Beyond the Skyline

In this week’s episode, Marshall Nguyen, senior vice president with Caspian Group, talks to F&C reporter J.D. Duggan. Nguyen, who specializes in retail investments and brokerage services, was the broker on a deal for an Asian mall concept in Eden Prairie, and is also leading the project, which he expects to open around the end of summer.

In this episode, Ben Johnson, senior director of real estate for the Neighborhood Development Center, talks to F&C reporter Brian Johnson. Ben Johnson plays a key role in helping up-and-coming businesses find the space and resources they need to survive and thrive, and energize the neighborhoods they serve.

Interview: Ryan Weyandt, CEO, LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance by Finance & Commerce

In this episode, LHB Chief Financial Officer Lori Thompson talks to F&C reporter Brian Johnson. Thompson was promoted to CFO of the architecture and engineering firm in March. She’s an advocate for women’s education, and is active with groups such as the Philanthropic Education Organization, a provider of scholarship support to female college students.

In this episode, Jennifer Christiaansen, the managing director of Perkins&Will in Minneapolis, talks to F&C reporter J.D. Duggan. Christiaansen talks about how people use space, sustainability in building design and how the shifting nature of work is impacting design decisions.

In this episode, Bush Foundation Fellow Abdiaziz Ibrahim, the founder of Immigrant Housing Solutions, talks to F&C reporter Brian Johnson. Ibrahim wants to expand affordable housing through outreach to landlords and property managers and provide a holistic combination of tenant education and financial literacy training.

In this episode, Scott Peterson, United Properties’ vice president of hospitality and office development, talks to F&C reporter J.D. Duggan. Peterson talks about what he sees as the future for office and hospitality and how the new RBC Gateway tower in downtown Minneapolis is bucking local occupancy trends.

In this episode, Keia Isaacson, the 2022 Finance & Commerce Top Women in Construction winner and owner and president of Lakeside Floor Coverings, talks to F&C reporter Brian Johnson. An advocate for women in construction, Isaacson is an active member and past president of the Association of Women Contractors. In this interview, she talks about her construction journey, her advocacy work and the im...

In this week’s episode Jared Anderson, safety manager at Adolfson & Peterson, talks to F&C reporter Brian Johnson about safety trends in the construction industry, the impact of COVID on jobsite safety, the latest safety equipment and more.

In this week’s episode, Lee Blons, executive director of Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, talks to F&C reporter J.D. Duggan about the need for deeply affordable housing and the growing focus on the issue.

In this week’s episode, F&C reporter Brian Johnson talks to Ramona Wilson, the director of equity and inclusion at Knutson Construction. Wilson talks about her role with Knutson and gives her take on the state of diversity and inclusion in the broader construction industry.

This week F&C reporter J.D. Duggan talks to Christian Lawrence, founder and CEO of Rise Modular, which builds and co-develops modular multifamily housing and hospitality projects. Rise is the first modular housing manufacturer in Minnesota. Lawrence started the company in 2018 and has seen demand continue to increase for modular housing.

This week, F&C reporter Brian Johnson talks to Al Gerhardt, who was recently named executive vice president of Kraus-Anderson Cos. In that role, he will collaborate with KA Realty and Development, among other duties. He remains president of Kraus-Anderson Construction. During his career, Gerhardt has held leadership positions with the Construction Industry Round Table, the Associated General Contr...

In this week’s episode, F&C reporter J.D. Duggan talks to Dean Dovolis, founder and owner of DJR Architecture. Dovolis started DJR in the mid-1980s and has since been involved in many community-oriented and affordable-housing developments. In this interview, Dovolis talks about the rapid changes coming in real estate development related to affordable housing and community ownership.

In this week’s episode, F&C reporter Brian Johnson talks to longtime St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association president Joe Spartz, who will soon retire from his leadership role at the organization to pursue new adventures. During his nine-year run as president, Spartz oversaw a downtown security study, and helped building owners and managers navigate the choppy waters of the pandemic.

In this week’s episode, F&C reporter J.D. Duggan talks to Greg Handberg, senior vice president of properties at Minneapolis-based Artspace, a nonprofit organization that does real estate development to create and restore places where artists can affordably live and work. Handberg talks about navigating redevelopment on historic properties, garnering funds to make affordable housing work and how so...

In this week’s episode, F&C reporter Brian Johnson talks to Katie King, a senior project manager with Adolfson & Peterson. King, who has 24 years of experience in the construction industry, has overseen a wide range of projects from health care facilities to a school currently under construction in Oakdale. In this interview, King talks about how she became interested in construction, her work wit...

On this week’s episode, F&C reporter J.D. Duggan talks to Libby Murphy, director of policy at Minnesota Housing Partnership, a nonprofit that has spent 30 years advocating for solutions to develop and preserve affordable housing. In this conversation, Murphy discusses the projected $9.3 billion state budget surplus, bills that have been introduced in the Legislature so far and paths out of the aff...

In this week’s episode, Finance & Commerce reporter Brian Johnson talks to Margaret Donahoe, executive director of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, a St. Paul-based coalition of contractors, engineers, local governments and others united in their desire for transportation investments. With the legislative session underway, much is at stake. Most notably, Gov. Tim Walz’s $2.7 billion state bo...

Wafa Elkhalifa has been announced as the new equitable development coordinator for the Destination Medical Center in Rochester. She has spent more than a decade in the banking industry in the city and plans to draw on those connections and skills for the new role. Elkhalifa has also been an advocate for Rochester’s Diversity Council and a diversity and inclusion specialist with the local school di...

Denise Mazone blazed a new trail for people of color in January when she was installed as 2022 president of the Minneapolis Area Realtors. Mazone, owner and operator of Mazone Real Estate in Minneapolis, is the first African-American to hold that leadership position. But she’s confident that other people of color will follow in her steps. In the following interview with Finance & Commerce reporter...

Interview: Brittany Faith McGaughey, COO, Minnesota Title by Finance & Commerce

As Mortenson’s director of real estate development in health care, Chantily Malibago has her finger on the pulse of the latest trends in health care design and construction. Drawing in part from a new report from Mortenson, Malibago says the pandemic has informed health care design in a number of ways. Among those is a need for more flexible spaces for distancing and touchless designs, and quality...

Bell Bank executive Tony Weick has spent a quarter of a century in the mortgage business and he doesn’t plan to leave anytime soon. A graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, Weick joined Bell in 2004. In 2013, after a stint as underwriting manager, he was named executive leader of Bell Bank Mortgage. Weick has twice been named to the “Minnesota 500” list of the state’s top business l...

Twin Cities commercial real estate veteran Matt Alexander is taking on new challenges with a new job at the start of the new year. Alexander recently joined Wayzata-based North Shore Development Partners and its affiliate, North Shore Contractors, as principal. Established in 2014, North Shore develops affordable and market-rate housing and mixed-use real estate in the metro area. In his new role,...