Wayzata, MN · Serving Long Lake and the Lake Minnetonka Corridor
Custom Home Builder
Long Lake, MN
Stonewood builds extraordinary luxury custom homes in Long Lake: from architect-designed estate homes on wooded lots to teardown-rebuilds and bespoke new construction. Rooted in neighboring Wayzata. Built for Long Lake.
Long Lake, Minnesota
Stonewood: Long Lake’s Luxury Custom Home Builder
Long Lake is one of the Lake Minnetonka corridor’s most quietly compelling communities. Nestled between Wayzata and Orono in Hennepin County, it offers a residential lifestyle defined by genuine privacy, mature wooded lots, and access to both the natural beauty of the Lake Minnetonka area and the convenience of Highway 12 into downtown Minneapolis. For homeowners who want the character of the north-lake corridor without the visibility of Wayzata or the scale of Excelsior, Long Lake delivers something increasingly rare: unhurried, private lake-adjacent living within twenty minutes of the city.
Stonewood has built and overseen luxury custom homes throughout the Lake Minnetonka corridor for over seventy years. Our office is headquartered in neighboring Wayzata, making Long Lake one of the communities closest to home for our team. We know Long Lake’s lot conditions, its permitting officials, the Orono School District’s standards, and the character expected by Long Lake homeowners who invest in bespoke residential construction.
Whether you own a lot in Long Lake and are ready to build, have an older home on a prime parcel you are considering replacing, or are searching for the right luxury custom home builder near Long Lake, Stonewood is Long Lake’s answer.
Why Long Lake Is One of Minnesota’s Most Sought-After Custom Home Communities
Privacy, Nature, and Lake Corridor Access
Long Lake, Minnesota occupies a distinctive position in Hennepin County’s residential geography. It sits directly between Wayzata, one of Minnesota’s most celebrated lakefront communities, and Orono, one of the state’s most prestigious estate-home addresses. That location gives Long Lake homeowners access to the full Lake Minnetonka lifestyle: the trails, the water culture, and the dining and shopping of downtown Wayzata, while maintaining a degree of quiet and privacy that is increasingly difficult to find in the metro’s western suburbs.
Long Lake itself, the body of water the city takes its name from, anchors the community’s identity and provides waterfront opportunities for residents who want lake access without the price and visibility of Lake Minnetonka’s primary shoreline. The surrounding landscape of mature trees, rolling terrain, and established residential streets creates a setting that Stonewood clients consistently describe as feeling more like a private retreat than a suburban address. The combination of that character with top-tier schools, a direct Highway 12 commute, and proximity to everything Wayzata offers makes Long Lake one of the Lake Minnetonka corridor’s most compelling markets for luxury custom home construction.
Long Lake’s Luxury Custom Home Market
Long Lake’s residential market is defined by its lots. The city’s wooded, generously sized parcels attract custom home clients who prioritize privacy, mature landscaping, and a genuine sense of separation from neighboring homes, qualities that are increasingly rare across the metro. Many of these lots were developed during the mid-twentieth century, creating a housing stock where the land is the irreplaceable asset but the structure no longer reflects contemporary expectations for luxury living. This dynamic drives one of the most compelling teardown-rebuild markets in the Lake Minnetonka corridor.
Stonewood’s Long Lake clients include executives commissioning a first forever home on a lot purchased specifically for its character, families inheriting or purchasing an older property with outstanding natural features, and homeowners who have lived in Long Lake for years and are ready to replace a dated structure with a custom home that finally realizes the full potential of their land. In every case, the Stonewood approach is the same: original design tailored to the specific lot, complete budget transparency before a shovel moves, and quality execution from site analysis through the final walkthrough.
The Teardown-Rebuild Opportunity in Long Lake
Long Lake’s established neighborhoods include a significant number of properties where a well-built mid-century or postwar home sits on a lot that today’s luxury buyer would pay significantly for. These lots have matured in ways that new subdivisions simply cannot replicate: established tree canopies, natural topography, mature foundation plantings, and the kind of settled-in character that takes generations to develop. The structures on them, however, often cannot be meaningfully updated to deliver the ceiling heights, floor plan openness, mechanical performance, and energy efficiency that contemporary luxury construction provides.
Stonewood manages the complete teardown-rebuild scope in Long Lake: existing structure assessment, selective or full demolition, City of Long Lake and Hennepin County permitting, and complete custom home construction on your existing lot. Our team is intimately familiar with Long Lake’s specific zoning requirements, setback rules, tree preservation ordinances, and the practical realities of building on the community’s varied topography. Clients do not navigate that complexity. We do.
Long Lake Neighborhoods and Areas Stonewood Serves
Long Lake’s residential fabric is varied, from the lakefront parcels along Long Lake itself to the wooded interior streets and the transitional neighborhoods along Wayzata Boulevard that connect the city to its neighbors. Stonewood serves clients throughout Long Lake and the immediately adjacent communities of Orono and Wayzata.
Long Lake Waterfront
Lots fronting Long Lake offer direct water access, private dock opportunities, and the lake lifestyle that defines this corridor. Stonewood builds custom lakefront homes throughout the Long Lake shoreline, with full attention to DNR setback requirements and water-oriented design.
Wooded Interior Neighborhoods
Long Lake’s interior residential streets offer some of the most compelling lot conditions in the Lake Minnetonka corridor: mature tree canopies, natural topography, and generous setbacks that create genuine privacy. Stonewood builds estate-scale custom homes throughout these established areas.
Adjacent Orono
Immediately bordering Long Lake, Orono is one of Minnesota’s most prestigious residential addresses, with estate lots, Lake Minnetonka access, and the highly ranked Orono School District. Stonewood builds and manages teardown-rebuilds throughout adjacent Orono neighborhoods.
Wayzata Boulevard Corridor
The Wayzata Boulevard corridor connects Long Lake to Stonewood’s home city and to the full amenities of downtown Wayzata. Residential areas along and adjacent to this corridor offer a range of lot types and custom home opportunities that Stonewood serves with its full design-build capability.
Long Lake Schools and Community
Long Lake is primarily served by the Orono School District, one of the most consistently high-performing school districts in Minnesota. Orono Schools operate a small, community-focused system with exceptional academic outcomes, strong arts programming, and the kind of educator-to-student relationships that are only possible in a district of its size. Stonewood clients with families frequently cite Orono Schools as a primary factor in their decision to build in Long Lake, and that choice shapes every home design we undertake: spaces that support the pace of an engaged family life, functional mudrooms and drop zones, and outdoor living spaces oriented toward the natural landscape that defines this community.
Beyond schools, Long Lake’s community character is one of its most compelling assets. The Long Lake Pioneer Museum, Long Lake Beach Park, and the broader network of trails and natural areas connecting to the Lake Minnetonka regional trail system create a lifestyle that is genuinely oriented toward the outdoors. Birch’s on the Lake, one of the corridor’s most beloved dining destinations, is a local institution that reflects the community’s character. Every Stonewood home in Long Lake is designed to engage with that outdoor, unhurried way of life: covered decks and screened porches for Minnesota’s long warm season, heated garages for winter, and site planning that opens the home toward the natural features of each specific lot.
Custom Home Values in Long Lake MN
Long Lake’s residential market has appreciated steadily as the Lake Minnetonka corridor has continued to attract buyers seeking privacy and quality alongside lake access. The combination of Orono School District quality, proximity to Wayzata, and the irreplaceable lot character of Long Lake’s established neighborhoods creates strong and resilient residential values. Stonewood provides full pre-construction budget modeling for every Long Lake client, so you understand the complete investment before a contract is signed. Contact us to schedule a discovery consultation specific to your lot and program in Long Lake.
Request a Pre-Construction Consultation ›What Stonewood Builds in Long Lake
Long Lake Custom Home Services
Stonewood offers a complete range of luxury custom home services in Long Lake, MN: from estate construction on wooded lots to design-build on interior parcels and teardown-rebuilds throughout the city. Every project begins with the same commitment: your vision, executed without compromise.
Estate and Executive Homes
Stonewood designs and builds bespoke estate homes on Long Lake’s most compelling lots: wooded parcels, rolling terrain, and lakefront sites that demand design intelligence and construction precision. Every project is an original, built around your program and your land.
Teardown and Rebuild
Own a dated home on a prime Long Lake lot? Stonewood manages complete teardown and custom rebuild, including demolition, all city permitting, and full construction, preserving your irreplaceable parcel while delivering a home built for how you live today.
Build on Your Lot
Have a Long Lake lot ready to build? Stonewood’s design-build team works from your lot’s specific characteristics: topography, tree canopy, setbacks, and orientation, to design a custom home that belongs exactly where it will stand.
Luxury Design and Build
From initial concept through certificate of occupancy, Stonewood’s integrated design-build process delivers a single point of responsibility, a unified team, and a seamless build experience for Long Lake’s most discerning homeowners.
High-End Remodeling and Additions
For Long Lake homeowners who want to transform an existing home rather than replace it, Stonewood delivers luxury remodeling and additions held to the same standards as our new construction, with full architectural design and dedicated project management throughout.
Architect-Designed Custom Homes
Stonewood partners with leading Minnesota architects to deliver homes of genuine architectural distinction in Long Lake: from modern craftsman estates with natural material palettes to contemporary builds that engage the wooded landscape with clean geometry and expansive glazing.
The Stonewood Process: How We Build Custom Homes in Long Lake
Building a custom home is the largest financial decision most people ever make. At Stonewood, our process is designed so that at every single stage, from the first conversation to the day you receive your keys, you know exactly what is happening, why it is happening, and what comes next. Transparency is not a feature of our process. It is the foundation of it.
Discovery and Vision Alignment
Every Stonewood project in Long Lake begins with a structured discovery meeting, not a sales call. We want to understand how you live: how your family uses space, what draws you to Long Lake specifically, what your relationship to the landscape looks like, and what your investment parameters are. We learn about your lot, your timeline, and your aesthetic instincts. This is also where Stonewood shares its portfolio of completed Long Lake-area and Lake Minnetonka-corridor homes, so you can see the standard of work we deliver before any agreement is signed. If Stonewood is the right builder for you, it becomes apparent here.
Site Analysis and Pre-Construction Budget
Before design begins, Stonewood conducts a thorough analysis of your Long Lake lot. This includes a review of City of Long Lake zoning and setback requirements, tree preservation ordinances, impervious surface limits, and utility connections. For teardown-rebuild sites, we evaluate existing structure conditions and demolition scope. For lakefront parcels, we review DNR shoreline regulations and setback requirements. Simultaneously, Stonewood prepares a pre-construction budget: a detailed, line-by-line cost model built around your program and your specific site. You will know what your home will cost before we begin design. No surprises. No bait-and-switch.
Architectural Design and Custom Floor Plans
Stonewood works with a curated group of architects and designers who specialize in high-end residential construction in the Lake Minnetonka corridor. The design process is collaborative and iterative: you are not handed a plan and asked to approve it. Instead, design evolves through a series of working sessions where your feedback directly shapes the custom floor plan layout, ceiling heights, window placements, material palettes, and outdoor living integration. For Long Lake clients, this phase pays particular attention to how the home engages the natural landscape, the tree canopy, and the specific topography of each lot, ensuring every Stonewood home in Long Lake feels like it was built for exactly where it stands.
Permitting and Pre-Construction Planning
Stonewood manages all permitting with the City of Long Lake and Hennepin County on your behalf. We prepare and submit all permit applications, respond to city review comments, coordinate with the municipal engineer when required, and obtain all approvals before mobilizing. Simultaneously, our production team finalizes all trade contracts, subcontractor schedules, material procurement timelines, and site logistics. When construction begins, it begins with a fully coordinated plan, not a vague schedule that gets renegotiated week by week.
Construction and Real-Time Transparency
Stonewood’s construction phase is where our commitment to transparency becomes most tangible. Every Long Lake client has access to a dedicated project dashboard with live visibility into schedule milestones, budget reconciliation, change orders, and photo updates. Weekly progress reports include photo evidence of completed work and notes on upcoming milestones. Significant decisions or changes, anything that affects budget or timeline, require your explicit approval before Stonewood proceeds. You will never receive a surprise invoice or discover that a change was made without your knowledge. This level of accountability is not standard in the custom home industry. At Stonewood, it is non-negotiable.
Quality Control and Inspections
Stonewood employs a multi-point quality control protocol at every critical phase of construction: framing, rough mechanicals, insulation, drywall, trim, and final finishes. Material verification confirms that specified products are actually installed. We coordinate all municipal inspections required by Long Lake building code and, where warranted, engage independent third-party quality audits. For smart home and energy-efficient home builds, Stonewood coordinates third-party commissioning of mechanical and technology systems before occupancy. Nothing is signed off until Stonewood is satisfied it meets our standards, which are higher than code.
Closing, Walkthrough, and Warranty
As your Long Lake custom home approaches completion, Stonewood conducts a detailed pre-closing walkthrough to identify and resolve any punch list items before your move-in date. We provide complete documentation packages including warranty information for all installed systems, appliance manuals, paint colors and material specifications, and contact information for all major trade contractors. Stonewood stands behind every home we build with a comprehensive builder’s warranty, and our commitment to client relationships does not end at closing. Our clients in Long Lake and throughout the Lake Minnetonka corridor know they can call us long after move-in day.
Technology-Driven Transparency on Every Long Lake Build
Your Project Dashboard
Stonewood clients in Long Lake have 24/7 access to a dedicated project dashboard with live visibility into schedule milestones, budget reconciliation, change orders, and photo documentation. Whether you are in Long Lake daily or traveling for work, your project is always fully transparent and always accessible.
Comprehensive Visual Documentation
- Drone Photography: Aerial progress documentation of your Long Lake build, capturing roofline, landscaping, and site development at every major milestone.
- 360-Degree Photography: Immersive interior walkthroughs so you can experience your Stonewood home at any construction phase, from anywhere in the world.
- Before and After Documentation: Especially important for teardown-rebuild projects, these complete photographic records serve insurance, warranty, and personal history purposes.
- Weekly Photo Reports: Every progress report includes photo evidence with written notes. Never a vague status update without visual proof.
Financial Controls That Protect You
- Milestone-Tied Payments: Structured payment schedules tied to verified, completed milestones, not arbitrary dates on a calendar.
- Independent Verification: Work completion is independently verified before any draw is released.
- Change Order Approval: No change moves forward without your written approval. No exceptions.
- Budget Reconciliation: Regular budget reconciliation and cash-flow forecasting throughout your Long Lake build.
Common Questions
Long Lake Custom Home Builder FAQ
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Stonewood brings over seventy years of Lake Minnetonka corridor custom home expertise to every Long Lake project, from first conversation to final walkthrough. Contact us today to schedule a discovery meeting and learn what Stonewood can build for you.
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Where Stonewood Builds in Long Lake
Stonewood custom homes are built throughout Long Lake and the surrounding Lake Minnetonka corridor. These are the streets, corridors, and landmarks that define the community we serve.
Waterfront, Long Lake MN
Long Lake Shoreline
Lots fronting Long Lake offer direct water access, private dock potential, and the lake lifestyle that defines this corridor. Stonewood builds custom lakefront homes and manages teardown-rebuilds along the Long Lake shoreline with full attention to DNR setback requirements and water-oriented design.
Primary Corridor, Long Lake MN
Wayzata Boulevard and County Road 15
Long Lake’s primary east-west corridor connects the city to neighboring Wayzata and the full Lake Minnetonka lifestyle. Stonewood builds custom homes on residential streets throughout the Wayzata Boulevard corridor in Long Lake.
Historic Downtown, Long Lake MN
Downtown Long Lake and Lake Street
Long Lake’s small historic downtown, anchored by the Pioneer Museum and local character that has defined the community for generations. The residential streets surrounding downtown Long Lake include established lots well-suited to custom home construction and sensitive teardown-rebuilds.
Wooded Residential, Long Lake MN
Brown Road and Rolling Hills
Long Lake’s interior wooded residential areas feature mature tree canopies, rolling terrain, and generously sized lots that create exceptional privacy. Stonewood builds estate-scale custom homes throughout these established neighborhoods.
Park and Recreation Area, Long Lake MN
Long Lake Beach Park Corridor
The neighborhoods surrounding Long Lake Beach Park offer desirable residential lots with access to the city’s primary public green space and lake access point. Stonewood builds custom homes throughout this area, with designs that engage the natural assets of each specific parcel.
Shadywood Road, Long Lake MN
Shadywood Road and Lake Minnetonka Access
Shadywood Road connects Long Lake to the Lake Minnetonka shoreline and the broader corridor of lakefront communities between Long Lake and Excelsior. Stonewood builds custom homes and manages teardown-rebuilds on parcels throughout this scenic corridor.
Highway 12 Corridor, Long Lake MN
US Highway 12 Residential Approaches
Long Lake’s residential neighborhoods along and adjacent to the Highway 12 corridor offer strong commute access to Minneapolis alongside the quiet, private character of the Lake Minnetonka area. Stonewood builds custom homes throughout this area for clients who prioritize both privacy and connectivity.
Adjacent Community, MN
Adjacent Orono Neighborhoods
Bordering Long Lake to the south and east, Orono is one of Minnesota’s most prestigious residential addresses. Stonewood builds estate homes and manages teardown-rebuilds throughout adjacent Orono neighborhoods, including properties within the highly sought-after Orono School District.
New Development, Long Lake MN
Landings at Long Lake and New Construction Sites
Long Lake’s newer residential developments offer build-on-your-lot opportunities for clients who want the Long Lake lifestyle on a freshly platted parcel. Stonewood works with clients throughout all of Long Lake’s active new construction sites, from the first site visit through certificate of occupancy.