FAQ
How does Evergreen compare to Highcroft?
Quick Answer
Evergreen and Highcroft are both upper-tier Woodbury neighborhoods that can land in a similar price range, but they're built around different priorities. Evergreen sells on mature tree cover and pond or greenway-adjacent lots — privacy through natural surroundings rather than sheer size. Highcroft sells on larger executive-style homes and more spacious, often elevated lots — privacy through scale and separation. Buyers who want a private backyard and a natural feel tend to prefer Evergreen; buyers who want more square footage and a more elevated, spread-out street tend to prefer Highcroft.
Key Takeaways
- Evergreen's core appeal is tree cover, ponds, and greenway-adjacent lots — privacy from natural buffers rather than distance between homes.
- Highcroft's core appeal is larger, often elevated lots and bigger executive-style homes — privacy from scale and spacing rather than trees or water.
- Price ranges overlap in the middle, but Highcroft's ceiling generally runs higher, reflecting its larger square footage and lot sizes.
- Both fall within South Washington County Schools (ISD 833), so school assignment isn't usually the deciding factor between the two.
- Neither neighborhood is especially walkable compared to Woodbury's more central areas, but for different reasons — tree buffers in Evergreen, lot size and elevation in Highcroft.
- The better fit comes down to what you want to look at from your back window: woods and water, or more of your own land.
Buyers usually land on this question after touring both neighborhoods and coming away with the same reaction: "these both feel upscale, but they feel upscale in totally different ways." That reaction is accurate, and it's worth unpacking, because the differences matter more for day-to-day living than they do for resale value.
Two Different Ideas of "Private"
Privacy is the word that comes up in both neighborhoods, but it means something different in each one. In Evergreen, privacy is a function of what's between you and your neighbors — mature trees, a pond, a wooded greenway buffer. You can have a smaller lot than Highcroft's and still feel more visually separated from the house next door, simply because there's a stand of trees or a stretch of water doing the work instead of distance.
In Highcroft, privacy is a function of distance itself. The lots are larger and often elevated, so homes sit farther apart and higher up, with more land around each one. There's less reliance on natural screening and more reliance on sheer square footage between you and the next driveway.
Neither approach is objectively better — they solve the same problem (not feeling like you're living on top of your neighbors) in different ways, and which one appeals to you often comes down to a fairly personal preference rather than anything a spec sheet can tell you.
Dave's Local Insight
I'll sometimes walk a buyer through Evergreen in the morning and Highcroft in the afternoon on the same day, back to back, specifically because the contrast is easier to feel in person than to explain over the phone. Clients who love Evergreen tend to talk about the quiet and the view. Clients who love Highcroft tend to talk about the space and not hearing a lawnmower next door. Both are legitimate reactions — they're just answering different questions about what "private" means to them.
Comparing the Two Directly
| Factor | Evergreen | Highcroft |
|---|---|---|
| Source of privacy | Mature trees, ponds, and greenway buffers | Larger, often elevated lots and more spacing between homes |
| Typical home size | Moderate to upper-moderate for Woodbury | Larger, executive-style floor plans |
| Price range | Upper-middle of Woodbury's range | Premium tier, generally the highest among Woodbury's featured neighborhoods |
| Walkability | Moderate — natural buffers space things out | Lower — larger, elevated lots space things out more |
| Typical buyer | Buyers prioritizing a natural, private backyard over floor plan size | Move-up buyers and relocating professionals prioritizing overall space |
| Maintenance considerations | Leaf cleanup, possible shoreline or tree covenants | Larger roofs, more landscaping, potentially steeper winter driveways |
Where the Price Ranges Actually Overlap
It's true that these neighborhoods can land in a similar price band for a specific pair of listings — a well-appointed Evergreen home on a premium pond lot can cost about the same as a more modest Highcroft home. But the overlap is at the margins, not the norm. Highcroft's overall ceiling tends to run higher, largely because its homes carry more square footage and its lots more land, both of which are priced in fairly directly. Evergreen's premium comes from a scarcer resource — a specific kind of lot backing or view — which raises the price of individual standout homes without necessarily raising the neighborhood's overall ceiling to Highcroft's level.
Don't shop by average price alone
If you're comparing a specific Evergreen listing to a specific Highcroft listing, look at what's actually driving each one's price — lot backing and view in Evergreen, square footage and lot size in Highcroft — rather than assuming a similar price tag means a similar home. Two houses can cost the same and deliver very different things.
Practical Differences That Matter Day to Day
Beyond the headline appeal, a few practical differences tend to matter once buyers actually live in either neighborhood for a season or two.
Questions worth asking yourself before choosing between the two
- Do you want fewer, larger rooms and more overall square footage, or are you fine trading some interior space for a better view and more natural screening
- Are you comfortable with fall leaf cleanup and potential shoreline or tree-related HOA covenants, which show up more often in Evergreen
- Are you comfortable with a larger roof, more landscaping, and possibly a steeper winter driveway, which show up more often in Highcroft
- How much does walkability to daily errands matter to you day-to-day, since both neighborhoods trade some of it for their respective versions of privacy
- Would you rather explain your home's value to a future buyer through 'the view and the lot' or through 'the size and the finishes'
Winter maintenance is worth a specific mention. Minnesota winters bring real snow load and ice, and larger or more elevated lots in Highcroft can mean more driveway and walkway to clear, while Evergreen's tree cover can mean more limbs to watch after a heavy, wet snow. Neither is a dealbreaker, but they're different chores, and it's worth picturing yourself doing them at 6 a.m. in January before you commit to either.
Resale and Buyer Pool
Both neighborhoods draw a fairly specific, self-selecting buyer pool, which is generally a good thing for resale — you're not competing against a generic buyer looking for "any house in Woodbury," you're marketing to someone who already knows they want what your neighborhood offers. Evergreen tends to resell well to buyers who've specifically toured other, more open Woodbury neighborhoods and found them less appealing. Highcroft tends to resell well to the same kind of move-up buyer or relocating professional who originally chose it, since that buyer profile recurs steadily in a growing East Metro market.
Neither neighborhood is a safer bet than the other in any general sense — both are established, desirable parts of Woodbury. The more useful question isn't which one appreciates faster, it's which one you'd actually enjoy living in for the years between now and your next move.
The Bottom Line
If you find yourself drawn to the phrase "I want to feel like I'm away from it all without leaving the city," Evergreen is probably your neighborhood. If you find yourself drawn to the phrase "I want more space and I don't want to hear my neighbor's lawnmower," Highcroft is probably a better fit. Both can get you into a similar price bracket for the right listing, so let the actual feel of each place — not just the number on the listing — make the final call. Walking both on the same day, the way I often suggest to clients, tends to make the decision clearer than any comparison on paper ever will.
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Written by Dave Brown
REALTOR®, LPT Realty
Dave Brown is a REALTOR® with LPT Realty who has spent his career helping families buy, sell, and settle into life in Woodbury, Minnesota and the surrounding East Metro. He writes Woodbury Living as a local resource first and a business second — every guide is meant to leave you better informed, whether or not you ever work together.
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Related Articles
Evergreen
A wooded, nature-adjacent neighborhood in Woodbury built around mature trees and pond and greenway views, popular with buyers who want privacy without leaving the city.
Highcroft
Woodbury's more premium, executive-style neighborhood — larger homes on elevated, spacious lots, popular with move-up buyers and executives relocating to the East Metro.