The Minnesota Real Estate Hall of Fame is celebrating a return to its traditional celebratory format this year and is pleased to induct four new members: David Frauenshuh, Robert Greenberg, Jean Kane and George Sherman. They will be honored for their outstanding business performance, high standards of ethics and commitment to community improvement during an 8 a.m. breakfast ceremony on November 9, 2022 at the Golden Valley Country Club. Registration is open now at this link.
Last year’s deviation from the traditional format was also a commitment to posthumously honor only one inductee, Herb Tousley III, the former director of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St Thomas (UST) and the founder of the Hall of Fame.
“In keeping with Herb’s commitment to education, last year we included a continuing education component led by a panel of industry experts. That program was a perfect way to honor Herb. This year, our Advisory Board decided a return to the original format – with the induction of four industry leaders, a keynote speaker, and our student scholarship competition – was the way to go,” said Andrew Babula, Director of the UST Real Estate program and the Shenehon Center at the Opus College of Business.
The keynote speaker is Dr. Laura Dunham, recently appointed Dean of the Opus College of Business at the UST. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Dunham served as the associate dean of the UST’s Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, building out academic and co-curricular programs that help spread entrepreneurial education and innovation across the University. She also worked with the St. Thomas Small Business Development Center to launch the Community Entrepreneurship Program.
Minnesota Real Estate Hall of Fame Class of 2022 Inductees
David Frauenshuh
David Frauenshuh, founder, owner and CEO of Frauenshuh, Inc., has more than 45 years of experience in development, corporate service, property management, and financing within the office, medical and mixed-use sectors. Staying close to his roots, Frauenshuh – who was born and raised in St. Paul – employs 85 people locally. His company is one of the largest privately held developers of medical facilities in the United States, but Frauenshuh’s diverse portfolio goes well beyond medical office buildings.
Frauenshuh currently manages approximately five million square feet of real estate, of which two million are owned. His innovations in the real estate industry include: development of the LaSalle Plaza in downtown Minneapolis; development of the Info Commons – Rice Park area of downtown St. Paul; starting Frauenshuh Hospitality (aka Fourteen Foods), the largest Dairy Queen Grill and Chill franchisee with over 243 restaurants in 13 states; and majority ownership of Nanocopoeia, a technology-driven pharmaceutical company specializing in solving high-barrier drug product issues.
Frauenshuh has received numerous awards, including from the Twin Cities Business Hall of Fame and his alma mater Mankato State University and Concordia University in St. Paul. He holds an Emeritus chair on the National Advisory Board of the Salvation Army, and his philanthropy is recognized locally and internationally, from the Frauenshuh Cancer Center at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park to the Frauenshuh Preparatory School in Ghana, Africa.
Robert Greenberg
While helping transform downtown Minneapolis, Robert (“Bob”) Greenberg, president of The 614 Company, may have been thinking of Winston Churchill’s 1943 quote while considering the repair of England’s bomb-damaged House of Commons: “We shape our buildings and afterwards our building shape us.” Greenberg did just that when he decided to ignore conventional wisdom that the 59-year-old Young Quinlan building should be demolished, and instead began a total four-year renovation to restore the architectural jewel.
Young Quinlan is only one of the assets The 614 Company operates in Minneapolis, yet its reputation as the finest legacy office building in the city is considered a metaphor for the quality Greenberg commits to all of the properties The 614 Company manages. The proof is in the numbers: his portfolio of properties has a vacancy rate of under 2%, even after the impact of the pandemic. Occupancy in the Young Quinlan building has never fallen below 90%, and more than 50% of the space houses original occupants since the 1989 renovation was completed.
Greenberg’s influence in shaping Minneapolis goes beyond buildings. He served on the Light Rail Planning Committee and as president of the Nicollet Mall Advisory and Implementation Committees, overseeing the Mall remodel in the 1980s and 90s. He also worked tirelessly on committee design and construction of the Downtown Central Library and as a Board member of both the Minneapolis downtown YMCA and the Downtown Council.
Jean Kane
There are many types of leaders. Friends and colleagues would describe Jean Kane as an inspirational leader whose intelligence, passion and positivity brings out the best in others.
Kane draws on the inspiration of others to achieve success. “When I think about leadership, I think about surrounding myself with motivated, talented people who are good at what they do. Each person I work with has made an impact on me and inspired me, and the only possible result is success.”
Kane started her career in 1987 with Welsh Companies, a full service commercial real estate services, investment, and development firm. Her well-earned reputation for insight, financial acumen and vision resulted in Kane’s elevation to President and COO in 2001. By 2012, she was CEO, Board Chair and Majority Shareholder where Kane streamlined operations, retired bank and private equity debt and increased shareowner value. She has said, “I love positive change, and I am a planner by nature. Success in real estate is not about being the biggest or the strongest. It is about being resilient, adaptable and embracing change.” In 2017, Kane executed the sale of Welsh to Colliers International, a global, publicly traded firm.
As CEO of Colliers Minneapolis/St Paul, Kane led 240 professionals specializing in sales and leasing, corporate services, real estate and facilities management, architecture, and property management. In addition to Board service with real estate and business professional organizations, such as National Chair of NAIOP – the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, Kane has served the Children’s Minnesota Hospital and Clinics and the University of St. Thomas Real Estate Advisory Board.
George Sherman
The planning, prowess, and persistence he needed to climb to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and complete a marathon are the same attributes that George Sherman uses to manage the $2+ billion portfolio of Sherman Associates, which includes 11,700 multifamily units, five hotels and over 640,000 sf of commercial space throughout Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Colorado, Missouri and Florida.
As founder and CEO, Sherman leads over 650 employees in their mission to build communities, enrich neighborhoods and empower people. In addition to tackling huge projects such as the $132 million renovation of 1,306 apartments at Riverside Plaza, Sherman supports services that continue to serve the residents such as the West Bank Safety Center, Fairview Health Services Clinic, Adult Education and Career Center, Daycare and an office for the Riverside Plaza Tenant Association.
The Mill District Neighborhood in Downtown Minneapolis grew out of Sherman’s initiative in developing riverside land and making the development leap over Washington Ave. The Mill District now includes the Aloft hotel, Zenith condominiums; Encore luxury apartments; East End apartments; Canopy by Hilton; Trader Joes; Starbucks; the Vicinity apartments and townhomes; and a new fire station, planned 22-story and six-story apartment buildings, fire station and 6,000 sf retail along Washington Ave between 5th and Portland. The historic J.I. Case building is under renovation and will deliver 63,000 sf of restaurant, retail, office and rooftop patio.
Sherman Chairs the Board of the Community Housing Development Corporation and serves as a board member of the Minnesota Housing Partnership and the founding member of the Cedar Riverside Partnership – emblematic of his commitment to making housing more accessible and building strong community bonds.
Stofer-Stensby Real Estate Business Scholarship Competition
United Properties is underwriting $15,000 in scholarship prize money for students competing in a spirited competition to develop business concepts that have the potential to become viable, high-growth enterprises, or to make a significant contribution to existing real estate companies.