Beyond the Skyline

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 taking a closer look at some of the notable bonding requests for 2020. This episode looks at the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which is asking for $15 million in economic development grants for everything from water infrastructure in Greater Minnesota to statewide transportation initiatives.

In the following interview, DEED Commissioner Steve Grove talks about the request and makes a case for why it’s important to keep making those investments – even in the midst of a global public health crisis.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/04/bonding-2020-deed-sees-an-economic-jump-start/

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/bonding-2020/

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 was active before that in retail development. In 2018, the company also established an office in Denver.

In February, the company was certified as the fourth-largest woman-owned business in Minnesota by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled and operated by women in the United States. Behrendt started as Doran Cos.’ general counsel in 2011, before moving up the company’s leadership structure top lead the 300-employee company which had more than $250 million in revenue in 2019.

Reporter Matt Johnson recently sat down with Behrendt to learn more about her career, and initial months as Doran Cos. majority owner.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/02/qa-dorans-behrendt-says-yes-to-opportunity/

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 Johnson Consulting Services, speaks from experience.

A three-time Finance & Commerce “Top Women in Finance” honoree and Hall of Fame inductee, Johnson counts two of the nation’s 10 largest not-for-profit senior living organizations among her clients, and she has consulted on more than $4 billion worth of business activity for clients in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Taking a boots-on-the-ground approach to her work, Johnson has visited more than 2,000 senior living communities in the U.S., and has studied thousands more from a distance, according to her bio.

Last month, Johnson spoke with reporter Brian Johnson about her new book, “Market Forces: Strategic Trends Impacting Senior Living Providers.” The book touches on everything from demographics to capital markets as they relate to senior living providers. In her interview, Johnson talks about challenges and opportunities for senior living providers from both a local and national perspective.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/02/qa-consultant-explores-market-forces-in-senior-living/

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 buildings. Some of his projects include the repositioning of the AT&T Tower in downtown Minneapolis, the expansion and renovation of Land O Lakes Arden Hills headquarters and the conversion of a midcentury, single-tenant office building at 3701 Wayzata Blvd. in Minneapolis into a multi tenant office building.

Layne, 42, grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and earned a master’s degree in architecture at the University of Minnesota. He currently lives in Bloomington with his wife and their son.

Reporter Matt Johnson caught up with Layne to talk about the evolving nature of design. Layne sees a future in which his work advances the integration of technology into a workplace that is both mobile and office centered. Commercial office space will continue to have a solid place in that work world, but more as a place where people choose to be together rather than a place they are required to go every day.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/qa-architect-envisions-office-as-place-where-workers-want-to-go/

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 in the field, including 24 in the Twin Cities region. His work on public,

corporate, and educational projects has been recognized both locally and nationally.

Baxley spoke with Brian about a wide range of design topics, including the coronavirus scare and how

the health crisis might have an impact on designs of the future.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/government-office-closings-present-risks-to-contractors/

https://finance-commerce.com/2019/11/qa-baxley-embraces-the-design-of-change/

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/pandemic-could-drive-office-school-design-trends/

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’s workload and leading the company’s 45 employees.

Earlier this year, Greco finish work on the Sable condominiums it built as part of United Properties The Nordic project, a property just down the street from Greco’s offices in the Copham apartment building the company renovated in the Minneapolis North Loop neighborhood. Greco currently manages about 900 apartments in the Twin Cities, but is seeking to grow that number to 2,500 in the coming years.

In late January, Reporter Matt Johnson spoke with Brandsted and Greco founder Arnie Gregory to learn more about Brandsted and his rise to co-lead the company.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/01/qa-grecos-new-leader-has-the-ability-to-do-it-all/

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 upcoming articles, Finance & Commerce is taking a closer look at some of the notable requests. Many of the stories in the series will include an accompanying interview and episode of Beyond the Skyline, offering additional in-depth analysis. Watch for those shows labeled Bonding 2020.

The series begins with a focus on the University of Minnesota’s $317.3 million wish list for everything from building maintenance to chemistry lab upgrades.

University Services is the department behind the scenes that provides the non-academic operations to the University of Minnesota on the Twin Cities campus and, for some services, system wide. According to their website, they “shovel the snow, serve the food, patrol the streets, heat the buildings, renovate facilities, monitor lab safety, and house our students.”

Reporter Brian Johnson sat down with University Services Vice President Mike Berthelsen to talk about the U’s specific needs during this bonding session.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/03/bonding-2020-preserving-the-states-educational-assets/

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/02/minnesota-coronavirus-testing-lab-needs-21-5-million-fix/

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 for the planned 32-unit Wadaag Commons and the 128-unit Bessemer Apartments, which will be the first market-rate apartment developed in Seward in 40 years.

Romano sat down with Reporter Matt M. Johnson to talk about his new role and what he likes to do when he’s not at work.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/02/qa-romano-sees-complex-projects-in-sewards-future/

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.

The panelists include Dr. Traci Downs, Shaye Mandle, Dr. Clark Otley, Dr. Stephen Russell, Chris Schad and Pam York.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2019/12/expert-forum-creating-a-cluster-of-innovation-in-rochester/

https://www.pageturnpro.com/FCI/93168-Creating-a-Cluster-of-Innovation-in-Rochester/sindex.html

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 Lion, which got its start as an investment vehicle for the family business.

Labovitz is serious about the hotel business and makes it a point to stay overnight in the company’s properties. It’s a business he came to a little late when he joined the family business in the early 2000s after working in finance for the First Bank System (now U.S. Bank) and progenitors of RBC Wealth Management. Now 57, the Duluth native is focused on drawing guests to the Element.

But, he’s pretty confident that the hotel’s location next to Target Field, the city’s largest light rail station and on top of the new Fillmore music venue will do a lot of the work for Lion.

In late January, Reporter Matt Johnson sat down with Labovitz to learn about how he wound up in the family hotel and commercial real estate business, and what he likes to do with his free time.

Related links:

https://finance-commerce.com/2020/01/qa-family-brings-labovitz-home-to-hotels/