The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Category: The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Black Women in Real Estate: Redefining the Landscape

In the most recent episodes of The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast, I had the privilege of sitting down with three trailblazing Black women working for the City of Bloomington, Minnesota. Women, and Black women in particular, have historically been excluded from the real estate profession causing their representation in the industry to be notably low. However, in Bloomington, MN things are changing. In recent years the city added three women of color to its leadership team: Karla Henderson, Community Development Director; Aarica Coleman, Housing and Redevelopment Authority Administrator; and Faith Jackson, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer. I was honored to have the opportunity to talk with them. As our conversation unfolded, it quickly became clear that the three women had a lot to share and our conversation evolved into the three-part mini series below. Part One | Lifting Each Other Up: The Power of Mutual Support Part Two|Breaking Ground: The Roots of Racism in Real Estate Part Three| Reforming Real Estate: From Racial Covenants to Just Deeds Pictured below are Bill Griffith, Aarica Coleman, Karla Henderson, Faith Jackson and Bill Gaier from Finance & Commerce at our recent podcast series celebration. The celebration included a panel discussion moderated by Bill Gaier from Finance & Commerce. The real estate and construction law team at Larkin Hoffman covers every facet of real estate and its development phases. With the aim of offering distinctive perspectives on emerging topics, trends, and matters within our industry, we launched The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast to complement The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate and Construction blog. We stay on top of developing issues and legislation and collaborate with industry leaders to ensure our readers and listeners stay abreast of pivotal issues. Bill Griffith advises local and national clients on legal and policy issues affecting land use, zoning, real estate, environmental review, municipal law, regulatory matters and government relations. He has been local counsel to Mall of America in all its phases and serves as city attorney for the city of Columbus. He is a trusted advisor on real estate development and public funding for both private clients and municipalities. Contact Bill Griffith at wgriffith@larkinhoffman.com.

September 28, 2023

The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Celebrating the Women Leading Commercial Real Estate: Megan Rogers’ Fireside Chat with Ra’eesa Motala

In this episode of The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast, Megan Rogers shares her experience sitting down with ⁠Ra’eesa Motala⁠, Vice President of Rokos Advisors, at a special event honoring the women who are breaking down barriers in the traditionally male-dominated field of commercial real estate. Megan had the opportunity to engage in a fireside chat with Ra’eesa, who was the keynote honoree at the annual Bisnow’s Minneapolis Women Leading Real Estate event. Ra’eesa discussed her journey in the real estate brokerage industry and emphasized the invaluable support she received from mentors along the way. She encouraged other women aspiring to build their careers in commercial real estate to seek out strong mentors and embrace the community of women in the field who are ready to assist and uplift each other. Ra’eesa dedicates a significant amount of her time to volunteering. She serves as a Co-Chair of the Real Estate Diversity Initiative (REDI) program, which focuses on empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals and women in various real estate sectors through a 12-part curriculum and cohort experience. Additionally, Ra’eesa mentors young women who have experienced harassment and sexual assault in the workplace, helping them navigate towards safer environments. During the event, Ra’eesa also highlighted the impact of her greatest mentor, Helen Brooks, a trailblazer in commercial real estate. Helen was the sole woman involved in the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors during the 1960s and 1970s, and she paved the way for other women in the industry. The conversation concluded and the event moved to recognize a group of local women trailblazers in commercial real estate. The 12 women recognized were Ra’eesa Motala, Kara Frank (Owner, Twin Realty Investment Co), Anne Olson (COO, Centerspace Homes), Jaclyn May, (Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield), Sheri Brezinka (Regional Director, U.S. Green Building Council), Angela Ledding (Head of Underwriting, PACE Loan Group), Sonja Dusil (Senior Vice President Commercial Development, United Properties), Shannon Rusk (SVP, Development, Oppidan), Emily Nicoll (SVP, CBRE), Jessica Welk (General Counsel, Schafer Richardson), Amanda Leathers (Investment Sales Associate, Upland), and Maureen Michallski (Vice President of Real Estate Development, Ryan Companies). _____________________________ Megan Rogers advises and represents businesses, developers, and property owners seeking favorable government approvals including licensing, zoning, and other regulatory matters. She also provides guidance on bond financing for multifamily projects and real estate transactions including residential and commercial sales and leases, easement agreements, title registrations, and lot splits. Megan advises clients and industry groups seeking favorable determinations from state agencies and licensing boards. Contact Megan Rogers at mrogers@larkinhoffman.com.

June 21, 2023

The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Bisnow Twin Cities Outlook Recap with Megan Rogers

In this episode of The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast, ⁠Megan Rogers⁠ takes the opportunity to recap a panel discussion she moderated at Bisnow’s Twin Cities Market outlook recorded late last year. It was an engaging conversation with insight from a range of leaders in the Twin Cities Real Estate and Development Market. The panel discussed commercial real estate conditions, obstacles and and where Minneapolis sits in comparison to its competition. Megan was joined on the panel by Rob Bader, President, Bader Development; Harrison Wagenseil, Managing Director, Investment Sales/Capital Markets, Transwestern; Erin Fitzgerald, Senior Director, JLL; Tom Shaver, Partner, Inland Development Partners; and Anna Maria Kowalik, Sr VP – Director of Business Development, Inland Green Capital. _____________________________ Megan Rogers advises and represents businesses, developers, and property owners seeking favorable government approvals including licensing, zoning, and other regulatory matters. She also provides guidance on bond financing for multifamily projects and real estate transactions including residential and commercial sales and leases, easement agreements, title registrations, and lot splits. Megan advises clients and industry groups seeking favorable determinations from state agencies and licensing boards. Contact Megan Rogers at mrogers@larkinhoffman.com.

June 15, 2023

The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Building Affordable Housing: Interview with Johnny Opara, President and CEO of JO Cos

Megan Rogers recently had the opportunity to talk with developer Johnny Opara, President and CEO of JO Cos., a real estate development company in the Twin Cities that specializes in developing high-quality, affordable multifamily housing. Johnny took an unusual path to starting JO Cos and his career as a developer but as a first-time developer, he was able to get the St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority to unanimously approved bond financing for construction of The Hollows in the Payne-Phalen area of St Paul. Today, the 62-unit workforce housing development is complete with affordable units for low-income renters. For this episode of The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast, Johnny and Megan talk about his decision to move from corporate America into the real estate development world; what he’s building now; and what he wants to build in the future. _____________________________ Megan Rogers advises and represents businesses, developers, and property owners seeking favorable government approvals including licensing, zoning, and other regulatory matters. She also provides guidance on bond financing for multifamily projects and real estate transactions including residential and commercial sales and leases, easement agreements, title registrations, and lot splits. Megan advises clients and industry groups seeking favorable determinations from state agencies and licensing boards. Contact Megan Rogers at mrogers@larkinhoffman.com.

March 1, 2023

Real Estate

Bisnow’s Twin Cities Multifamily Market Overview with Bill Griffith

On February 1st, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another quarter-point. This first rate hike of 2023 follows seven interest rate hikes in 2022. With the rising interest rates in mind, Bill Griffith sat down with a panel of real estate and construction industry leaders last fall at Bisnow’s Twin Cities Multifamily Market Overview to discuss the effect of rising interest rates on their business. In this episode of The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast, Bill takes the opportunity to review the discussion he moderated and highlight some of the trends, opportunities and forecasts for the Twin Cities construction and real estate markets. Bill discussed the market with Traci Thomas, COO of Doran Companies; Sargent Johnson, Managing Director at Hines; Brady Pollard, Vice President – Preconstruction Services Director at JE Dunn Construction; and Johnny Opara, President and CEO of JO Companies. Bill Griffith advises local and national clients on legal and policy issues affecting land use, zoning, real estate, environmental review, municipal law, regulatory matters and government relations. He has been legal counsel to Mall of America in all its phases and serves as city attorney for the city of Columbus. He is a trusted advisor on real estate development and public funding for both private clients and municipalities. Contact Bill Griffith at wgriffith@larkinhoffman.com

February 14, 2023

The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Introducing The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Interested in hearing from real estate and construction industry leaders in the Minnesota market? Looking for insight and commentary on the state of local real estate projects and planning? Larkin Hoffman is pleased to announce a new Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast series where we will share insights and commentary from industry leaders in our region. As a go-to law firm for real estate and construction law in Minnesota and throughout the region, our team deals with all aspects of real estate and every phase of real estate development. This podcast series is intended to dive a little deeper into local projects and offer insight into our regional real estate and construction markets. For the first podcast of the new series, Larkin Hoffman’s attorney, Bill Griffith, sat down with Bill Katter, President and Development Chief Investment Officer of United Properties Development, to discuss the building of the new RBC Gateway tower in downtown Minneapolis. If you have an idea for a future podcast or would like further information regarding one of our podcasts, please reach out to Greg Wolsky at gwolsky@larkinhoffman.com. Print: Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn

August 15, 2022

Real Estate

Building the RBC Gateway: Interview with Bill Katter, President of United Properties Development

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Bill Katter, President of United Properties Development, in the firm’s new offices located in the RBC Gateway, a building he developed. The 37-story tower sits on a key block linking the downtown Minneapolis core with the bustling North Loop neighborhood and providing tenants with commanding views of the Mississippi River, just a few blocks away. Bill Katter didn’t plan to be a developer when he was recruited to join United Properties almost 20 years ago. He was working for Lutheran Brotherhood underwriting equity investment when Boyd Stofer offered him a job underwriting acquisitions for United Properties. Soon after, Stofer asked him to take on development of the C.H. Robinson Headquarters in Eden Prairie. “It started with Boyd saying ‘you have the qualities of a developer. Why don’t we just make you a developer and see where it goes’,” said Katter. Asked what those qualities were, he responded, “I would think drive is the most important thing, wanting to wake up and get something done, and the desire to compete and win business.” Katter talked about what it took to develop RBC Gateway, the largest mixed-use project to open in downtown Minneapolis in many years. “First of all, organizationally we never built something taller than 10 stories in our a hundred plus years history. For us, it was the fortitude and the organizational depth and breadth to pull something like this off. The second thing we learned is how important Minneapolis was to the Pohlad family. The project was a chance to reunite, under one roof, with our owner and contribute meaningfully to Minneapolis.” RBC Gateway Landing the Four Seasons Hotel was the special sauce of the project, according to Katter, but it wasn’t clear it would pencil out. “We felt great about the condos, we felt great about the office, but the hotel, we were not sure it would underwrite fully. We all kind of locked arms and said, let’s take a shot at this.” Katter said the office component is doing extremely well. “We’re about to sign a lease that puts us at 99% leased.” Still, he credits the other components of the projects with driving the success of office leasing. “The Four Seasons Hotel offers a level of amenities with meeting space and dining, and valet parking was important to RBC’s wealth management business. It could also be there is a shift towards the North Loop and out of the core.” We talked about what it will take to make development viable in downtown Minneapolis for the long-term and it didn’t take Katter long to come up with his answer. “The most important thing is getting people back to the office and most of the major employers downtown have not fully commanded a return to office policy.” He said, “until office fully returns, the core of downtown will continue to just feel like it’s missing something.” Katter contrasts the downtown core with the success of the North Loop. “The North Loop is primarily a residential submarket with office in it. It has many more people living there and so it’s felt much more vibrant throughout the pandemic and even today.” Shifting gears, we discussed some of the challenges in the marketplace with supply chain problems, interest rate hikes and fear of recession. Katter wouldn’t say the real estate market is in recession, preferring to call it a “cooling off period.” “Our business is completely driven by access to capital and lenders have definitely pulled back on the amount of financing available for projects.” Katter said that’s a natural function of the economy slowing down. “Then the double whammy for us is there’s also less buyers available.” With volatility in financing markets and supply chain, buyers, underwriters and lenders are having trouble pricing assets right now, according to Katter. “Our business is driven by long term debt rates but volatility has led investors to conclude it’s hard to price an asset right now. Our pencils are down until things stabilize a bit and they probably won’t stabilize, in my judgment, until the Fed decides it’s done with a very aggressive raising of near-term interest rates and the campaign against inflation.” Katter predicts the market will find a new place and get to a new norm. “Then buyers will start pricing assets in that arena, lenders will see the new pricing and developers will see what their exit pricing looks like.” Supply chain also affects pricing, according to Katter. “We do measure that and the volatility of the supply chain.” Compared to the ordinary level of supply and time of deliveries, the current market is four times off the standard deviation, said Katter. “That’s unprecedented, and that can be good and bad. It can be bad if you need materials that are coming from a place that’s not close to your construction site. It can be good in the sense that it’s driven a repatriation of supply chains.” Katter sees industrial development as the one bright spot in the market as businesses see more local demand and the need to control inventory. “We developed 11 industrial buildings a year ago and we’ve since filled and sold most of them. We’re about to break ground on our next 14 here and in Denver and Austin.” He believes the demand for industrial development will taper a bit as companies assess inventory and consumer demand in light of rising interest rates. As we wrapped up the interview, we circled back to the RBC Gateway project. It is clear that the Pohlad family and United Properties intended to create a lasting impact on downtown by building Class A office at time when others have pulled back, anchored by the Four Seasons Hotel and topped with high end condos. As a result, downtown Minneapolis now has a landmark building connecting the central core to the successful North Loop neighborhood and the Mississippi River. Bill Griffith practices real estate and municipal law at Larkin Hoffman and is a regular contributor to the firm’s Real Estate and Construction Blog. Listen here for his interview with Bill Katter.

August 15, 2022

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Category: The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Black Women in Real Estate: Redefining the Landscape

Celebrating the Women Leading Commercial Real Estate: Megan Rogers’ Fireside Chat with Ra’eesa Motala

Bisnow Twin Cities Outlook Recap with Megan Rogers

Building Affordable Housing: Interview with Johnny Opara, President and CEO of JO Cos

Bisnow’s Twin Cities Multifamily Market Overview with Bill Griffith

Introducing The Larkin Hoffman Real Estate Podcast

Building the RBC Gateway: Interview with Bill Katter, President of United Properties Development

Firm Highlights