A North Shore property owner is offering an unusual incentive to help fast-track sales of a set of condos built in the ‘80s.

Minneapolis-based real estate firm SVN Northco says it will give $100,000 Home Depot or Wayfair gift cards to the first 20 people to buy condos at 1421 Superior Shores Drive in Two Harbors. The deal applies to condos sold through Sept. 30. The company began marketing the promotion on July 8, and associate advisor Mark Battles said he’s already getting calls from prospective buyers.

“People are calling and wondering if all the units have been sold,” Battles said. “It has driven interest in the way we would hope.”

The condos range in price from $529,000 to $2.5 million.

To be sure, residential property is hard to come by in the North Shore, which makes the gift card promotion a bit of a head-scratcher. Battles explained that it’s simply an attempt to help move somewhat outdated units a bit faster. The property was built in the late ‘80s, and it’s been serving as a lodge since then. The furnishing and decor, Battles said, is “not necessarily what people want.”

“The area is beautiful, and the view is very nice,” he said. But he said he’s heard from several folks that the lodge is “not necessarily their style.” Gift cards to home improvement retailers “seemed like a pretty easy way to fix that.”

Battles noted that other properties in the area have been selling very quickly, with some buyers willing to pay far above asking prices. But the condos at 1421 Superior Shores Drive have not been “moving as fast as we would hope, so we thought it would be a fun way to get the word out.”

Battles said SVN Northco doesn’t have any sort of partnerships with either Home Depot or Wayfair.

SVN Northco is marketing the condos, but Bryce Campbell is the owner. Battles said the gift card incentive was Campbell’s idea.

In early 2020, Campbell scooped up the entire Superior Shores property for $15 million in a deal that the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal described as “likely the highest price ever paid for a resort in Minnesota.” Campbell’s portfolio includes hotels in Ontario, as well as the Lutsen Resort.