Forest Hills Preserve is the Twin Cities market's only premium 55+ age-restricted community — 35 single-family homes in Forest Lake, Washington County, priced $600K–$900K. It's the smallest community in this market by home count, but it occupies a unique market position: the buyer who wants a wooded, private setting in a legally age-restricted community at a premium price point with Washington County's lowest-in-metro tax rate.
Washington County's effective property tax rate of approximately 0.95% is the lowest in the seven-county Twin Cities metro — even lower than Dakota County's 0.99%. On an $800,000 home, that means approximately $7,600/year in property taxes versus $9,120 in Hennepin County — a savings of $1,520/year, or $15,200 over a decade. At this price level, the county matters.
This is not a resort community. At 35 homes, there is no clubhouse, no pool, no amenity center. The value proposition is land, privacy, wooded setting, and legal age-restriction — on the northeast edge of the metro, accessible to White Bear Lake and Forest Lake city services, with Washington County's tax structure.
Forest Lake has a genuine small-city downtown, fishing on Forest Lake and surrounding lakes, and access to the Wild River State Park corridor to the north. Buyers here are buying nature access and privacy, not an active social club.
Who this is for: The Forest Hills Preserve buyer wants a premium custom-quality new construction home, legal age-restriction, maximum privacy, and is indifferent to resort amenities. They likely already have an active social life and healthcare relationships in the east metro. This is not the right community for buyers relocating from out of state who want a built-in social structure.
Washington County's tax advantage versus Hennepin on a $750K home: approximately $165/month ($1,980/year). Over a decade, that compounds to nearly $23,000 in savings — meaningful at this price level.