Beyond the Skyline

There’s nothing like starting a new job in the middle of a global pandemic and then hitting the ground running with oversight of a game-changing, $1 billion-plus development at a former auto plant site. So it is for Maureen Michalski, who joined Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. US Inc. in mid-March, just when the coronavirus crisis was heating up. As executive in charge of the Ford site redevelopment i...

As a construction lobbyist for the Associated Builders and Contractors of Minnesota and North Dakota, Adam Hanson is a familiar face at the Minnesota State Capitol. This spring, Hanson wrapped up his fifth legislative session as ABC’s director of government and public affairs. But before he went to bat for merit shop contractors, Hanson shadowed the likes of Joe Mauer and Torii Hunter as a batboy...

From legislative hearings to medical appointments, most everything it seems has gone virtual amid the COVID-19 pandemic – and building inspections are no exception. With inspectors in short supply because of COVID-19 and broader industry trends, contractors like St. Louis Park-based Knutson Construction are using such technology to meet their clients’ inspection needs. Knutson, for example, recent...

Enterprise Minnesota, a Minneapolis-based business consulting firm dedicated to helping small and mid-size manufactures compete and grow, bills itself as the voice of Minnesota’s manufacturing field. So it stands to reason that the organization’s CEO, Bob Kill, is to a great extent the name and face of the industry. A sought-after speaker and industry expert, Kill appeared at the June 10 National...

From the deadly Spanish flu pandemic to the current health crisis, the Meritex Co. has survived and thrived through more than 100 years of history. Harry McNeely, grandfather of the current chairman and CEO Paddy McNeely, founded the Minneapolis-based commercial real estate company with a single warehouse space in 1916 — just a year before the U.S. entered World War I and two years before the Span...

In Minnesota, travel and tourism generates more than $16 billion in gross sales, which is equivalent to more than $44 million every day. It also accounts for 11 percent of total private sector employment. Yet no sector has been hit worse during the COVID-19 pandemic than hospitality. Throughout the Minneapolis and St. Paul region, employment in this sector, which includes arts, entertainment, recr...

Anyone who has been out and about in the Twin Cities in the last couple of years can’t help but recognize Kris Lindahl, the local real estate agent whose beaming image has been omnipresent on billboards, buses and light rail cars. But Lindahl isn’t just another smiling face in the urban landscape. The founder and CEO of Twin Cities-based Kris Lindahl Real Estate is a marketable speaker, author and...

Maple Grove resident Laurie Karnes knows what to do when the tax man cometh. Karnes has more than 37 years of real estate experience and roughly $66 million worth of sales to her credit. But what she really likes to do these days is help other commercial property owners lower their tax bills. As owner of Land for Sale, Karnes works with property owners on tax appeals. Taking a deep dive into data...

When Brace Helgeson and Ryan Platzke each started out as real estate agents in Eden Prairie, their perspectives on the city were influenced by where they grew up. Helgeson, 59, got to Eden Prairie in 1985, a couple decades before the 37-year-old Platzke. Helgeson grew up in St. Cloud, which reminded him of Eden Prairie at the time. In that sense, he felt right at home, as the southwestern metro su...

It could be said that Minneapolis-based Hyde Development co-founder Paul Hyde’s career is a big detour from what he set out to be when he earned multiple law degrees in school. But it might be more accurate to say that his pursuit of learning the law set him on the path to his true calling. Hyde, who is 54 this year, started his work as a redeveloper of brownfields and other disused sites back in...

As the executive director of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, Margaret Donahoe is a go-to source of information for all things related to investments in roads, bridges and transit systems throughout the state. Donahoe, who has a background in political science, has spent 20 years with the alliance, a statewide coalition of organizations advocating for “a safe and effective transportation sys...

Making a case that buses and trains are especially important during the public health crisis, a Twin Cities-based coalition of business, faith and environmental leaders says now is the time for robust investments in transit. The coalition – which includes leaders from Move Minnesota, East Metro Strong, Fresh Energy, ISAIAH, the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Club Northstar Chapter – i...

As its name implies, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources maintains and supports everything from lakes and campsites to hatcheries and trails in the state. But that infrastructure includes a fair amount of brick and mortar – more than 2,800 buildings, to be specific. Many of those buildings are aging and in need of repairs. In fact, one in three of the agency’s buildings are 80 years old...

As Kraus-Anderson’s facilities assessment manager, Tim Kittila uses his engineering talents to help building owners make smart decisions related to everything from deferred maintenance to energy efficiency. In a nutshell, he helps owners get the most out of their facilities. Kraus-Anderson recently created his position to build upon its burgeoning facilities assessment services. Before joining Kra...

The need for more affordable housing in Minnesota is well documented. According to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Minnesota needs to add 300,000 more homes statewide by 2030, including at least 2,500 for those earning $30,000 or less. Unsheltered homelessness has increased 125% since 2015 and about 8,000 Minnesotans experience homelessness each night, the agency says. The COVID-19 pandemic...

A major bonding bill for public works projects would be a big topic of conversation in a normal even-numbered year, but 2020 has been anything but normal as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Even so, advocates for a robust bonding bill say that that doesn’t take away the need to invest in buildings and infrastructure. In a series of articles and episodes in Beyond the Skyline, Finance & Commerce is...

When Doran Cos. President and CEO Anne Behrendt purchased a majority stake in the company last May, she set the company on a path that is both new and well worn. The Bloomington-based general contractor and commercial real estate development company has changed since it was founded 13 years ago, moving into multifamily projects after getting a start in student housing. Company founder Kelly Doran...

The aging U.S. population may bode well for senior housing providers, but the so-called “senior tsunami” doesn’t guarantee success in the complicated business of providing homes and services for older adults. So says Jill Johnson, a Minneapolis-based consultant with more than 30 years of consulting experience in the senior living arena. Johnson, the president and founder of Minneapolis-based Johns...

When we last spoke with Tony Layne in October, the managing director and principal at the Minneapolis office of architecture firm Perkins & Will talked about retaining talent, receiving an AIA award and the core values at his Minneapolis office. The world has changed since then. Much of Layne’s focus has been on work for corporate clients, including renovation and repositioning work of office buil...

In this episode, Finance & Commerce reporter Brian Johnson speaks with Bill Baxley, Managing Director of the Minneapolis office of the Gensler architecture firm. Baxley has been in charge of the 30-person office for nearly 3 years. He recently oversaw Gensler’s move into 8,000 square feet of space on the top floor of the 706 Building at the Baker Center. Baxley has more than 30 years of experience...

Josh Brandsted has been president of Minneapolis development company Greco for the past five years. At the start of the year he was named managing partner and now has a 50 percent ownership in the business. A New Underwood, South Dakota, native, Brandsted worked his way up to his leadership role from running the books for one of Greco’s apartment buildings. Now 37, he will be running much of Greco...

The Minnesota Legislature has some tough choices to make this year when it comes to borrowing money for public works projects. During the 2020 legislative session, lawmakers are expected to consider a bonding bill that could range in size from just under $1 billion to $2 billion-plus. More than $5 billion requests from state agencies and local governments are in the mix for funding. In a series of...

Chris Romano believes that even a half century of rebuilding and redeveloping one of Minneapolis’ most dense and diverse neighborhoods is only a beginning. In January, Romano moved into the executive director’s position with Seward Redesign, a neighborhood-based community development organization that just celebrated its 50-year anniversary. The nonprofit recently secured tax increment financing f...

This special episode of Beyond the Skyline, features an Experts Forum on innovation in Rochester. Innovation being synonymous with Mayo Clinic is nothing new. But now, thanks to Rochester’s massive multiyear undertaking to present the entire city as a beacon for innovators and entrepreneurs, the entire region 75 miles south of the Twin Cities is poised for a technological and economic renaissance....

When the new Element by Westin hotel next to Target Field in downtown Minneapolis opened in January, Lion Hotel Group CEO Mark Labovitz was there with his wife and two children to stay on opening night. Lion is part of the fourth-generation Labovitz Enterprises, a Duluth-based company that owned clothing retailers Maurices from its founding in 1931 until 1978. The Element marks a high point for Li...