Opening Remarks: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

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  Benjamin Malin

  Vice President, Research

  Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

The State of the Cities

Unpacking and exploring the key trends shaping the Twin Cities

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  Jason Folger

  Jason Folger is the Preconstruction Vision Manager and Industrial Market Sector Leader at Gardner Builders. Jason brings deep expertise and a strategic mindset to the early phases of construction planning. He has a degree in Construction Management from North Dakota State University and has been at Gardner for 3 years.

  Gardner Builders

  Preconstruction Vision Mngr. & Industrial Market Sect

  Jason Folger

  Preconstruction Vision Mngr. & Industrial Market Sect

  Gardner Builders

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  Brandon Champeau

  Current Responsibilities Brandon joined Hempel in 2024 as Executive Vice President of Development, where he is responsible for directing new development and investment activities of commercial and multifamily properties. Previous Experience Brandon was previously at United Properties from 2004 to 2024. He started as a retail broker and joined United’s development group in 2006. From 2006 to 2013, his notable projects included the historic Minneapolis Ford Center office renovation/conversion, Nicollet Mall Nieman Marcus office conversion, the Penn & American mixed-use redevelopment in Bloomington, MN, Bielenberg Gardens shopping center in Woodbury, MN, and headquarters projects for Be the Match and CH Robinson. He also acquired the Days Hotel in partnership with the University of Minnesota, which led to the formation of a joint venture partnership with the University of Minnesota Foundation to master plan the East Gateway campus into a future healthcare innovation district. Brandon led United’s industrial development from 2014 to 2020. During this time, he developed approximately 6 million square feet of industrial space, valued at nearly $600 million, including the state’s most environmentally sustainable industrial building—the LEED Silver Midway Stadium Business Center. Beginning in 2016, Brandon led the planning of one of Minneapolis’ largest public-private projects, the 48-acre riverfront redevelopment of Upper Harbor, which will include a 20-acre park, affordable housing, an amphitheater, and advanced manufacturing space. In 2020 Brandon was promoted to lead all of United’s commercial development and investments in the Twin Cities region. Prior to United Properties, Brandon worked in the A&R Department for Def Jam Records in Hollywood, CA. Professional and Community Involvement Brandon’s industry achievements include Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40, 2019 NAIOP Minnesota President, 2014‐2017 NAIOP Minnesota Public Policy Chair, past founder/chair of the Commercial Real Estate Diversity Collaborative, and volunteering for ULI’s Urban Plan program—teaching high school kids about the complexities and tradeoffs in real estate redevelopment. Education Brandon earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in entrepreneurial studies and finance, with a minor in marketing from the University of Minnesota-Carlson School of Management.

  Hempel

  Executive Vice President, Development

  Brandon Champeau

  Executive Vice President, Development

  Hempel

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  Brent Webb

  Brent Webb, development executive at Mortenson, is integral in leading the company’s national Science and Technology business – focused on solving complex real estate challenges through innovative development solutions that advance his customers’ business goals. A hallmark of his career to date, is leading Mortenson’s partnership with Mayo Clinic to transform their innovation district, Discovery Square. Brent is inspired to work on projects that advance innovation and lead to new discoveries in science and technology to advance humanity. While Brent is responsible for managing the entire spectrum of developments, including strategy, sourcing, project management, operations, partnerships and financing – his motivation comes from the opportunity to partner with industry leaders to strengthen the physical, social and economic fabric of the community, working together as a catalyst for sustainable and inclusive development. Brent graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and for the past decade, has been actively involved in the downtown Minneapolis landscape – formerly serving as a board member for the Minneapolis Downtown Council, has co-chaired the Council’s Residential Task Force where he was awarded for his substantial contributions towards the success of Explore Downtown Living. He also serves on the board for PLACE, a local non-profit development company; volunteers with One Village Partners, an NGO that spurs economic development in Sierra Leon; and is a founder of the Hammer, an annual curling tournament supporting Hearts & Hammers, a non-profit that rehabs homes for elderly and disabled individuals in Minnesota

  Mortenson Development

  Development Executive

  Brent Webb

  Development Executive

  Mortenson Development

• Moderator

  Connor Danford

  Senior Business Developer, CPA

  Wipfli

Design, Development, and Destinations

Building communities for the Twin Cities' Future

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  Nawal Noor

  President and CEO

  Noor Companies

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  Erin Fitzgerald

  Erin Fitzgerald is the Founder and CEO of Willow Peak, with over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate. She has transformed 10 million square feet of office space nationwide through her expertise in property repositioning. Her career began in Minneapolis’ North Loop and Warehouse District, where she developed skills in leasing, sales, tenant representation, and public-private partnerships. Erin advanced to CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate firm, and later became a partner at Transwestern, where she led the downtown leasing team to market leadership and executed high-profile repositioning projects as the national amenity expert, before focusing on office investment sales in JLL Capital Markets. Erin also leads the Minneapolis Renaissance Coalition, a public-private partnership with over 150 organizations focused on revitalizing downtown Minneapolis. Erin’s diverse experience drives Willow Peak’s innovative vision and growth in property acquisition and repositioning.

  Willow Peak

  Founder and CEO

  Erin Fitzgerald

  Founder and CEO

  Willow Peak

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  Drew Johnson

  As Development Director for Marquee Development, Drew brings over a decade of development experience. He led the initial commercial leasing efforts for Gallagher Way and oversaw the brand development and construction of all owned F&B outlets as well as the Cubs Store. Drew now serves as the project lead for Marquee Development’s projects in Minneapolis (North Loop Green, a $353M, 930K square foot mixed-use development with public realm, adjacent to Target Field, opening in Q2 2024) and Cincinnati (an 8.5 acre mixed-use development with hotel, residential, retail and public realm, adjacent to FC Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, breaking ground in Q1 2024). Drew previously held analyst positions in private equity development at MIRA/Black Creek Group and real estate investment banking at Eastdil Secured, where he focused on resort and retail transactions. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University.

  Marquee Development

  Director, Development

  Drew Johnson

  Director, Development

  Marquee Development

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  Dan Wolf

  Dan with over a decade of investment and accounting experience serves as a CFO with CLA's CAAS Services in Real Estate and Family Office clients. The best part of this role for Dan is working face to face with developers and seeing how they approach adding value to the marketplace, how they capitalized those deals, and seeing the market response to those strategies. Dan specializes in the development, analysis, and interpretation of statistical and accounting information from real estate projects across all asset classes in order to appraise operating results in terms of profitability, performance against budget, and qualitative review. This includes communicating with JV investors on asset performance updates and debt holders with compliance documents and building relationships with them proactively. Through these functions there have been requirements to oversee 3rd parties and internal staff to help drive asset performance as well as keeping the best intrests of the sponser in mind at all times. Dan earned his BS in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin River Falls and an MBA from Hamline University. In addition, he has served as leadership on multiple not-for-profit boards. Dan previously worked for CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate service firm, as well as Northern Trust, servicing equity and fixed income asset managers.

  CLA

  Principal

  Moderator

  Dan Wolf

  Principal

  CLA