For 10 years, Twin Cities design dilettantes have been flocking to Housing First Minnesota’s Artisan Home Tour to get a taste of the local luxury homebuilding industry. From gourmet kitchens and marble-clad bathrooms to floor-to-ceiling fireplaces and indoor athletic courts, this curated selection of new builds and remodeled spaces shows tour-goers what’s possible when you work with a custom builder and cross the million-dollar threshold. It’s aspirational — no matter if you’re attending the tour to gather ideas for your own luxury build or simply for the entertainment of walking through a show-stopping home.
“That was my story,” recalls Amy Hendel of Hendel Homes, Housing First Minnesota’s 2022 Builder of the Year. “When I was a little kid, I would go along with my parents to the Parade of Homes in Chicago. You would dream. I think that’s fun for people, whether or not they can afford it. To be able to walk through a home like that is incredible.”
Now, Hendel is on the other side, working with her husband Rick Hendel and their team to craft luxury homes that delight and inspire.
That’s the hallmark of the Artisan Home Tour. “It’s a high-quality product,” says Hendel, who is chairing the Artisan Home Tour committee for 2023. “We do have a level of home that is expected. We don’t
want to let people down.”
As the Artisan Home Tour gears up to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, read on to learn more about its history, how it has become a must-see tour in the Twin Cities, and what’s planned for the 2023 tours (yes, you read that right!)
A tour for builders, by builders
Although the Artisan Home Tour is a relatively new event in the Twin Cities, Housing First Minnesota has been operating home tours for more than 70 years. In 1949, the association introduced the Parade of Homes to the region for the first time, and it has since evolved into the largest tour of its kind in the country.
While the Parade of Homes is Housing First Minnesota’s signature event, featuring hundreds of new and remodeled homes twice per year, the association’s member builders craved a separate tour for their projects over $1.5 million.
“It really came as a request from our members saying, ‘You do a great job with the Parade of Homes. Would you consider doing another tour to showcase these high-end homes?’” explains Tom Gavaras, Housing First Minnesota’s vice president of events and workforce initiatives, as well as operations manager for the Artisan Home Tour.
“It’s able to serve our members and also provide a showcase for those types of homes in a more exclusive setting.”
In the first year of the Artisan Home Tour in 2014, 25 homes were presented, a number that has remained pretty consistent through the past decade to maintain the tour’s boutique, exclusive feel. Many of the same builders return year after year to showcase their latest projects, which must meet certain criteria — determined in cooperation with the builder committee based on the cost of homes and materials — to be considered for inclusion on the tour.
For 2023, new builds must have a structure-only value of at least $1.5 million or $350 per square foot, and remodeled projects must total no less than $500,000 or $300 per square foot.
“[The association] is always striving to make it a better event for the consumer. We want them to come out to our homes and enjoy the experience. Then it’s up to us to put out a great product that gets them excited about potentially building,” says Swanson Homes owner Curt Swanson, one of the builders who initiated the Artisan Home Tour and has been a participant nearly every year. “It’s one thing to see a pretty picture and another thing to actually walk through that kitchen or sunroom and see what it really looks like.”
Offering tour-goers the opportunity to meet with builders and see their work firsthand is one of the biggest benefits of the Artisan Home Tour. “In many cases, the home that a builder features the next year is from someone who came through the tour the previous year,” says Gavaras. “Or they may say it’s not the right time to build a multi-million-dollar home, but they come back five years later saying, ‘Now I’m ready — from a lifestyle standpoint, from a financial standpoint, from a family standpoint — to upgrade and build a luxury artisan home.”
Twice the luxury
Every year since its inception, the number of combined visits to homes on the Artisan Home Tour has hovered around 50,000. But Housing First Minnesota is hopeful that number will double in 2023 when, for the first time in the tour’s history, two Artisan Home Tours will be presented: one in June and a second in October.
“To be in a tour that’s so successful and continues to build for 10 years is a testimony to the people that put it on,” says Hendel. “Housing First Minnesota is such a strong organization, and its support for builders is incredible.”
The collaboration with and feedback from builders prompted the addition of a second tour in 2023.
The idea for a fall event was sparked in 2020, when pandemic restrictions pushed the Artisan Home Tour from June to October. Because of the positive feedback from builders and tourgoers on the timing of the tour, it was decided to bring back an October event, giving builders two opportunities — and, therefore, more flexibility with the timing of the completion of their homes — to be part of the Artisan Home Tour.
“It seems like there’s a lot of interest from builders, and many have already signed up, so I’m confident it will be a successful year,” says Swanson. “As builders, we all compete against each other, yet we get together and we work hard to make an event that we can all be successful at. You get to know the other builders and you appreciate what they do. I think it helps make for a much better housing environment for the Twin Cities.”
Interested in entering or sponsoring the 2023 Artisan Home Tours?
Contact Kori Meewes (Kori@HousingFirstMN.org) or BradMeewes (Brad@HousingFirstMN.org) for more information.
