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Why is a Cardinal Pass a great place to build a custom home in the South Metro? Learn why.
Building a custom home on acreage is about more than just space—it's about finding land that enhances your design vision rather than limiting it. Cardinal Pass in Prior Lake's Credit River area has quickly become a favorite among custom home enthusiasts, and it's not difficult to understand why.
Whether you're working with Homes by Moderno (Cardinal Pass's exclusive builder partner) or simply researching acreage lots for your dream home, understanding what makes certain properties ideal for custom builds can save you time, money, and frustration. Let's explore exactly why Cardinal Pass checks every box for those seeking to build their perfect acreage home.
The rolling hills of Cardinal Pass aren't just scenic—they're functional design assets.
When shopping for acreage lots in Prior Lake or throughout the South Metro, many buyers focus exclusively on lot size and location. However, experienced custom home builders know that topography might be the single most important factor in determining what you can build and how much value you'll create.
Cardinal Pass's naturally rolling terrain provides significant advantages:
Walkout Basement Opportunities: The gentle slopes throughout the development create ideal conditions for walkout or lookout basements. This design feature:
Natural Privacy Through Elevation: The varied topography means homes naturally sit at different elevations, creating privacy without relying solely on distance or fencing. When lots range from 2.5 to 4.33 acres and include natural elevation changes, you get true seclusion without feeling isolated from your community.
Drainage Advantages: Proper drainage is one of the most critical (and often overlooked) aspects of building on acreage. Rolling terrain naturally directs water away from building sites, reducing the need for expensive drainage solutions and protecting your home's foundation for decades to come.
To understand how significant this advantage is, consider building on flat acreage (common in some South Metro developments):
Flat Lot Challenges:
Cardinal Pass Rolling Terrain Benefits:
Consider two similar custom homes: one with a standard basement, another with a walkout design on rolling terrain.
Standard Basement Home:
Walkout Basement Home (Like Cardinal Pass Enables):
This isn't theoretical—the topography at Cardinal Pass provides this value-add opportunity on multiple lots throughout the development.
Consistency, quality, and collaboration—the trifecta that makes Cardinal Pass building experiences smooth.
Unlike some acreage developments that allow any builder, Cardinal Pass has partnered exclusively with Homes by Moderno. While this might initially seem limiting, it actually provides substantial benefits for homeowners.
Streamlined Process: When development and builder work together seamlessly, you avoid the common friction points that slow down custom home construction:
Consistent Quality Standards: Every home in Cardinal Pass meets the same high construction and design standards. This protects your investment by ensuring:
Customization Within Framework: Exclusive builder partnerships often provide more customization than buyers expect. Homes by Moderno offers:
Homes by Moderno brings specific expertise to Cardinal Pass that benefits every homeowner:
Acreage Home Experience: Building on 2.5-4.33 acre lots differs significantly from standard residential construction. Homes by Moderno understands:
Local Knowledge: As a South Metro builder, Homes by Moderno knows the area, the building departments, and the community expectations that make Prior Lake and Credit River special.
Custom Home Specialization: This isn't a production builder retrofitting standard plans to acreage lots. Homes by Moderno specializes in custom homes designed around how you actually want to live.
Two and a half to four acres isn't just big—it's "build everything you've ever wanted" big.
Standard suburban lots (even generous ones) typically range from 0.15 to 0.5 acres. This leaves room for a house, maybe a three-car garage, and basic landscaping. Cardinal Pass lots start at 2.5 acres—five times the size of a large suburban lot—and go up to 4.33 acres.
This space transforms what's possible for your property.
Based on Arc Properties' conversations with prospective Cardinal Pass buyers working with Homes by Moderno, here are the amenities people are most excited to incorporate:
Wellness & Personal Health Spaces:
Home Gyms: Not just a treadmill in the basement—we're talking 800-1,500 square foot dedicated fitness centers with:
Saunas and Steam Rooms: Both dry saunas and steam rooms are becoming standard requests. With space to properly ventilate and plumb these features (and privacy to enjoy them), Cardinal Pass makes this luxury attainable.
Indoor Pools: Several Cardinal Pass buyers are exploring indoor lap pool options—something virtually impossible on standard lots but feasible when you have acres to work with.
Outdoor Pool Complexes: Beyond a basic pool, Cardinal Pass space allows for complete aquatic environments:
Entertainment & Gathering Spaces:
Outdoor Kitchens & Pavilions: When you have 3+ acres, your outdoor kitchen doesn't need to be a small grill station. Cardinal Pass owners working with Homes by Moderno are designing:
Sport Courts: Tennis, pickleball, basketball, or multi-use courts are popular additions. The space at Cardinal Pass allows for:
Automotive & Storage Amenities:
Oversized Garages: Standard three-car garages feel cramped when you're storing cars, lawn equipment, and recreational vehicles. Cardinal Pass enables:
Separate Outbuildings: Want a detached workshop, garden shed, or equipment storage building? On a 0.25 acre suburban lot, it's difficult. On 3 acres at Cardinal Pass, it's straightforward.
Specialized Hobby Spaces:
The Cardinal Pass buyers Arc Properties works with aren't just looking for bigger homes—they're looking for space to pursue passions:
Here's the remarkable part: all these amenities are more affordable to build at Cardinal Pass than you might expect when working with Homes by Moderno.
On a suburban lot, you're constantly fighting for space. Every square foot must serve multiple purposes, and outdoor amenities compete with basic yard needs.
At Cardinal Pass, you have room for specialized spaces without compromise. This often means:
Space without isolation—Cardinal Pass delivers both.
One of the biggest concerns people have when considering acreage homes is isolation. Will we feel too far from restaurants, shopping, entertainment? Will commuting become unbearable? Will we lose touch with community?
Cardinal Pass solves this paradox better than virtually any acreage development in the South Metro.
Cardinal Pass's proximity to Highway 35 is a game-changer for acreage living. This major corridor provides:
Quick Metro Access:
These aren't theoretical drive times—they're actual daily commutes Cardinal Pass residents will experience. You're living on acreage, but you're not living in isolation from career opportunities or urban amenities.
Reverse Commute Advantage: If you work in southern suburbs (Lakeville, Burnsville, Apple Valley), your commute is even better:
Beyond highway access, Cardinal Pass sits in Credit River—a Prior Lake area that offers its own advantages:
Rural Character, Not Rural Inconvenience: Credit River maintains beautiful open spaces, mature trees, and peaceful roads while keeping essential services close:
School District Excellence: Cardinal Pass is served by Lakeville South schools, consistently ranked among Minnesota's top districts. For families, this combination of acreage living and excellent education is rare—and valuable.
Community Feel: Credit River and Spring Lake Township attract residents who value space, nature, and community. You're among like-minded neighbors who chose acreage intentionally, not people who settled for it because they couldn't afford closer-in suburbs.
To appreciate how special this location is, consider other acreage options in the metro:
Acreage Further Out (Carver, Scott County western areas):
Acreage Closer In (Minnetrista, Medina):
Cardinal Pass:
This combination is exceptionally rare in today's market.
Consider how Cardinal Pass location advantages affect daily life:
Weekday Morning: You enjoy coffee on your expansive deck overlooking your private acreage. Then you're on Highway 35 in minutes, arriving at your Bloomington office in 30 minutes total. No worse than many suburban commutes, but you start and end your day on 3+ acres.
Weekend Activities: Saturday morning, you're 10 minutes from Prior Lake farmers market. Afternoon, you're 15 minutes from Lakeville shopping for home project supplies. Evening, you're hosting friends at your outdoor kitchen and fire pit—no neighbors close enough to worry about noise.
Family Needs: Your kids attend excellent Lakeville schools. You're close enough for easy pickups, events, and activities, but they come home to acreage where they can actually play outside without limitations.
This is the lifestyle Cardinal Pass enables: convenience when you want it, space when you need it.
Building on acreage isn't just about the land—it's about who guides the process.
When you're investing significant resources into a custom acreage home, the development company behind your land purchase matters enormously. Arc Properties brings three-and-a-half decades of South Metro land development experience to Cardinal Pass.
Proven Lot Selection: Arc Properties doesn't just develop any available land. They understand:
The Cardinal Pass lots were selected and designed with this deep expertise—you're benefiting from thousands of previous projects Arc Properties has completed.
Smooth Development Process: Arc Properties has developed thousands of homesites since 1994. This experience translates to:
Builder Partnership Coordination: Arc Properties' long relationship with Homes by Moderno ensures seamless coordination between land development and home construction—eliminating common friction points.
Transparent Communication: Arc Properties operates as your partner, not just a land seller. The team keeps you informed, answers questions promptly, and ensures you understand each step before moving forward.
Arc Properties isn't an outside developer extracting value from the South Metro—they live here. The team members are your neighbors, and they have genuine investment in:
This tagline captures Arc Properties' approach to every client relationship. When you work with Arc Properties on your Cardinal Pass lot:
You don't need to be a land expert—Arc Properties brings that expertise, guiding you to smart decisions about lot selection, orientation, and timing.
You don't navigate alone—The Arc team serves as your advocate throughout the process, from initial lot selection through coordination with Homes by Moderno.
Your interests come first—Arc Properties succeeds when you succeed. They're not trying to maximize profit on every transaction; they're building long-term relationships and protecting their three-decade reputation.
Cardinal Pass is just one of several exceptional Arc Properties developments in the South Metro:
Each development showcases Arc Properties' ability to identify exceptional land, create thoughtful lot layouts, and deliver value to homeowners. When you choose Cardinal Pass, you're building on this proven track record.
These five reasons—walkout-ready topography, exclusive Homes by Moderno partnership, luxury amenity possibilities, unbeatable location, and developer expertise—work together to create an exceptional custom home building opportunity.
Most acreage developments offer one or two of these advantages. Some have great topography but poor access. Others have convenient locations but small lots. A few have experienced developers but no builder partnerships to streamline construction.
Cardinal Pass delivers all five, creating a truly unique opportunity in today's competitive South Metro real estate market.
When all these factors align properly, the benefits go beyond just having a beautiful property:
Faster Timeline: The Homes by Moderno partnership and Arc Properties' established processes mean smoother construction with fewer delays.
More Predictable Budget: Walkout-ready topography reduces site preparation costs. The builder partnership eliminates competitive bidding uncertainties. You get clearer numbers earlier.
Higher End Value: Even without considering appreciation, these factors create more value per dollar spent. Your home will likely appraise higher and sell faster than comparable acreage homes without these advantages.
Less Stress: Perhaps most importantly, building your custom dream home becomes significantly less stressful when you're working with experienced partners on land specifically selected for custom construction.
Understanding these five reasons intellectually is one thing—experiencing the property is another entirely. Walking the Cardinal Pass lots, seeing the rolling topography, visualizing your custom home on 3+ acres, and feeling the Credit River atmosphere brings these advantages to life.
The next step is simple: Contact Ashley Rickert at 952-292-6231 or visit propertiesbyarc.com to schedule your Cardinal Pass site visit.
During your tour, you'll:
With 15 lots available and growing interest in Prior Lake acreage, the opportunity to secure your ideal Cardinal Pass homesite won't last indefinitely. The custom home builders who've already chosen Cardinal Pass understood these five reasons—now you do too.
Your custom acreage home journey starts with a single conversation. Let Arc Properties' 35+ years of expertise guide you to the perfect lot for your vision.
Arc Properties: South Metro land development specialists since 1994. From Cardinal Pass to Harvest Bluffs, we help families find exceptional land and build their legacy. Partner with Homes by Moderno for your custom home construction. Let our expertise become your experience.
