park north of Dale Road, east of Cottage Grove Drive. A master plan is the guide the city checks later projects against, and each new neighborhood there still needs its own approval.

Bailey Nurseries is selling about 184 acres north of Bailey Road, on land that crosses into Newport and Maplewood. The Woodbury City Council approved the Bailey West Master Plan on June 24, 2026, for light industrial space and a mix of housing, some spread out and some built closer together. About 30 acres on the east side are slated for a New Life Academy recreation area, and the first phase is 46 acres in Newport, as the Star Tribune reported.

The city scheduled the widening of Dale Road between Radio Drive and Copper Ridge Drive for 2025, according to its Dale Road project page. KSTP reported that road work tied to the new water plant would go on each summer until the plant runs in 2028.

Looking up a Woodbury address

The mailing address may say Saint Paul

Plenty of Woodbury listings carry the mailing city Saint Paul with the ZIP code 55125 or 55129. The mailing city comes from the post office, so it won't tell you which city the home is in. Washington County's property records will show that, along with the tax history on the parcel.

The water, and what the city is building

According to the city's water treatment page, Woodbury has been treating its well water for PFAS, a family of manufactured chemicals, since an emergency action in January 2020. It added interim treatment at three more well sites in February 2024. The permanent plant is going up at Hargis Parkway, east of Radio Drive. Ground was broken in November 2024, it is designed for about 32 million gallons a day, and the city expects it to run in 2028. The Star Tribune reported a cost of about $330 million when construction began. Most of the plant's cost is set to be paid from the state's 2018 settlement with 3M.

For the latest on the water, the city keeps a page called Addressing PFAS in Drinking Water, and I'd send you there rather than sum it up here. The city also limits which days you can water a lawn, so please ask about the schedule if you're planning new sod or a big garden.

While treatment capacity caught up, building was put on hold in a few southern areas, including around Dale Road and Cottage Grove Drive. KSTP reported that the City Council approved a plan to stop taking building applications there until roughly 2026, while building went on elsewhere in the city. I couldn't find a council action ending or extending that pause. If you're looking at land or a new build in the south of Woodbury, please ask Woodbury Community Development where it stands for that parcel.

The property tax bill

Washington County sends the property tax bill, and the county's tax page says it's due in two equal halves, on May 15 and October 15. The proposed tax notice for next year arrives in mid-November, which makes this a good month to look at the new number on any home you like. The city's levy, the total it collects in property tax, went up 9.7% for 2026. The city's proposed 2027 budget lays out next year, and the council adopts the 2027 levy in December. Washington County also doesn't add the extra Environmental Response Fund tax that Hennepin and Ramsey counties charge at closing.

Water, sewer and storm water bills

The City of Woodbury bills water, sewer and storm water together every quarter. A city utility-fund document dated August 12, 2026 lists increases of 5% to 8% for water and the two sewer charges. The city also has a rate study out for bid, so please look at the current rate page before you set a budget for that bill.

Woodbury costs and your mortgage

The Washington County tax bill and your homeowners insurance go into the monthly payment a lender qualifies you on, along with any association dues. The quarterly utility bill isn't part of that payment under Fannie Mae's or FHA's rules, so it's yours to plan for. Pre-approval in Minnesota covers what the letter is based on, and the Minnesota page explains the two state recording taxes and the homestead filing.

If you already own in Woodbury, refinancing in Minnesota walks through that side. If you've served, how VA loans work in Minnesota covers entitlement and the funding fee. If you own a business, self-employed mortgages in Minnesota explains how we'll look at your income.

You can run your numbers for a Woodbury purchase whenever you're ready and see the rate options for your scenario. Choose the rate option that works best for you, and you can change that selection later. If you'd rather talk it through first, I'm happy to take your call.

Nothing here is a loan approval, a denial or a commitment to lend, and it is not tax advice.

Common questions

Is Woodbury, MN in Washington County?

Yes. Woodbury is a Washington County city, and Washington County sends the property tax bill and handles the homestead filing. Many Woodbury addresses use the mailing city Saint Paul, so the county's property records are the place to confirm which city a specific home is in.

Why do Woodbury addresses say Saint Paul?

The mailing city comes from the post office, and many Woodbury listings use Saint Paul with the ZIP code 55125 or 55129. The home can still be inside the City of Woodbury, and Washington County's property records show which city it is in.

Does the Gold Line stop in Woodbury?

Yes. The METRO Gold Line opened on March 22, 2025, with three station areas in Woodbury: Tamarack Station on Bielenberg Drive, Woodbury Theatre Station on Guider Drive, and the end-of-line Woodlane Station Park & Ride at Guider Drive and Woodlane Drive.

Can I build a new home in southern Woodbury right now?

It depends on the parcel. The City Council paused building applications in a few southern areas, including around Dale Road and Cottage Grove Drive, until roughly 2026 while water treatment caught up. I couldn't confirm whether that pause has ended, so please ask Woodbury Community Development about the specific land.

Which school district serves a Woodbury address?

Three districts cover parts of Woodbury: South Washington County Schools, Stillwater Area Public Schools and North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale. South Washington County is the main one, and Stillwater runs Brookview Elementary in Woodbury. Please check the specific address with the district.

When will Woodbury's new water treatment plant open?

The city expects the permanent plant to run in 2028. Ground was broken in November 2024 on the site at Hargis Parkway, east of Radio Drive, and interim treatment has been running on affected wells since 2020.