Beyond the Skyline

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, recreation, accommodations, and food services, dropped 54% from March to April. Within this industry sector, employment at full-service restaurants dropped 74.1% from 60,098 in March to 16,671 in April.

On Friday, June 12, the Twin West chamber of commerce hosted its monthly Issues & Insights event, this time via Zoom. I moderated a panel discussion on how COVID-19 has impacted Minnesota industries in retail, restaurant, hotel and resorts & campgrounds. Attendees heard from the leaders who are managing a never-experienced-before economy, and coping with the potential health-related impact on its members and customers. The panelists were:

Liz Sheridan Rammer, president & CEO of Hospitality MN

Ann Kirby McGill, director of strategic alignment, Hospitality MN

And Bruce Nustad, president and CEO of the Minnesota Retailers Association

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 podcast host who’s not shy about sharing his insights on buying and selling homes.

A graduate of Minnesota State University Mankato with a degree in education, Lindahl is also a leader of the #BeGenerous Movement, which urges people to donate their time and talents to their communities.

In the following interview, Lindahl talks about how he got into the business, the state of the real estate market amid the global pandemic and civic unrest, the emergence of analytics in real estate and what lies ahead for the industry.

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 and reports, she guides owners through the tangled web of Minnesota’s property tax system – the most complex system of its kind in the country, in her view.

Reporter Brian Johnson speaks with Karnes about some of her most notable tax appeal cases, how she got into this line of work, and what property owners can consider doing if they believe their taxes are too high.

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 suburb had only 10,000 residents or so.

The city is a lot bigger now with a population of 63,456, and was already well into growth mode when Platzke got to town in the early 2000s. He grew up in the Michigan village of Ontonagon, which had a population of about 1,600 when Platzke was a kid. For him Eden Prairie was the largest city he’d ever been in.

Today, the two men are partners in the Helgeson/Platzke Real Estate Group, which is affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In 2019, they were the brokerage’s top selling team in Minnesota for the fifth consecutive year. They closed $208.3 million in sales involving more than 490 homes.

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 1995. The business, which he founded with his late father, Mac, only recently finished redeveloping one of the largest industrial sites in the Twin Cities, the eight-building Northern Stacks in Fridley

Paul Hyde has seen the Twin Cities commercial real estate market undergo a massive slowdown in recent weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But he is remaining optimistic about his company’s future.

Finance & Commerce reporter Matt Johnson sat down virtually with Hyde during the first few days in April to talk about commercial real estate, Hyde’s growth and how Minnesota’s stay-at-home orders are impacting his industry.

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 system that works for all Minnesotans.”

Previously, Donahoe worked for a legislative commission called the Transportation Study Board, and was the committee administrator for the transportation budget division in the Minnesota Senate.

In the following interview, Donahoe talks about the unmet needs in Minnesota’s transportation system, the alliance’s wish list for a 2020 state bonding bill, and why transportation investments are still important amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 – is urging the Legislature to include $149 million for transit in a 2020 bonding bill.

Move Minnesota’s mission includes advocating for investments in walking, bicycling, and transit.

In the following interview, Move Minnesota Executive Director Sam Rockwell speaks with Reporter Brian Johnson about the benefits of transit investment from the standpoint of job creation and transporting essential workers to their jobs.

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 or older, and one in four is in unacceptable or poor condition, says Sarah Strommen, the DNR’s commissioner.

In its capital bonding request, the DNR is seeking $196.3 million for a variety of upkeep needs, including $70 million for natural resources asset preservation, $30 million for acquisition and betterment of public lands and $25 million for offices, storage facilities, hatcheries and more.

In the following interview, reporter Brian Johnson speaks with Strommen about the need for continued investment in natural resources, even as the state grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/05/dnr-chief-buildings-crumbling/

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 Kraus-Anderson, Kittila directed the business data unit at Eden Prairie-based Parallel Technologies. Previously, he was a partner and vice president of St. Paul-based Hypertect, a designer and builder of mechanical systems for data centers.

Born and raised on the East Coast, Kittila earned a mechanical engineering degree at Virginia Tech’s Polytechnic Institute and State University in Virginia. He followed that up with an MBA at the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics.

In this episode Reporter Brian Johnson speaks with Kittila about his background, his new job, and his Twin Cities roots.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/qa-kraus-andersons-future-in-facilities-assessments/

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 underscores those needs. Put another way, the health crisis has forced Minnesotans to stay at home or “shelter in place,” but what about those who don’t have a home – or are forced to live in an overcrowded shelter?

Minnesota Housing Finance Agency Commissioner Jennifer Ho addresses that and other questions in the context of the agency’s state bonding request, which includes $200 million in housing infrastructure bonds and $60 million in public housing improvements. She also offers her take on the outlook for a robust bonding bill in 2020, among other topics.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/04/bonding-2020-housing-even-more-important-agency-chief-says/