View-rich Summit Hill house built along 77-step stairway lists for $490K in St. Paul

Architect Paul Ormseth wanted a project, and the bluff of St. Paul felt like the perfect place.

Between overgrown bushes and shrubs, right in the middle of 77 steep steps connecting pedestrian traffic between St. Paul’s Grand Avenue and Lawton Street, Ormseth discovered the foundation from an old house. Standing on the lot with views of the Mississippi River valley and High Bridge, Ormseth decided to build.

Today, the home spans 1,410 square feet and is on the market for the first time. The current owner — former editor of the Growler Magazine Joseph Alton — is selling the beloved property he spent more than a decade in to focus on his Wisconsin farm full time. Built in 2008, it’s much newer than the historic mansions surrounding it and a fraction of the price at $489,500.

The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in the Summit Hill neighborhood is one of a kind, said listing agent Anna Garnaas-Halvorson.

“People are either going to love it and want it and be willing to pay for it. Or they don’t want to carry their groceries down the steps to the house,” Garnaas-Halvorson said. “It’s probably the most unique house ever. I almost feel like I’m in a tree house in there, and I love how it’s so cozy in its spaces.”

While the new owner will have to trek up and down the stairs regularly, the city actually maintains the stairs, including shoveling in winter. But some potential drawbacks are because of the home’s location, there is no street address (70 Lawton Steps is what goes on mail), no garage and only street parking available, the closest being at the top of the stairs along South Lawton Street.

That’s also where the mailbox is, though Amazon delivery drivers seem to always brave the steps to drop packages right at the front door. DoorDashers, however, often have a hard time finding the place.

But with an open floor plan and plenty of seating available in the courtyard, the home has been a host’s dream, Alton said.

“I’ve hosted some of my favorite dinner parties of all time here,” Alton said. “A potluck, cocktail party or having a grill-out all works really, really well here.”

Ormseth bought the vacant property from the county and coordinated with city staff on licenses to make sure he could build a house on the lot. Then he set to work, hiring a contractor to build out the foundation on the slope of the bluff, reinforcing much of it with steel beams to ensure that the home wouldn’t budge.

Besides that, Ormseth said, he recruited friends and family to help him haul most of the building materials down the stairs, including lumber beams, blocks of salvaged cobblestone, pieces of slate for flooring and roof tiles.

“Most of it was done by hand,” he said. “The stairs get a fair amount of traffic, and people were split between those who thought I was crazy and others who thought it was a great idea [to build a home on the lot].”

Throughout the home, Ormseth used natural or recycled materials and designed it to be energy-efficient. The home includes salvaged chalkboards from a shuttered Minneapolis school as the floor in the foyer. Cork lines the steps leading to the kitchen, and in the dining room there are slate tiles built to absorb heat from the south-facing window, which makes the home warmer at night.

Much of the living space has views of the Mississippi River through windows stretching from the dining room to the kitchen. Steps from the dining room lead to the lofted bedroom. Below the foyer, there’s another bedroom.

“I liked the idea of the main living space being a platform that took in the view of the river bluff and High Bridge,” Ormseth said.

Outside, the salvaged cobblestone makes up a patio that leads from the public stairs to the front door. There’s a small area for a garden.

“I designed a house that you could only walk through,” Ormseth said. “I wanted a welcoming courtyard carved into the hillside. Inside the house, I wanted to continue the theme of the stairway, and that’s why the levels are connected by half-flights, and there’s a feeling of the stairs winding through the house.”

Ormseth lived in the house himself until he sold it directly to Alton — who had actually rented it for a few years prior to the sale — when the architect’s family needed a bigger home. Alton said he hasn’t made any renovations since moving in more than a decade ago.

“It’s well made with sturdy materials, and the finishes are very durable,” Alton said. “It feels like a big house because of how functional it is. Once the leaves drop, you have a clear panoramic view all the way from downtown [St. Paul] to the 3M building in Maplewood to the Schmidt Brewery in the West Seventh neighborhood.”

The home, situated in the woods, feels like it is miles away from being smack dab in the city.

“The house itself expresses my love for the neighborhood and St. Paul,” Ormseth said. “It’s such a great spot in the heart of St. Paul with the wildlife all around. It feels like a little oasis along the stairs and was a wonderful place to start a family.”

Anna Garnaas-Halvorson (651-353-2662, anna@hartmannteam.com) of RE/Max Results has the $489,500 listing.