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Doran Companies Hires Veteran Communications Consultant John Wodele will assume the role of Vice President for Marketing
Doran Companies, a Bloomington, Minnesota-based commercial developer, who in the past three years paved the way for a wave of upscale student housing projects at the University of Minnesota and luxury apartments in Minneapolis, has hired an experienced media and communications marketing veteran to lead its company-wide marketing efforts.

John Wodele, well known in Minnesota’s political, public policy and public and media relations communities, and who for the past six years worked with Doran Companies as a marketing and communications consultant, will now join the company as vice president for marketing.

The company’s owner and principal, Kelly Doran, said “the move to an in-house marketing manager was necessitated by our accelerated rate of growth in developing multi-family housing units and a nearly one hundred per cent increase in business for our construction company, which has over one thousand multi-family housing units under construction in the Upper Midwest—the majority for third-party developers.”

“We are excited that John is joining our team, and the fact that he is well known and respected, not only by our employees, but the community in general is a real plus,” Doran added.

Wodele, who lives in Minneapolis, is no stranger to development as in the 1990’s he served eight years as a Minneapolis Planning Commissioner. Perhaps best known for his role as key advisor and spokesperson for Governor Jesse Ventura, Wodele currently serves on the board of the Hiawatha Learning Academy, a Minneapolis charter school and was recently appointed by Governor Mark Dayton to the Commission of Deaf, Blind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans.
Posted 3.22.13

TOWLE FINANCIAL SERVICES ARRANGES OVER $51 MILLION IN NEW LOANS IN THE FIRST 50 DAYS OF 2013
Towle Financial Services (Towle) announced the recent closing of approximately $51 million in new loans in the past 50 days. These loans were on a mixture of property types including office, retail, mobile home parks and apartment properties.

“$51 million in seven new financings in the first 50 days of 2013 represents a healthy increase in origination volume over 2012. For the same period last year wehad closed four loans totaling $14.6 million. We are moving closer to the origination volumes we experienced before the last recession hit the commercial real estate industry.” – Dan Mott – COO/Principal of Towle Financial Services.

Towle Financial, established in 1909, is the oldest commercial mortgage banking company in Minneapolis. Towle provides a variety of creative mortgage financing solutions for developers, owners and investors of commercial real estate. Through a network of strategic capital providers the company offers competitive financing for office, retail, industrial, multi-family, owner-occupied facilities, hotels and manufactured housing projects. Over the past 16 years, Towle has originated in excess of 1,250 loans totaling over$6.1 billion of commercial mortgages. Towle currently services approximately 525 loans with current balances totaling $1.6 billion for 25 different investors.
Posted 2.25.13

CBRE Multi-Housing Group Announces Sale of Woodbury Townhomes
St. Paul, MN based At Home Apartments, recently purchased Woodlane Place Townhomes, a 242 rental unit property in Woodbury, Minnesota. Keith Collins, Abe Appert and Laura Hanneman of CBRE’s Minneapolis office represented Henderson Global Investors in the sale of the 216-unit Woodlane I.

Henderson Global Investors, a leading independent global asset management firm, owns over 2,900 units in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and continues to be the largest institutional owner of apartments in the Twin Cities. “The successful disposition of Woodlane Place concludes Henderson’s 10-year hold of the asset, which delivered an attractive total return to its investors,” says Brian Eby, Transactions and Financing Director at Henderson Global Investors (North America), Inc. “Henderson continues to believe the Minneapolis-St. Paul market offers excellent long-term opportunities for multi-family investments, consistent with its recent purchase of Park at City West, a 288-unit apartment complex in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

CSM (Minneapolis, MN) was the seller of Woodlane II, a 26-unit townhome property, which the company has owned since it was completed in 1989.

Financing for the acquisition was secured through HUD. At Home is planning extensive exterior renovations of Woodlane Place. At Home Apartments owns and manages over 4,000 units in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, St. Cloud, Minnesota and Kansas City, Kansas.
Posted 2.22.13

CBRE INDUSTRIAL GROUP ANNOUNCES SALE OR LEASE OPPORTUNITY FOR MANUFACTURING FACILITIES IN EAU CLAIRE, WI and HUTCHINSON, MN

CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul has been engaged by Hutchinson Technology to market for sale or lease a 159,000 SF manufacturing building located at 2435 Alpine Road in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and a 237,000 SF building at 45 West Highland Park Drive in Hutchinson, MN. Both locations are state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and are owned and operated by Hutchinson Technology.

According to company spokesperson Connie Pautz, the company is consolidating its U.S. operations as part of its ongoing cost reduction efforts. “In Hutchinson, we are consolidating our Development Center into our headquarters building to utilize space made available when we moved component manufacturing from Hutchinson to Eau Claire,” Pautz commented. “As we consolidate more assembly manufacturing at our Thailand operation, we will be ramping down the Eau Claire assembly operation and offering that portion of the facility for sale or lease.

The buildings will be available for occupancy in the second half of calendar 2013.
Posted 2.8.13

CBRE ANNOUNCES THE SALE OF MONEYGRAM AND 1600 TOWERS, ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA
CBRE announces the sale of MoneyGram and 1600 Towers in St. Louis Park, Minnesota to DRA Advisors.

The properties are Class A office towers totaling 490,787 square feet in a master-planned office park connected to The Shops at West End retail development. The award-winning Towers were developed in 1987 and 2000, and are currently 90% occupied. 1550 South Utica Avenue, commonly known as MoneyGram Tower, is a 9-story office tower totaling 236,645 rentable square feet. MoneyGram International occupies approximately 71% of the tower. The adjacent 1600 Tower at 1600 South Utica Avenue totals 254,142 square feet and is occupied by a diverse group of tenants, including Hamline Unversity.

The seller, Equity Office/Blackstone Group, was represented by the CBRE Institutional Group in Minneapolis led by Tom Holtz, Steven Buss and Ryan Watts. Equity Office is a real estate investment firm whose portfolio encompasses approximately 70 million square feet of Class A office space throughout the U.S. Blackstone Group is a global investment and advisory firm.

The Minneapolis based team of Steven Buss, Tom Holtz, Ryan Watts and Judd Welliver focuses on the disposition of single-tenant and multi-tenant office and industrial properties. Steven and Tom are part of the 85-member CBRE Institutional Group. In 2011, the Capital Markets enterprise of CBRE including the Institutional Group completed over $95.6 billion in combined total global capital activity.
Posted 2.4.13

Liesch - Environmental Consultants & Engineers and Terracon Join Together to Expand and Enhance Service Offerings to Clients
Liesch Associates, Inc. - Environmental Consultants & Engineers, based in Minneapolis, Minn., is pleased to announce it is joining with Terracon Consultants, Inc.

Founded in 1968, Liesch provides a full range of environmental services including industrial hygiene, industrial water and wastewater, air quality, acquisition due diligence, environmental compliance, environmental engineering, solid waste and Brownfield services. Client sectors include agribusiness, airports, alternative energy, commercial real estate, facilities, government, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, legal, mining and waste. Liesch has additional offices in St. Paul and Phoenix.

“Over the last 44 years, we have built our reputation on providing quality environmental engineering and consulting services,” said Brian Liesch, CEO and managing Principal of Liesch. “As we extend the same quality services to a larger market, merging with Terracon will allow us to continue to meet the diverse needs of our clients.”

Terracon is retaining Liesch’s 50 employees. Liesch will continue operating under the same name.

“We are excited to be joining forces with Liesch to expand our environmental services to clients,” said David Gaboury, P.E., president and CEO of Terracon. “Their employees deliver expertise and service that is responsive and thorough with successful results. Their track record speaks for itself.”
Posted 1.22.13

TRANSWESTERN BROKERS SALE OF 16,000-SQUARE-FOOT OFFICE/WAREHOUSE BUILDING
Firm sources international buyer and honors seller’s 45-day disposition schedule

Transwestern’s Minneapolis Investment Services Group today announced that it brokered the sale of a 16,460-square-foot office/warehouse building located at 8400 Pillsbury Avenue South in Bloomington, Minn. The property was sold by Décor-Tec, Inc. (Minneapolis) for an undisclosed amount to an international buyer.

Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 2,800 employees providing geotechnical, environmental, construction materials and facilities services from more than 130 offices in 39 states nationwide. Terracon currently ranks 39th on Engineering News-Record’s List of Top 500 Design Firms. For additional information about Terracon, please visit www.terracon.com.“This was both the easiest and one of the most complex deals we’ve seen in a while,” said Dan Russ, vice president of Transwestern’s Investment Services Group. “We were working with an international buyer, zoning issues and a tight close time, but it all worked perfectly.”

Transwestern also led negotiations with the City of Bloomington during the short inspection period to change the zoning use and parking requirements that were necessary for the buyer to transact.

“The Transwestern team was able to meet and exceed our aggressive goal to list, market and sell the property within 45-days, in order to close by year-end,” said Tom Johnson, owner of Décor-Tec, Inc. “They truly went above and beyond in working with an international buyer and seamlessly coordinated all aspects of the process from list to close.

The seller was exclusively represented by Russ and Michael Houge of Transwestern.
Posted 1.18.13

CBRE ANNOUNCES LEASE AT MIDTOWN DOCTORS BUILDING
Specialty Care, Inc. moving into Midtown Doctors Building

BRE Minneapolis/St. Paul facilitated the lease of space located at 2545 Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis.

Specialty Care, Inc. will be occupying 3,145 square feet at the Midtown Doctors Building. The building is located on the Children’s/Abbott Northwestern medical campus in South Minneapolis. A tunnel and skyway system connects the building to the adjoining Children’s & Allina hospitals and is complete with a parking structure for patient, physician and office staff parking. Prominently located at the intersection of 26th Street East and Chicago Avenue South, the Midtown Doctors Building offers unmatched access to the Chicago Avenue Medical Corridor, downtown Minneapolis and the surrounding metropolitan area.

Midtown Doctors Building is also skyway connected to the new $50,000,000 Mother Baby Center developed and owned by Children’s Hospital & Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

Brian Helmken, Jerry Driessen and Joseph Hughes of CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul represented building ownership in the lease negotiation.
Posted 12.13.12

CBRE APPOINTS BLAKE HASTINGS TO LEAD MINNEAPOLIS OPERATIONS
CBRE Group, Inc. has appointed Blake R. Hastings as Managing Director of its Minneapolis, Minnesota office, effective January 1, 2013. He succeeds Whit Peyton, who will be stepping down from that role following more than two decades of service. In his new position, Mr. Hastings will be responsible for overseeing all CBRE’s operations in Minnesota.

“Blake is a highly successful real estate professional and is a terrific addition to our team as we further enhance our leadership position within the Minneapolis market area,” said Mike Gerard, President of CBRE’s Central Region. “The hard work of Whit Peyton and our team has built CBRE into the #1 real estate services firm in the Twin Cities and we are confident that Blake will add to that success with continued growth in the future.”

Mr. Hastings was previously with Cassidy Turley/BRE in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was a Senior Vice President. In that role he served commercial property owners, users, investors, and developers. During his tenure in Phoenix, Mr. Hastings built one of the premier office agency leasing practices in Arizona.

Mr. Peyton will remain with CBRE after January 1, assisting Mr. Hastings to ensure a smooth transition and taking an active role in the Company’s business development efforts in Minnesota.

Mr. Hastings has completed more than 800 transactions with an aggregate value of $800 million during his career. Prior to Cassidy Turley/BRE he was one of the top ranked office brokers at Grubb & Ellis/BRE. Mr. Hastings has a Bachelor of Science, Economics, from Villanova University. He is a member of NAIOP and Urban Land Institute (ULI) Young Leaders Group.
Posted 11.28.12

CBRE ARRANGES $7,000,000 FINANCING FOR 102,000 SF JERRY’S GRANDVIEW IN EDINA, MINNESOTA
CBRE’s Minneapolis Debt & Equity Finance group arranged $7,000,000 in permanent mortgage financing for Jerry’s Grandview, a 101,973 square foot grocery-anchored, mixed-use office/retail project located in Edina, Minnesota. The financing was arranged by Doug Seylar, Senior Vice President, and Murray Kornberg, Senior Vice President, on behalf of the owner, Grandview 2012, LLC, through the American United Life Insurance Company.

The new financing that was secured by the CBRE Capital Markets team allowed the borrower to retire the existing debt on the property and take advantage of today’s low interest rate environment. With the fully amortizing payment structure and low loan to value, the borrower was able to lock in an interest rate that was lower than the coupon on the then existing debt, which significantly improved the property’s overall cash flow.

Jerry’s Grandview is located near the intersection of Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 in the first-ring Twin Cities suburb of Edina, MN. The property includes a Jerry’s Foods store, a Jerry’s Hardware store, and 31,000 square feet of multi-story office space. In addition to retiring the existing financing, a portion of the loan proceeds will be used to fund improvements to the Jerry’s Hardware store, which moved into its new space in January, 2012.

Improvements to the property include parking lot, sidewalks, elevator, common areas, loading facilities, main entrance and updating the front façade.
Posted 11.5.12

Doran Construction Continues to Expand, Adds Six New Employees
Doran Companies announced today the hiring of four additional construction superintendents, a project assistant and a project manager to meet the needs of their construction division’s expanding presence as a general contractor building commercial projects in the Upper Midwest.

Calvin Hayes, who worked the last six years with Granite Construction in Southern California, joined Doran Construction as the new project manager in October.  Hayes, a Seattle native, received a Bachelors of Science in Construction Management in 2006 from Arizona State University and earned Master of Business Administration this year from the same school.  Hayes and his wife Elizabeth, who is a Minnesota native, are excited to be here, and admittedly, were Vikings fans before they arrived.

The four new construction superintendents and their assignments are as follows:

CBRE Minneapolis Institutional Group Team Announces the Addition of New Associate Judd Welliver
CBRE’s Minneapolis Institutional Group is pleased to announce the addition of Judd Welliver as a Vice President. Judd will be working directly with Steve Buss, Tom Holtz, and Ryan Watts on the sale of single tenant and multi-tenant office and industrial properties in Minneapolis and nationally. Judd previously held the position of Vice President with the Minneapolis Colliers International office where he specialized in office and industrial properties in the Western Minneapolis submarket completing over 400 lease and sale transactions totaling over 4 million square feet. Judd’s professional accomplishments include the 2010 MNCAR Rising Star of the Year Award, the 2007 NAI Welsh Rookie of the Year Award, and Top 20% Producer in 2010 and 2011.

The Minneapolis based team of Steven Buss, Tom Holtz and Ryan Watts focuses on the disposition of single-tenant and multi-tenant office and industrial properties. Steven and Tom are part of the 85-member CBRE Institutional Group. In 2011, the Capital Markets enterprise of CBRE including the Institutional Group completed over $95.6 billion in combined total global capital activity.
Posted 10-10-2012

CBRE ARRANGES SALE AND FINANCING OF 375-UNIT APARTMENT COMPLEX IN  EDEN PRAIRIE, MINNESOTA
CBRE Capital Markets is pleased to announce the arrangement of the sale and acquisition financing for Parkway Apartments, a 375-unit property located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Abe Appert and Keith Collins of CBRE’s Minneapolis office represented the owner, Invesco Real Estate, on the sale of the asset.  The buyer, an affiliate of Trilogy Real Estate Group, acquired the property in July, 2012 for approximately $41.5 million. 

CBRE Capital Markets successfully secured a loan in excess of $30 million for Trilogy through its Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer program. Acquisition financing was originated by PeterMarino, SVP, located in CBRE’s Chicago office, in partnership with Joel Torborg in CBRE’s Minneapolis office.  
Posted 10.5.12

Riding the apartment building boom Doran Construction lands $100 million in new projects
Riding the wave of new urban apartment developments, Doran Companies’ construction division current projects include four apartment building projects and a CVS store. The new projects, three in Minneapolis and one each in Duluth and St. Cloud, total nearly $100 million in value. In addition, they expect to begin construction on an additional out-of-state multi-family housing project yet this month.

The projects include:

• Blue Stone Lofts: 99 unit student housing project developed by Summit Management in Duluth
• Be@Calhoun: 185 market rate apartments developed by Bigos Management near Lake Calhoun and on the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis
• Mill & Main: 180 units--phase one of a 385 unit luxury apartment complex developed by Doran Development in Minneapolis
• The Knoll: 101 unit student housing project in Dinkytown at the University of Minnesota and developed by Doran Development.
• CVS: New 13,000 square foot retail store located at Division and Highway 10 in St. Cloud
  

Ken Braun, a Doran Companies vice president who runs the construction company, said “clearly we have put together a great track record building multi-family projects because that seems to be where a lot of the action is now.” However, Braun added, “we continue to build retail and other commercial projects and, in fact, are also currently building a Menards store in Richfield, which is the 19th store we have built for them.”

The companies’ principal, Kelly Doran, said “our construction company team has been working hard to grow our business and they have done a great job. They know the way to source new projects is to be excellent managers of all aspects of the building process and to deliver projects on time and of exceptional quality--and that’s exactly what they do.”

Doran Companies is a family-owned, award-winning Minnesota-based development, construction and property management company based in Bloomington, Minnesota,
Posted 8.29.12

TOWLE FINANCIAL SERVICES ARRANGES $2.4 MILLION LOAN
Towle Financial Services (Towle) announced the recent closing of a $2.4 million Fannie Mae DUS permanent loan for Birchwood Apartments in North Branch, Minnesota.

Birchwood is a 54-unit, two building apartment complex in North Branch. The property is owned by Birchwood Partnership, LLP. The proceeds were used to pay off the underlying first mortgage loan.

“We felt that now was the time to take advantage of the historically low, long term, fixed rate loans being offered by Fannie Mae.” – Jim Kelly – a principal with Birchwood Partnership, LLP.

Peter C. Austin, a Senior Loan Originator with Towle, originated the loan.
Posted 8.28.12

TOWLE FINANCIAL SERVICES HIRES BRENT D. ANDERSON
Towle Financial Services announced today the addition of Brent D. Anderson to its loan origination staff.

Brent will be responsible for the origination and placement of commercial real estate loans with third party lenders on behalf of Towle’s exclusive life insurance company clients. Brent is an experienced commercial real estate professional. Most recently he was a National Business Development Officer with Stewart Title.

Towle Financial, established in 1909, is the oldest commercial mortgage banking company in Minneapolis. Towle provides a variety of creative mortgage financing solutions for developers, owners and investors of commercial real estate. Through a network of strategic capital providers the company offers competitive financing for office, retail, industrial, multi-family, owner-occupied facilities, hotels and manufactured housing projects. Over the past 15 years, Towle has originated in excess of 1,100 loans totaling over $5.5 billion of commercial mortgages. Towle currently services approximately 525 loans with current balances totaling $1.5 billion for 25 different investors.
Posted 8.20.12

CBRE DEBT & EQUITY FINANCE SECURES $95,000,000 IN FINANCING FOR LANDMARK CLASS A OFFICE TOWER IN MINNEAPOLIS CBD
Fifth Street Towers Investors, LLC, a joint venture between Invesco Real Estate and Zeller Realty Group, recently secured nearly $95 million in financing proceeds for the acquisition and stabilization of Fifth Street Towers, a Minneapolis CBD landmark that features over one million square feet in two Class A towers. The Minneapolis and Dallas Debt & Equity Finance teams of CBRE arranged the financing with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

The venture acquired the property at the sheriff’s sale in April of this year for an all-cash price of approximately $111 million, or slightly above $100/sf. After purchasing the property for over $180/sf in 2007, the prior owner gave back the keys to the previous lender at the end of 2011 as the combined occupancy of the two towers dropped below 70%. It is estimated that the new venture’s basis in the property is well below half of what it would cost to replace the towers today.

The three-year, floating rate financing provides an initial funding of approximately $62 million, with a commitment to fund additional proceeds for future capital expenditures and leasing costs as the sponsors execute their business plan to reposition the property within the Class A CBD office market. The total transaction time from the acquisition of the property to the Wells Fargo loan closing was less than 75 days.

Fifth Street Towers was originally developed by Opus in 1984 and 1988, and was the recipient of the prestigious 2006 BOMA “TOBY” Award.  The Property benefits from a strong location in the Minneapolis CBD, with skyway access and a Light Rail Transit station directly in front of the building.

The majority of the equity capital for the investment was provided by Invesco Mortgage Recovery Fund, Invesco’s real estate opportunity fund. The fund is co-managed by Invesco Real Estate, WL Ross & Co, and Invesco Fixed Income.  The fund is actively seeking new investment opportunities through legacy-related recapitalizations and distressed real estate situations.
Posted 7.26.12

TRANSWESTERN BROKERS SALE OF 21,060 SQUARE FOOT OFFICE BUILDING
Transwestern’s Minneapolis office today announced that it has negotiated the sale of 10700 Lyndale Avenue South in Bloomington, Minnesota.  The 21,060 square foot office building was purchased by Award Staffing for $1.01 million, or approximately $48 per square foot.

Award Staffing, which outgrew its previous location near the Mall of America, will move its 50 employees to the Lyndale building in September.  Award Staffing will occupy approximately 10,000 square feet and continue to lease the remaining square footage to RevTrack.

The office team of Mike Salmen, Mike Honsa and Dan Mueller represented the seller.  “The deal was a great fit for both parties,” said Honsa. “We were able to find a buyer very quickly.”

Award Staffing is one of the largest locally owned light industrial and skilled industrial staffing companies in the Twin Cities.
Posted 7.26.12

CBRE Arranges Sale and Financing of 186-Unit Apartment Complex in St. Louis Park, Minnesota
CBRE Capital Markets is pleased to announce the arrangement of the sale and acquisition financing for Village Park of Minnetonka, a 186-unit property located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Abe Appert and Keith Collins of CBRE’s Minneapolis office represented the owner, Village Green, on the sale of the asset. The buyer, an affiliate of Timberland Partners, Inc., acquired the property in mid April, 2012 for approximately $16.5 million. 

CBRE Capital Markets successfully secured a mortgage of 80% loan to value for Timberland Partners through its Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer program. Acquisition financing was originated by Joel Torborg and Murray Kornberg in CBRE’s Minneapolis office. The financing was obtained through Freddie Mac’s 10 year loan program and offers several attractive features: a low fixed interest rate, which was based off the 10 year Treasury and 2 years interest only. The financing is fully assumable with the ability for supplemental loan proceeds.

Timberland plans on repositioning the property by making significant interior and exterior capital improvements including in-unit upgrades, new exterior paint, siding repair and landscaping upgrades. The new name for this community is PARKone Apartments. 

Founded in 1992, Timberland Partners’ (www.timberlandpartners.com) first acquisition was a modest 46-unit community in Mounds View, Minnesota that was purchased out of foreclosure. Today, their investment portfolio is approaching 8,000 apartment homes and consists of an additinal 800,000 square feet of commercial real estate portfolio.
Posted 7-19-12

Transwestern Named Exclusive Sales Agent for 341-Unit Apartment Portfolio
Transwestern’s Minneapolis office today announced it has been named exclusive agent for the sale of three metro area apartment complexes. The complexes, located in St. Paul, Farmington and Maplewood, range from 17 units to 216 units. Michael Houge and Dan Russ of the Minneapolis Investment Services Group and Mike Salmen, managing partner of the Minneapolis office, are assigned to the disposition of the portfolio.

The Minneapolis multifamily market has seen a significant improvement in the past 12 months, prompting many owners to reconsider or reconfigure their investment holdings. “More buyers are combing the market looking to capitalize on this out-performing class asset,” said Russ. “We anticipate a short marketing process and a quick close.”

“The Twin Cities multifamily market ranks as one of the strongest in the nation,” added Houge. “We are seeing job growth on a large scale, and apartment vacancy rates are declining all over the area.”
Posted 7-19-12

Doran Hires Senior Housing Exec
Announces plans to enter senior housing market in five-state area
Commercial developer Kelly Doran, who in the past three years paved the way for a wave of upscale student housing projects at the University of Minnesota, has added an experienced senior housing developer to his team and plans to enter the senior housing market in Minnesota and surrounding states.

William Stoddard, who has over 30 years professional experience as an executive in development and marketing related industries, has been chosen by Doran to lead this new venture as Vice President of Senior Housing Development and Operations.  As President and CEO of Senior Housing Ventures Inc., Stoddard most recently executed the development of three assisted living communities in Florida.

Doran, who after many years of developing shopping centers in Minnesota, pivoted to building and owning premier student housing projects in 2008, says his company’s venture into senior living is a natural evolution spurred by market conditions. “To survive and prosper in this business it’s necessary to be nimble, and that’s what we are.  In 2007, when retail development was drying up, we sought opportunity in new directions, which resulted in a very successful run of student housing projects,” Doran said. 

Emphasizing that this new venture doesn’t mean the company is done developing student housing or other commercial projects, Doran said, “It just means that it’s always good to be looking around the corner and we believe there is significant potential in senior housing.”

Stoddard, whose development experience also includes commercial and residential projects in ocean front communities, brings experience dealing with all aspects of development from land acquisition, financing, design, and specifically, operation of senior living facilities. “This is important,” Doran said, “because we intend to build upscale projects that we will own and operate,” adding that the senior living communities will provide a full array of amenities including dining, recreation and exercise facilities, state-of-the-art security, housekeeping and access to health care.

Stoddard, who began working in June, says he has already begun scouting potential locations but expects it will take a few months before settling on an initial project.  “The nice thing about Doran Companies is that they come to the table with a well-deserved reputation of building and managing excellence.  It’s what drew me to them and what makes them respected developers and owners in our community.”

Stoddard, who earned a masters degree in Business Administration from St. Thomas University and a Bachelor of Science degree in construction Management for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, lives with his family in Orono, Minnesota.

Doran Companies, based in Bloomington, Minnesota, is a family-owned, award-winning Minnesota-based development, construction and property management company. They recently broke ground for the 385 unit Mill & Main Mississippi River front luxury apartment project in the historic Main Street area of Minneapolis.
Posted 7-19-12

Briggs and Morgan, Professional Association welcomes shareholder Melissa Student to the firm
Student is based in the firm’s Minneapolis office and is a member of the Financial Institutions and Real Estate Section. She concentrates her practice in commercial real estate and represents clients in the areas of financing, leasing, acquisitions, dispositions, development, construction, workouts and foreclosures. Her experience includes representing a national real estate investor in connection with the leasing of its office and retail properties in the Midwest region, representing a national home builder in the development of single family housing projects, and handling the purchase and sale of multiple industrial properties in the country for a private equity firm. Student represents both borrowers and lenders in real estate financing, and has worked with several major lending institutions. Student practiced with another Twin Cities law firm for several years prior to joining Briggs.

Student has been named a “Rising Star” by Minnesota Super Lawyers for several consecutive years. She provides pro bono legal services to Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and Volunteer Lawyers Network. Student is an active member of NAIOP, Urban Land Institute (ULI), Minnesota Shopping Center Association (MSCA) and Minnesota Commercial Real Estate Women (MNCREW). She received her B.A. magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota and her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law.
Posted 7-11-12

Dominium Sells Saint Louis Park, MN Property
Keith Collins, Abe Appert, and Laura Hanneman of CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul represented Dominium in the sale of Newport on Seven Apartments, a 167-unit apartment community in St. Louis Park, MN. The sale closed on June 29, 2012. David Brierton and Jack Safar of Dominium originally developed the property in 1985 and had owned it since its inception.

The buyer, an affiliate of Greystar Real Estate Partners (Charleston, SC), was represented by Cliff Chandler and Kevin Kaberna. Newport on Seven is Greystar’s second apartment acquisition in the metro during the past seven months.

Greystar paid all cash for Newport.  They plan to spend several million dollars in renovations including updating the clubhouse and apartment unit interiors.
Posted 7-11-12

CBRE ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL CLOSING OF 81.03-ACRE TULLAMORE SUBDIVISION IN LAKEVILLE, MN
CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul Land Services Group is pleased to announce the successful closing of the 81.03-acre Tullamore Subdivision in Lakeville, MN to Lennar Homes. The listing was owned by a national financial institution and offers immediate construction of 148 single-family lots at Pilot Knob Road and 170th Street West.

Richard Palmiter, Vice President and Brian Pankratz, Senior Associate, led the team from CBRE.

“This raw land transaction is another supportive indicator of recent single-family absorption trends,” says Palmiter.

Pankratz adds, “Single-family housing continues to show improvement in good locations, and the sale of Tullamore further indicates builders having more faith that the housing market is moving in a positive direction.”
Posted 6-13-12

CBRE COMPLETES LEASE OF 25,000 SF OFFICE/WAREHOUSE SPACE
FILO Productions to relocate to Como Commons in St. Paul, MN
CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul announces that Joe Hughes and Jerry Driessen of CBRE recently represented FILO Productions in a lease transaction at Como Commons, 1810 Como Avenue in St. Paul. FILO Productions, Inc. will be combining their office and warehouse needs into one 25,000 +/- SF headquarters across the street from the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.

FILO Productions, “The Event Management Company” currently operates their headquarters off of West 7^th Street in St. Paul and leases 15,000 SF of warehouse in Hopkins.   FILO’s space consolidation was brought upon by their growing space needs and their desire to co-locate their office and warehouse needs.  Como Commons offered the creative office space that FILO desired, and allowed them to keep their growing event management business in St. Paul. Founder and President of FILO Productions Joe Gallagher states “we believe that Como Commons is a great fit for our organizational culture and the additional space will help in FILO’s growth for years to come.” FILO will relocate into their new space in June, 2012.

Wellington Management owns the property, and their experience, reputation, and financial stability played an important role in FILO’s selection of Como Commons.
Posted 6-5-12

MinnPar, LLC finds new location in Mounds View, MN
MinnPar, LLC executed a lease for 82,717 SF at 5267 Program Avenue in Mounds View, MN. MinnPar provides Original Equipment Manufactured (OEM) parts and assemblies to the construction and agriculture industries. They have been in business for over 30 years.

MinnPar is relocating from their previous location in Minneapolis. The facility being vacated at 900 Sixth Avenue SE is owned by Hillcrest Properties. Hillcrest has been a tremendous partner for many years. MinnPar is relocating to make more efficient use of space, provide an updated image for the organization and take advantage of a tenant-friendly leasing market.

CBRE industrial real estate broker Nick Peterson represented MinnPar in their search and landlord negotiations.
Posted 5-14-12

TOWLE FINANCIAL SERVICES REPORTS $78 MILLION IN CLOSED LOANS
Towle Financial Services (Towle) announced today year-to-date total loan origination volume totaled $78 million, an increase of 50% over the same period in 2011. The $78 million included a mixture of apartments, industrial, retail, office and medical office properties.  

“We are continuing to see available capital in commercial real  estate. Our primary lending source continues to be life insurance companies followed by commercial banks. Most of our correspondent life insurance company lenders have reported origination volumes for the first quarter that have met or exceeded targeted goals. The targeted loan origination volumes for most of these life companies for 2012 are 25% to 50% higher than 2011. Interest rates remain near historic lows. It is a great lending environment for our clients with stabilized commercial real estate.” – said Dan Mott a principal with Towle.

Towle Financial, established in 1909, is the oldest commercial mortgage banking company in Minneapolis. Towle provides a variety of creative mortgage financing solutions for developers, owners and investors of commercial real estate. Through  a network of strategic capital providers the company offers competitive financing for office,  retail, industrial, multi-family, owner-occupied facilities, hotels and manufactured housing projects.  Over the past 16 years, Towle has originated in excess of 1,162 loans totaling over $5.82 billion of commercial mortgages.  Towle currently services approximately 525 loans with current balances totaling $1.6 billion for 25 different investors.
Posted 4-24-12

CBRE DEBT & EQUITY FINANCE SECURES FINANCING FOR SUBSURFACE INDUSTRIAL PARK IN LENEXA, KS
The CBRE Minneapolis Capital Markets Debt & Equity Finance group arranged a permanent loan for the Meritex Lenexa Executive Park, a 2.2 million square foot sub-surface industrial park located in Lenexa, Kansas. CBRE’s Murray Kornberg, Senior Vice President and Doug Seylar, Senior Vice President, arranged the 7-year, fixed-rate debt on behalf of Meritex Enterprises, Inc. (“Meritex”) through Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Subsurface developments are formed via the reuse of space created by commercial underground limestone mining activities, which have taken place throughout the U.S. since the early 1900’s. Commercialization of the space began in the late 1950’s, and the Kansas City area is the world-wide leader in subsurface industrial space with more than 25 million square feet developed to date. The site area of Meritex Lenexa Executive Park was mined between 1965 and 1988, and Meritex began developing the facility in 1998.

The Property currently features 2.2 million square feet of developed subsurface space that is leased to 30 tenants, including a significant portion of the property that is leased to the GSA on a long-term basis. The space is leased for office, light industrial and warehouse uses. The Property provides the same amenities as state-of-the-art surface facilities at significantly lower rental rates, plus the advantages of unlimited floor loading, stable temperature and humidity control resulting in substantially lower tenant utility costs, lower repair and maintenance costs, and short build-out times to accommodate new or expansion space requirements on a timely basis.

In addition to funding a capital reserve, the new financing also features a future funding provision to pay for the costs associated with expanding the property, as the mined site currently has approximately 800,000 square feet of undeveloped space. The CBRE team worked with the lender to structure this future funding option, which will allow Mertiex to quickly and efficiently capitalize on new or expansion leasing opportunities as they become available.
Posted 4-19-12

CBRE COMPLETES SALE OF 67,000 SF BUILDING AT 2700 EAST LAKE STREET IN MINNEAPOLIS
CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul announces that the team of Tom Lelich, Jerry Driessen and Joe Hughes recently completed the sale of the Coliseum at 2700 East Lake St. in south Minneapolis.

American Bank of St. Paul foreclosed on the property in late 2009. At this time, the building had a vacancy rate of over 40%. CBRE was hired in early 2010 to manage & market the property. CBRE was successful in bringing the building’s occupancy level to 90% which was paramount for the seller achieving a disposition price of $2,270,000.

Exeter Realty served as the asset manager for American Bank on this property.
Posted 4-3-12

Kraus-Anderson Realty Names Anne Jeske as Property Manager
Kraus-Anderson Realty has hired Anne Jeske as property manager. She will oversee the daily operation of retail and office properties, including lease implementation and contract negotiations. She will also supervise maintenance staff and manage tenant improvements.

Jeske has worked in the commercial real estate arena for 15 years. She previously served as property manager for St. Paul-based Paster Enterprises, LLC where she managed mixed-use buildings and commercial buildings totaling more than 500,000 square feet.

Jeske graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Business. She is an active member in Minnesota Shopping Center Association (MSCA) and International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
Posted 4-2-12

TRANSWESTERN COMPLETES 10,000 SQUARE FOOT LEASE IN BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA
Transwestern’s Minneapolis office today announced that is has completed a 10,000 square foot new lease at the Penn American Center, a 69,000 square foot, two-story office building located directly on the Interstate 494 strip in Bloomington, Minnesota.  Transwestern’s Mike Salmen and Mike Honsa represented the building owner, Davis Parmer Investments, a Texas-based company.  The tenant, Professional Resource Network, was represented by Tom Fleming of Ted Glassrud and Associates. 

Salmen and Honsa have been leasing the Penn American Center on behalf of the owner for a decade.  The new lease brought building occupancy to 98 percent, the highest level reached in the past five years.  Commenting on the transaction, Honsa stated, “As we see the office market continue to improve, more and more tenants are relocating from second tier suburbs to more highly coveted locations.  This stretch on I-494 offers some of the most quality real estate in the southwest submarket”. 

Professional Resource Network relocated from their previous location in Roseville. 
Posted 3-6-12

CBRE MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE IN 2011
The Minneapolis/St. Paul office of CBRE recently announced the recipients of their outstanding performance and top sales awards for 2011. 

The CBRE Chairman’s Club recognizes the top sales professionals.  For 2011, the following individuals achieved that designation:  Abe Appert, Steven Buss, Chuck Caturia, Reed Christianson, Keith Collins, Tom Driscoll, John Ferlita, Brian Fogelberg, Jim Freytag, Tom Holtz, Kurt Knoff, Murray Kornberg, Steve Lehr, Marcia Lockman, Mike Marinovich, Mark McCary, Brandon Megal, Ray Reese, Paige Rickert, Doug Seylar, Charlie Snyder, Bryan Van Hoof, Brian Wasserman and Ryan Watts.

Steve Buss, Tom Holtz, Kurt Knoff, Mark McCary and Paige Rickert were also recognized as one of the Top 225 sales professionals nationwide.

The Minneapolis Rookie of the Year was awarded to Ted Abramson.

Cornerstone Award: Awarded to those individuals who exemplify a commitment and dedication to CBRE -  Terry Elken, Michelle Farsund, Cindy Fenn, Jim Freytag, Desiree Hawes, Elizabeth Hoffman and Ginny Howard.

RISE Award: Awarded to that individual considered ‘the best of the best’ – Sandra Coldagelli
Posted 3-3-12

CBRE MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL ANNOUNCES THAT RICHARD L. KELLER HAS JOINED THE GLOBAL CORPORATE SERVICES TEAM
CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul is proud to announce that Richard L. (Dick) Keller has joined the Global Corporate Services team as First Vice President.

Prior to CBRE, Keller was a Principal, Senior Vice President at Cassidy Turley responsible for office sales and leasing. Keller has over 27 years of experience in all facets of commercial real estate and will be a genuine asset to the CBRE team.
Posted 3-7-12

CBRE DEBT & EQUITY FINANCE SECURES $9,462,500 LOAN FOR UNIVERSITY ENTERPRISE LABORATORIES
CBRE’s Minneapolis Debt & Equity Finance group arranged $9,462,500 in permanent mortgage financing for the recapitalization of University Enterprise Laboratories (“UEL”), one of Minnesota’s largest and most successful bioscience incubators located near the University of Minnesota Campus in St. Paul, MN. The financing was originated by CBRE’s Murray Kornberg, Senior Vice President, and Doug Seylar, Senior Vice President, on behalf of UEL Real Estate Holdings, LLC through U.S. Bank National Association.

University Enterprise Laboratories opened its doors in 2004 after a substantial renovation to the building from its previous use. The original financing featured bonds backed by letters of credit, as well as a $6 million guarantee by the City of St. Paul. In addition, UEL was one of the first projects in Minnesota to use New Market Tax Credit (“NMTC”) financing.

After successfully recapitalizing the original financing with the new permanent debt, UEL became the first Minnesota NMTC project to have been “unwound” at the end of the standard seven-year period. The new seven-year, fixed-rate debt carries an interest rate of 4.06% and is partially guaranteed by the City of St. Paul.

University Enterprise Laboratories is a state-of-the-art bioscience incubator designed to support and grow early-stage bioscience companies. By offering fully functional web laboratories, office space, and access to shared equipment and meeting rooms, UEL reduces the financial concern many new bioscience businesses face.
Posted 2-23-12

Carlson Real Estate Company Promotes Three in Minneapolis
Carlson Real Estate Company recently promoted three employees in its Minneapolis headquarters office.  Ben Lieser was promoted to Director, Kim Hofstede was promoted to General Manager - Real Estate & Finance, and Jessi Kromer was promoted to Senior Marketing Coordinator. 

In his expanded role as Director, Mr. Lieser will oversee asset management responsibilities for Carlson Real Estate’s west metro portfolio consisting of approximately two million square feet of office and warehouse properties including the Carlson Center office portfolio, Plymouth Corporate Center, Hwy 55 Corporate Center, Carlson Business Center and Bryant Lake Business Center.  Lieser has been with Carlson Real Estate Company for 11 years and previously held the position of General Manager.

Ms. Hofstede was promoted to General Manager - Real Estate & Finance.  Her responsibilities now include a variety of corporate activities including strategic planning, property valuations, financings, dispositions, acquisitions and developments.  She is also involved with the site planning and entitlements of a 488-acre residential land site in Minnetrista and the development of The Oaks Business Park in Oakdale.  Hofstede joined Carlson in 2004 and has worked in acquisition, disposition, development, accounting, financing and property management roles.

Ms. Kromer has been promoted to Senior Marketing Coordinator.  In this role, she is responsible for the strategic marketing and promotion of Carlson Real Estate Company and its portfolio of commercial real estate holdings in Minnesota, Arizona and North Carolina. Her main initiatives include coordination and execution of advertising, communications, public relations, sponsorships, events, external media and design of marketing collateral.  Kromer has been with Carlson since 2008 and previously held the position of Marketing Assistant.
Posted 2-23-12

Marilyn J. Rosberg Named a Member of Mackall, Crounse & Moore
Marilyn J. Rosberg is a litigation attorney and primarily represents design professionals and contractors in construction related matters. As a registered Architect with years of design and construction experience, she is uniquely qualified to evaluate and understand construction related claims and advise her clients.

Marilyn’s experience includes representing clients in pretrial phases of litigation, including mediation, and through trial or arbitration. She has extensive knowledge of the contract, tort and professional liability issues faced by design professionals and others in the construction industry. She has negotiated matters on behalf of design professionals, owners, contractors, and product manufacturers.

Prior to entering the practice of law, Marilyn was involved in all phases of the design and construction process, first as a registered and practicing architect, then as an owner representative executing construction projects with the services of design professionals and commercial contractors. Her work in the construction industry gives her valuable insight into the business opportunities and risks faced by construction professionals. Marilyn is on the American Arbitration Association’s panel of qualified neutrals and serves to arbitrate Construction and Commercial disputes.
Posted 2-16-12

Carlson Real Estate Engaes Eastdil Secured
Carlson Real Estate Company (CREC) announced that it has engaged investment banking firm Eastdil Secured to assist in reviewing and evaluating strategic alternatives for its 5.5 million square foot real estate investment portfolio. CREC has directed Eastdil to explore a full range of possibilities that could include a sale or joint-venture arrangement of its real estate business operations or portions of its portfolio.

CREC owns office and industrial property in Minnesota, Arizona and North Carolina. The Minnesota portfolio is anchored by several properties within Carlson Center, the business park surrounding the Carlson headquarters at the intersection of I-394 and I-494 in the western suburbs of Minneapolis. CREC also owns a 36-story mixed-use project in downtown Minneapolis containing the Radisson Plaza Hotel and Plaza Seven Office Tower. CREC manages the entire real estate portfolio with an experienced in-house property and asset management team, with offices in the metro areas of Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Charlotte, N.C. The majority of its holdings were planned and developed by CREC with a view toward long-term ownership.

CREC is an affiliate of Carlson, a global, family-owned hospitality and travel company. CREC intends for its next generation of new real estate investments to be more closely aligned with Carlson’s enterprise-wide strategic objectives.

“This is an exciting time for Carlson Real Estate,” Matt Van Slooten, president of CREC, said. “We are exploring new forms of financial arrangements from what we’ve had in the past, with the goal of maximizing the potential of our real estate business.”
Posted 2-12-12

Transwestern negotiates 38,000 square foot lease in Rogers, MN
Transwestern’s Minneapolis office today announced that Senior Vice President, Joe Gearen, and Vice President, Duane Poppe, of its industrial services group negotiated a five-year lease at the newly built Rogers Corporate Center in Rogers, Minnesota on behalf of Alive Companies, an integrated marketing group comprised of three affiliates: Alive Fulfillment, a full service fulfillment company; AlivePromo, a digital signage company; and digital agency, Rooster Strategic Communications.

Alive Companies, selected the 38,000 square foot space because the state-of-the-art facility could fulfill current space needs as well as provide future growth opportunities.

“We were outgrowing our current location and wanted to upgrade our image while staying in Rogers. Joe was able to find the perfect spot for our expanding business”, said Josh Haynes of Alive Companies.

Alive Companies has been headquartered in metropolitan Minneapolis/Saint Paul for over 25 years and will move into their new home in April of 2012.

Josh Budish represented the building owner, Liberty Property Trust, in the transaction.
Posted 2-9-12

A&P Appoints New Chief Financial Officer
Adolfson & Peterson Construction (A&P) has appointed Jeff Hansen Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Hansen’s appointment is effective February 13, 2012.

A seasoned financial professional, Mr. Hansen brings a wealth of experience in leading finance, accounting, capital planning and risk management organizations in the construction, real estate development and insurance industries. For the last 15 years Mr. Hansen has held leadership positions in family-owned entrepreneurial companies with decentralized regional operations. Most recently he served for over 10 years as Vice President/Treasurer and Controller of Ryan Companies U.S. Inc., and prior to that was the Corporate Controller with the Opus Group. He has also held senior financial positions with MidAmerica Mutual Life and Minnesota Life. Mr. Hansen holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Northern Iowa and a CPA designation.

In his new role Mr. Hansen will drive the financial integrity and sustainability of A&P’s business, and will partner with leaders across the company to provide financial leadership and risk management support.

“Jeff will be a tremendous asset to A&P’s executive team, strengthening our ability to advance the company’s long-term strategic plan,” said Doug Jaeger, A&P's CEO. “His extensive financial knowledge and his leadership experience will benefit the entire company as we continue to expand our business. I’m delighted to welcome Jeff to the A&P team.”
Posted 2-7-12

RLK Announces New Office in Minot, North Dakota
RLK Incorporated (RLK), an engineering firm specializing in civil, survey, traffic and site planning for the land development industry is pleased to announce the opening of its newest office in Minot, North Dakota.

“This move has been eagerly anticipated and our physical presence in North Dakota will support the clients we serve as well as our team members who consistently work there,” said Steve Schwanke, RLK principal.

RLK has developed solid relationships with oil and gas industry construction companies supporting their engineering and surveying needs by delivering reliable, consistent, and highly skilled specialized services such as staking for pre-drilling, pipeline construction surveying and civil engineering, precision surveying, staking for helical piers, and staking for final grades and buildings of gasification plants in the Williston Basin.

“With all of the development we are seeing, we need the experience and talent that a firm like RLK can offer,” said Tom Rolfstad, Director of Williston Economic Development.

The added office in Minot will allow RLK to service a broader range of clients and their needs including site planning, traffic/road capacity, pipeline placement, commercial and retail expansions, residential and hospitality,  in addition to current work with the oil and gas industry. “We are excited to contribute to the growth of this already vibrant region,” said Vern Swing, RLK’s CEO and president.

RLK’s multidisciplinary firm provides land development services to real estate developers, corporations, city governments, construction contractors, and private clients with a unique combination of development experience and engineering expertise including site planning, surveying, traffic/transportation, and landscape architecture. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, RLK has an office in Tampa, Florida, in addition to its new location in North Dakota.
Posted 2-3-12

CBRE ANNOUNCES THE SALE OF THE LEHMANN CENTER
Former Buzza manufacturing facility sold to Dominium
CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul facilitated the marketing, sale and closing of 1006 West Lake Street in Minneapolis. The historic building, owned by the Minneapolis Public Schools, sold for $6.15 million on December 24th to Dominium for development into approximately 120+/- apartments.

The Lehmann Center is recognized as a landmark within the vibrant Uptown district. This multi-level, 139,000 square foot structure sits on 2.6 acres of land and is located within the proactive Flour Hill East neighborhood. The property parallels Hennepin County’s ‘Greenway’, an urban pedestrian walking/bike path. An access ramp to the trail is 1/2 block away at South Bryant Avenue and West 29th Street.

Originally built in 1916, this iconic property has a proud history beginning as a needle manufacturing plant, was converted into the Buzza Greeting Card factory, and finally evolved into an educational institution occupied by the Minneapolis Public Schools.

Rolf Kemen, Tom Lelich, Jerry Driessen and Joseph Hughes of CBRE Minneapolis/St. Paul represented Minneapolis Public Schools in the sale of the property.
Posted 2-3-12

Washington County Government Center receives Award of Excellence from International Facility Management Association
The Washington County Government Center in Stillwater has received the Award of Excellence from the Twin Cities Chapter of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). Completed in November 2011, the building was constructed by Kraus-Anderson Construction and designed by St. Paul-based Wold Architects.

Kraus-Anderson remodeled a 70,000-square-foot, five-story building to provide office and support space for 450 employees from multiple departments within the organization. The building also acts as the primary campus for more than 1,100 employees. Construction challenges were centered on coordinating 11 department moves and 600 staff members without affecting business operations.

The project included establishing and implementing space standards, and functionally aligning operations with the existing floor space. Other improvements included upgrading the HVAC controls, and adding new lighting controls and security systems. KA focused on developing a finish palette that respected existing finishes and completing the project within provided budget.

“From the beginning, Kraus-Anderson made sure our County operations would not be disrupted and customers would not be inconvenienced,” said Greg Wood, Washington County building services director. “Public projects are always under scrutiny, as they should be. Having a professional partner in Kraus-Anderson on this project saved us time and money while delivering a quality building. You can’t ask for more.”
Posted 2-2-12

Steiner Development Hires Matt Lucas as Vice President - Development
Matt is responsible for sourcing development business for the Steiner companies as well as real estate investments for the Steiner portfolio. Matt will conduct underwriting and market analyses, and negotiate the purchases of developments and acquisitions for the company. Additionally, he will take the lead for Steiner’s projects for all governmental approvals.