Reed Christianson
Principal
Transwestern Real Estate Services
Minneapolis
Reed Christianson, principal with the Minneapolis office of Transwestern Real Estate Services, has focused on the Minneapolis office market since 1992, where he has worked on transactions totaling over 25 million square feet. In 2024 alone, Christianson closed 200,000 square feet of lease deals.
As a leading expert in the Minneapolis office market, Christianson has been involved in tenant representation assignments, office leasing, building renovations, and new office building development and sales.
“Starting off in commercial real estate is very hard and takes a lot of trust in yourself and your abilities and the willingness to hang in there,” Christianson said. “The market cycles every 10 years or so and knowing that gives you the ability to ride out the ‘down’ times and really appreciate the ‘up’ times.”
Christianson has had an indelible influence on the office market landscape in Minneapolis with large-scale renovations and the repositioning of several of the top office projects. Properties that Christianson has worked with include Capella Tower, Fifth Street Towers, SPS Tower, Washington Square, AT&T Tower, The Dayton’s Project, Baker Center, Wells Fargo Tower, IDS Center, and RSM Plaza. Christianson’s clients have included Milliman, McCollum Crowley, Rize Financial, Heley Duncan, Discount Tire, Travelers, PIMCO, Zeller, ASB Capital, United Properties, Mapletree, Hempel Companies, Shorenstein, Golub, and Sumitomo Corporation.
In recent years, Christianson has been instrumental in multiple Agency Leasing assignments. For example, in 2023, Christianson and his colleagues became the broker representatives for the 29-story, 698,606-square-foot 50 South Sixth, completing over 100,000-square-feet of new leasing in just 18 months. Representing owners of prestigious office properties throughout the Twin Cities, Christianson has closed hundreds of high-profile lease transactions in the last few years:
• Christianson represented the owner of 50 South Sixth in a nearly 30,000-square-foot deal with Messerli Kramer.
• Christianson was involved with over 160,000-square-feet of transactions at Fifth Street Towers.
• Christianson represented the owner of 50 South Sixth in a two-floor, 60,000-square-foot lease with Wold Architects.
• Christianson represented the owner of 921 Washington Ave. S. in a 50,000-square-foot lease with the McKnight Foundation
• And at RSM Plaza, Christianson represented ownership in a 12,277-square-foot lease with Meyer Borgman Johnson
“The biggest factor in my success is my ability to stay one step ahead of the market and my competitors, working extra hard to anticipate what will happen next week and next year,” Christianson said. “Also, I was able to have my toughest competitors become some of my best friends. It all comes down to trust and follow-through. If you are in it for the long haul, there is no other way to operate.”
Christianson was instrumental in 50 South Sixth’s lease transaction with tenant Wold Architects, which was among the most significant lease transactions in the Minneapolis CBD in 2024. Christianson leveraged experience and modern commercial real estate knowledge to successfully market the Mapletree property to the architecture firm. Working in tandem with the property management team—the property is within the Transwestern Asset Services group’s portfolio—Christianson was able to highlight the tenant-focused efficiencies of 50 South Sixth. Christianson stressed the benefits of a streamlined space, state-of-the-art amenities, an active tenant events calendar, and more to convince Wold that 50 South Sixth was its new office home.
When not working, Christianson spends time with his wife Lisa, who is also in the CRE business, and his two adult children. He also enjoys playing golf at his second home in Florida.
