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Developed and maintained by attorneys at Leonard, Street and Deinard, this site will address a wide variety of topics focused on commercial real estate. Collectively, we offer decades of industry experience and a national perspective that extends from our Midwestern base. Our goal is to help individuals and businesses better understand the issues driving today’s commercial real estate trends. Our Bloggers →

Latest Commercial Real Estate Blog Posts
wind turbine

WoWE Happy Hour on St. Patrick’s Day

Mar 16

Uncategorized Leonard, Street and Deinard is hosting a Women of Wind Energy Happy Hour on Thursday, March 17, 2011, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The event will be held in our 16th floor reception area and will feature three of our finest, Steve Mayeron, Allison Leppert and Matthew Seltzer, as they discuss recent developments in wind projects. You do not need to be a female or a Women of Wind Energy member to attend. For details, click here to see a pdf of the... Read more →

Erica Delain

044P0803LL

Minnesota House Considering Statutory Change for Municipal Approval of Variance Requests

Mar 15

Commercial Development, Public Development Projects The Minnesota House is considering legislation that would change the statutory standard for municipal approval of variance requests.  The House bill, HF 52, would replace the current “undue hardship” standard with the more flexible “practical difficulties” standard that currently applies to counties. A companion bill in the Minnesota Senate is expected but has not yet been introduced. HF 52 is a legislative response to the Minnesota Supreme... Read more →

Stuart Alger

Donovan

HUD Secretary Donovan Lauds Frogtown Square Development

Mar 4

Affordable Housing, Commercial Development, Land Use, Mixed-use Development, Public Development Projects, Residential Development, Retail, Transportation U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs Secretary Shaun Donovan visited St. Paul on Friday, March 4th to recognize the Frogtown Square Development as the type of  innovative, mixed-use development that will lead the country forward into the 21st century.  The Frogtown Square Development features neighborhood-based retail on the first floor, with 50 units of senior housing on three floors above the retail and underground parking below.  The... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

Bidding on a home

More Changes for Residential Construction Contracts

Mar 4

Residential Development This post is a follow-up to an earlier post by Shaun McElhatton. As Shaun noted in his post, the 2010 Minnesota Legislature is now making residential building contractors and others involved in certain residential trades (including residential remodelers and residential roofers) provide prospective customers with “performance guidelines” before they enter into a construction contract with a prospective customer. The performance guidelines must be... Read more →

Gina Fox

Mall with skylight

Shopping Center Subleasing

Feb 22

Retail I just read an interesting article, “Sharing Space” by Joel Groover in  Shopping Centers Today (January, 2011) regarding an uptick in department stores subleasing.  This increase in “store-within-a-store” use is in part a response to the sluggish economy when department stores have excess space to lease or sell.  Many of the anchor department stores have long term leases with lower rental rates than those available to the in-line retailers. ... Read more →

Kelly Quam

044P0803LL

Court of Appeals Confirms Limits on Use of Tax Increment Financing

Feb 16

Commercial Development, Public Development Projects, Residential Development In 2006, the City of Hopkins created a tax increment financing district for purposes of facilitating a large redevelopment area in downtown.  A couple of years later, after plans for a condominium project fell apart, the City entered into a development agreement with Doran-Pratt Development, LLC, which intended to build a 254 unit luxury apartment complex on Main Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.  The City then started a condemnation action in... Read more →

Marc Simpson

freeimages.co.uk workplace images

New Brookings Institution Report Predicts Next Real Estate Boom

Feb 1

Affordable Housing, Brownfields, Commercial Development, Land Use, Mixed-use Development, Residential Development, Retail, Transportation A recent report from the Brookings Institution predicts that the next real estate boom will be driven by baby boomers and their children looking for walkable neighborhoods in which to live and work.  The report notes that many areas of the U.S. currently have large oversupplies of low-density, suburban development and predicts that even as the economy begins to recover, those excess inventories will decline slowly.  Calling it "the biggest demographic... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

wind turbine

Proposed Legislation a Setback for the Future of Wind Energy in Wisconsin

Jan 25

Commercial Development, Land Use A new bill proposed by Governor Scott Walker as part of a regulatory reform package has the potential to kill both proposed and future wind energy projects in Wisconsin by increasing setbacks from the current standard of 1,250 feet to 1,800 feet.  The proposal has neighboring states prompting wind developers to focus their efforts elsewhere. Go here for more information.

Erica Delain

terraced street

MINNESOTA HISTORIC TAX CREDIT ALREADY DRIVING REDEVELOPMENT

Jan 24

Commercial Development, Land Use, Mixed-use Development, Residential Development, Retail The Historic Tax Credit adopted by the Minnesota legislature in 2010 is already driving significant development.  Recently, an affiliate of Sherman Associates closed on a refinancing of the Riverside Plaza development, a major Twin Cities’ affordable housing resource located near the University of Minnesota that will include $62 million dollars in rehabilitation and improvements to the complex.  In late 2009, Dominion Development and the West 7th/Fort... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

terraced street

Developer Liabilities Can Haunt Banks And Other Buyers Of Failed Condominium And Townhome Developments

Jan 3

Commercial Development, Land Use, Residential Development Under Minnesota law, the developer of a condominium or townhome project has significant liabilities to the purchasers of units, including liability for construction defects and operating deficits of a homeowners’ association.  Lenders may not be aware that if they foreclose a mortgage or accept a deed in lieu of foreclosure, Minnesota law may impose the same liabilities on them.  Minnesota law permits a foreclosing lender to avoid such liabilities,... Read more →

Shaun McElhatton

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