People and Places and How We Use Spaces

Cory Villaume and Matt Hazelton started in the Commercial Real Estate business just weeks apart, 18 years ago. Now, as a dynamic duo, they're heading up the Retail Capital Markets team at JLL Minneapolis. Over their careers they have been responsible for nearly $1 billion of retail property dispositions and acquisitions. From selling shopping centers to single tenant buildings, hear how Matt...

At just 26 years old, Logan Haskett is making a name for himself. After several hardships during his adolescent years, Logan knew the path he was on was the losing one. Knowing he had an entrepreneurial spirit within himself, he started to build his knowledge and strengthen his abilities, which in-turn, was just the beginning of a successful career - his secret? Stop making excuses for yourself. A...

Brian Ingram knows how to put love on a plate. Considering himself as the "world's worst student," Brian's mom put him in a culinary program at the age of 14. By the age of 18, he left his home state of Alaska with a passion for the culinary world, working in restaurants as a chef, travelling from San Francisco to New York, and Singapore to Paris. In 2012, Brian's journey...

Steve Wellington, founder of Wellington Management, Inc., is among Minnesota's most admired CEO's. Since starting the company in 1984, WMI has developed and/or acquired more than 100 commercial and residential properties in the Twin Cities and is currently the 10th largest property management company in St. Paul/Minneapolis. Steve is also an active community and civic leader, building af...

Roger King initially thought he would be a musician after attending the well-known Berklee College of Music, until he was influenced by his father's venture into property investing. Roger switched paths and found another talent, real estate. Now, with 27-years of real estate under his belt, Roger has garnered over 180 successful property flips, the ground-up development of 13 high-end luxury...

Heidi Zimmer thought she was going to be a City Planner until she leaned into her curiosity of the commercial real estate development world. She moved from big city jobs to the non-profit sector revealing her niche in affordable housing. Through her development experience, her work percolated a passion; creating spaces that integrated health and wellness, mind and body connection, arts, and nature...

Marie Slawik was a woman before her time.  During the 1950's, a time when men dominated the business sector, Marie and her husband, Harold, founded and owned one of the largest Ford dealerships in the Midwest - Midway Ford in St. Paul., along with an auto-parts store, leasing and car title-loan businesses in an early vertical integration model. They were also growing their real estate busines...

Andre Ingram and Nene Matey-Keke live out the Urban Land Institute's Real Estate Diversity Initiative (REDI) program's mission: to advance the careers of professionals of color and women in commercial real estate. Ingram, a Development Manager at Schaefer Richardson, and Matey-Keke a decorated broker and founder of RNR Real estate group at Compass Realty, talk all things REDI and how it...

Kristen Anderson oversees Hempel Real Estate's construction and design activities. She is part of the reason why we're able to host our podcast show as she and her team built the beautiful podcast studio! Kristen's love for historic buildings broke her into the business. After working on the famous Trinity Church on Wall Street in New York City, it only heightened her passion even m...

Torrey Benson is a lifer when it comes to real estate. Coming from a family in commercial real estate, she has maneuvered her professional career around it. A Minnesota native, Torrey grew up a ski racer, going to Minnesota's popular ski area, Buck Hill. As to no one's surprise, she ended up in Montana where she is currently a Commerical Real Estate Investor, Coach and Mentor. In this ep...

Neil's first job was at a bank - and when he realized his mom made double what he did as a Residential Real Estate Agent, he knew he needed to switch gears. He followed his mom's footsteps and by the age of 29, he became the #1 RE/MAX agent in Iowa, but despite this, he longed for more freedom to choose how he spent his time. Neil began to realize the power in investing and started to do...

Something fun and exciting this week as Lisa Christianson sits on the other side of the mic and is in the hot seat! Christianson & Company's Summer Intern interviews Lisa on this special podcast. Lisa was an entrepreneur before she was an entrepreneur. As soon as she could remember, Lisa would doodle ideas onto paper about different business ideas - whether that was sending out rate incre...

Jill Rasmussen has amassed one of the most impressive 35-year real estate resumes. She has established herself as a leading healthcare specialist providing strategic planning, brokerage, development, and investment services. As one of the three principals at Davis Healthcare Real Estate Group, Jill tells us how she got her start in the commercial real estate industry, what is unique about medical/...

From Criminal Defense Attorney to CEO and Owner of J. Benson Construction, Paul Edlund's career journey has been quite the ride. After working as an Attorney for over 10 years, Paul realized that during that time, his life had spiraled into shambles. Being married with three children, he admitted himself to rehab in 2016 for addiction to alcohol. He has been active in recovery ever since. Sin...

Design was instilled in Betsy Vohs at an early age. Growing up, she asked for a design budget for her bedroom on her birthday - she knew it was her life-calling. Fast forward to 2015, her love came full circle as she founded a design studio, Studio BV. It is now considered one of the fastest growing design firms in Minneapolis. Vohs' passion for her work has amassed several accolades and has...

Patty Wall, a former chef/caterer, was planning and executing a wedding event when her client called it off 10 days before. Little did she know, the soon-to-be groom would be her future husband, business partner, and co-creator of The Market at Malcolm Yards. With John, coming from a commercial real estate/development background, this dynamic duo was meant to be. The Market at Malcolm Yards, a par...

Nicole Middendorf is a wealth advisor, author, coach, speaker, and media contributor. Not only is she the CEO of ProsperWell Financial, but she devotes her life to elevating over life's circumstances. On today's episode, listen to how Nicole went from "having it all" to surviving an earth-shattering domestic abuse crisis. We hear how she pulled herself out of one of the toughes...

If you’re in the Commercial Real Estate world in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Market, you’ve probably heard the name Chris Simmons.  With his larger-than-life personality combined with the amount of knowledge he holds; it is to no surprise the standout leader he is and the impact he has on the industry. With over 25 years' experience, Chris is a Managing Director of Retail Services at Transwester...

  Coming to the United States at five years old, Marshall Nguyen learned at a young age that how hard you work, is how big your reward is.   The quickest way for Marshall's parents to earn an income in the US, was to enter and operate their own nail business.   Fast forward to Marshall's high school years, he was reading through the leases for the nail salons and unknowingly at the time,...

Brent Babcock is Chief Sales and Marketing Officer for Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota (GESMN). He is responsible for retail, e-commerce, aftermarket sales, and organization marketing, communications, and facilities. When Brent started his job at Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota, he quickly realized how retail helps provide additional support for the community. Last year alone, GESMN served over 4,...

Camp Fire Minnesota (formerly known as Camp Tanadoona) has empowered youth for a century. Located on 103 acres on Lake Minnewashta in Excelsior, Camp Fire started in 1910 as an organization for girls to discover nature. Formerly located on the lands of the Dakota and Ojibwe, this organization has grown to serve 10,000 youth each year. Director of Development and Communications, Sara Lemke, chats a...

Is this special episode, Lisa Christianson sits down with a number of brokers during an Open House held at the Hempel Office Building located in the Crosstown Preserve of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. With the rise of remote workers, they give their insight on what landlords and companies need to do to bring workers back to the office. Find out which brokers, ranging from Gen Z to Boomers, like the fle...

Howard Paster's vision to bring his third-generation family business to the top has come with a lot of learning opportunities and sacrifices. For over 70 years, Paster Properties has owned and developed neighborhood commercial real estate properties throughout the Twin Cities. Under Howard's leadership, the company has continued to meet neighborhood needs as well as strengthen communitie...

Leif Eikevik credits his father for merging his creative side with his technical side to shape him into the successful architect he is today. Eikevik works for Leo A Daly – a successful family firm that was established in 1915. Eikevik is based in Minneapolis where he is the Market Sector Leader for their commercial lab life sciences and GSA divisions. In this episode: - Leif expands on the idea t...

Mike Kaeding’s parents started a family business managing and building apartments 30 years ago. When it was time for the business to be passed on to him...he wanted nothing to do with it. Until he realized the business was much more than apartment buildings. As the CEO of Norhart Construction, Mike took his small family business and transformed it into one of the largest apartment developers in th...