Christopher Keppel moved to Victoria about 15 years ago because he wanted to be near the lake and restaurants.
But he fears the charm of the southwest metro community will fade when his neighbor builds a residential structure with a 6,000-square-foot garage.
“It’s almost identical to having a Tires Plus in my backyard,” said Keppel, who is leading a petition drive urging city officials to revoke the building permit.
Call them car barns, garage condos or “barndominiums,” the demand for luxury storage spaces, sometimes connected to or including gathering spaces, is rising across Minnesota and the nation. People are building them in the Twin Cities metro area and in the Brainerd Lakes area as parking for car collections and seasonal toys, such as boats, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
So residents and city officials increasingly find themselves in emotionally fraught debates about where large garages can be built and what sorts of amenities they can offer.
Facilities offering storage for luxury or classic vehicles set up in Chanhassen and Eagan, among other places. Some units include kitchens, wet bars or fireplaces. Some have spaces to hold events. Online resale prices for some condos range from about $350,000 to $650,000.
Some cities have embraced them. In others, residents have fought them, arguing the facilities will depress property values and diminish quality of life if traffic picks up around homes.
“You understand this is where people live,” Victoria Mayor Debra McMillan said. “It’s very personal to them, and I understand and I sympathize.”