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
Bill Gates sounds like a prophetic voice today when talking about the day to day impact of a global pandemic and the need for diagnostic preparedness and self-quarantine. Still, his depth of understanding of the current crisis comes as no surprise to those who have watched where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has
Why would any mayor want to describe his community as a “slow city”? Stefano Cimicchi is the former Mayor of Orvieto, a medieval hill town with a population of 20,000 located in central Italy. Cimicchi was one of the first city leaders to sign on to the “slow city movement” when it began in
When a developer proposed a 29-story tower above the oldest church in Minneapolis, threatening the stability of historic buildings, what did church leaders do? They went on the offensive and brushed up on their rights under land use and zoning regulations. That was one of several case studies presented by land use and real estate
Political storm clouds may be gathering over Washington, D.C. and trade wars may be roiling financial markets in the U.S. and overseas, but in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the real estate market continues to move steadily along with an uptick in speculative office projects and continued low vacancy rates in multifamily projects. That was the assessment of
In case you missed it, WCCO ran a story the other night about a small business owner who has been displaced through condemnation of her property by the massive, two-billion dollar Southwest Light Rail project. The business owner said she was promised by the project’s sponsor, the Metropolitan Council, that she would be “made whole.”
At each of three campuses, located in Minnesota, Arizona and Florida, Mayo Clinic is busy expanding hospital, clinic and treatment facilities. These building projects are designed to offer leading approaches in medicine, centered on diagnosis and treatment of difficult diseases – the key to Mayo’s worldwide reputation as one of the top providers of
When the Minneapolis City Council adopted its inclusionary zoning ordinance, together with its Unified Housing Policy, in late 2018 there was optimism that the ordinance would result in the creation of much needed affordable housing in the city. The ordinance mandates a minimum percentage of 10-20 percent of units within multifamily buildings be affordable where
One of the most consequential decisions of the recently concluded term of the U.S. Supreme Court involves the reversal of a 30-year precedent and reinstatement of a landowner’s right to seek redress in federal court for an alleged taking of property without just compensation. The 5-4 majority decision in Knick v. Township of Scott, PA
Picture the future. Does it include automated vehicles? Will we fly from place to place in personal pods like in the sci-fi movies we have watched? What else does the future hold and who will shape it? Land planners predict the future will be shaped