Ladin Ventures featured in 12/4 edition of The Minneapolis/St Paul Business Journal!

1. InsIde thIs week
December 4, 2009 Breaking news all day on the web: mspbj.com Vol. 27, No. 26 $2.00
hospItaLs In ReCessIon
software
Regions shelved $36M
sales call :
Target, ShopNBC go outside
to sell phone plans online.
|3
firm to build
project as Mn cut aid $20m hQ in
medina
By sam BlaCk
Staff Writer
Open Systems International Inc.
plans to build a $20 million headquar-
ters in Medina and move out of leased
space in Plymouth.
The 17-year-old, employee-owned
firm specializes in energy manage-
ment software.
Open Systems plans to acquire
Microsoft office? between 15 to 20
The software giant is close to acres of undevel-
lease at Norman Pointe II. oped land at the
corner of Highway
|3 55 and Arrowhead
Drive. The site is
part of a farmed
104-acre tract
owned by Wilfred
Cavanaugh of Ingram
Golden Valley.
On the site, Open Systems wants
to develop about 95,000 square feet,
including 40,000 square feet of office
space and 40,000 to 50,000 square feet
NaNCy kuehN | MINNeaPolIS/ST. Paul BuSINeSS JourNal of industrial-technology labs, ware-
Tom Geskermann, vice president of operations at Regions Hospital, said the cut in state house, training and general meeting/
funding made it impossible to afford building a 100-bed mental-health facility in St. Paul. cafeteria space.
RSP Architects Ltd. is designing
By Chris Newmarker have created about 650 construction jobs. the new space, and real estate firm
hope for hotels: Staff Writer The hospital, part of the Bloomington-based CresaPartners, in Minneapolis, is con-
Count hundreds of construction workers among HealthPartners system, previously planned to break sulting on the move. Open Systems
occupancy rose in october; those hurt by Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s line-item veto of the ground in 2011 or 2012 on a seven-story, 98,883-square- hasn’t selected a general contractor.
is it a sign of life in market? state’s General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) health foot building, with the 100-bed facility opening in The company plans to secure an
insurance program for the poor. 2013. Regions already spent $1 million to have BWBR option for 10 to 15 additional acres for
|4 Regions Hospital, which is facing millions of dol- Architects Inc. of St. Paul draw up plans, and it ex- future expansion.
lars in state funding cuts, indefinitely delayed plans to pected to use Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. as the Open Systems’ existing headquar-
build a $36 million mental-health facility on its down- general contractor. ters is in the Plymouth Ponds Business
town St. Paul campus, a project the hospital said would regioNs | PaGe 27 mediNa | PaGe 26
8,500 apply for 180 Maple Grove jobs
By Chris Newmarker a recession in Memorial Health Care.
awaRd wInneRs
Staff Writer which thou- Andy Cochrane, Maple Grove
About 8,500 job seekers have sands of health Hospital’s CEO, said his human re-
inundated Maple Grove Hospital care workers sources staff has been busy screen-
eyes on Mauer: with applications for the 180 posi- around the Twin ing applications filed on the hospi-
The Twins star won MVP title; tions it needs to fill before opening Cities have been tal’s Web site. They’re filling a variety
its doors Dec. 30. let go. Major of jobs: registered nurses, nursing
will he stay with the team? The last time a hospital opened layoffs in the assistants, patient care facilitators,
Business Pulse | 26 in the Twin Cities — Woodbury’s past 12 months housekeepers, dietary experts and architects recognize top
Woodwinds Health Campus in included more Cochrane maintenance workers. There’s also
2000 — 3,800 people applied for than 700 jobs at a need for lab, imaging and phar- projects of their peers
390 positions. St. Louis Park-based Park Nicollet macy technicians. with aia honor awards.
The crush for jobs at Maple Health Services and 380 posi- Only a few critical leadership special report | 9
Index on page 3 Grove Hospital is symptomatic of tions at Robbinsdale-based North joBs | PaGe 26

2. Newsmakers
2
A comprehensive list of the people and companies appearing in the Business Journal this week
Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal | mspbj.com December 4, 2009
Cochrane Dimond Foster Geskermann Ingram Ladin McLaughlin Sethre Stowers
page 1 page 11 page 5 page 27 page 26 page 4 page 26 page 16 page 13
People
Adams, Chad......................................................................26 Foster, Dulce......................................................................... 5 Ladin, Steve .......................................................................... 4 Morris, Andrew..................................................................... 7
Boehle, Sarah....................................................................... 3 Frankenfield, Greg .............................................................. 3 LaRusso, Nicholas ............................................................18 Parker, Leonard ..................................................................11
Brink, Loren .........................................................................16 Fren, Steve ............................................................................ 7 Lind, Bob .............................................................................26 Pawlenty, Tim........................................................................ 1
Campobasso, John ...........................................................27 Geskermann, Tom .............................................................27 Luke, Allen ...........................................................................16 Schrogie, John ..................................................................... 3
Cavanaugh, Wilfred ............................................................ 1 Gill, Bob ...............................................................................26 Luke, John.............................................................................. 4 Sethre, Jennifer ..................................................................16
Cochrane, Andy ................................................................... 1 Hanlon, Ed............................................................................. 4 Mascia, Pat............................................................................ 3 Stowers, Josh .....................................................................13
Crounse, Bill .......................................................................18 Hanna, Lee ............................................................................ 7 Mauer, Joe ...........................................................................26 Tarbox, Ned ........................................................................... 3
Dimond, Dave .....................................................................11 Hovde, Steven...................................................................... 7 McLaughlin, Daniel............................................................26
Feldman, Joe ......................................................................... 3 Hoveida, Bahman ..............................................................26 Militello, Jack .......................................................................27
Fenske, Jackie ...................................................................... 4 Ingram, Ron.........................................................................26 Morgan, John ....................................................................... 7
Companies
Amazon.com Co. Inc. ......................................................... 3 Badger Holdings ................................................................. 7 comScore .............................................................................. 7 Minnesota Vikings ............................................................... 7
American Institute of Architects Minnesota ....... 11, 13 Best Buy Co. Inc. ............................................................3, 7 CresaPartners ...................................................................... 1 Morris Abstract & Title Inc................................................. 7
Anchor BanCorp ................................................................. 7 BWBR Architects Inc. ................................................1, 26 Delta Air Lines Inc. .............................................................. 7 Mosaic Co., The................................................................... 7
Asia Sales & Marketing....................................................16 Citizens National Bank....................................................... 7 DJ Kranz Co. Inc. ...............................................................26 Nonin Medical ....................................................................18
Dougherty & Co. ................................................................26 North Houston Bank........................................................... 7
Duke Realty Corp. ............................................................... 3 North Memorial Health Care ............................................ 1
Fairview Health Services .................................................26 Open Systems International Inc. ..................................... 1
Your Appetizer... Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. .................................... 7 Park Nicollet Health Services .......................................... 1
Fingerhut................................................................................ 4 Perkins+Will........................................................................11
First Financial Services Inc. .............................................. 7 Piper Jaffray Cos. ..............................................................26
Fredrikson & Byron ............................................................. 5 PKF Hospitality Research ................................................. 4
Great River Energy ...........................................................11 Polaris Industries Inc. .......................................................26
HealthEast Care System .................................................26 RadioShack Corp................................................................ 3
HealthPartners ..................................................................... 1 RBC Capital Markets.......................................................26
Hennepin County Medical Center ................................27 Regions Hospital ................................................................. 1
Hilton Minneapolis............................................................... 4 River View Holdings LLC................................................... 7
Your Dinner...
Home Depot, The ..............................................................16 RSP Architects Ltd. ............................................................ 1
HS and Associates ............................................................. 7 Sears ....................................................................................16
JAS Apartments ................................................................... 7 Seasonal Concepts ..........................................................16
Jones Lang LaSalle ............................................................. 3 ShopNBC ............................................................................. 3
Kema .....................................................................................26 Simplexity............................................................................... 3
Kiosk Operations Inc. ......................................................... 3 Smith Travel Research Inc. ............................................... 4
Kraus-Anderson Construction Co. ................................. 1 Target Corp. ......................................................................3, 7
Ladin Ventures ..................................................................... 4 Telsey Advisory Group ....................................................... 3
Your Dessert... LifeScience Alley ...............................................................18 Tomsten Inc. ......................................................................... 7
Loram Maintenance of Way Inc. ....................................26 U.S. Bank .............................................................................. 7
Luke Studios.......................................................................16 U.S. Green Building Council..........................................11
Macalester College............................................................. 5 United Properties ..............................................................26
Madisonville State Bank .................................................... 7 University of Minnesota Law School .............................. 5
Magenic Technologies Inc. ............................................... 3 University of St. Thomas .......................................... 26, 27
Maple Grove Hospital ........................................................ 1 Urban Outfitters .................................................................13
Mayo Clinic ........................................................................18 ValueVision Media Inc. ....................................................... 3
You’re welcome. Memorial Health Care ........................................................ 1 Winmark Corp. .................................................................... 7
Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle Ltd. ................................13 Woodwinds Health Campus ............................................ 1
Microsoft Corp. .............................................................3, 18 VitalMedix ..........................................................................18
MODERN + MIDWEST Minnesota Department of Commerce ........................... 7
Minnesota Twins ................................................................26
1115 Second Avenue South | 612.353.3500 | porterandfrye.com

3. 4 Minneapolis/st. paul Business Journal | mspbj.com december 4, 2009
ma-and-pa focused brokerage moves to grow
By sam BlaCk
Staff Writer LadIn VentURes
Steve Ladin wants to expand his real estate CEO: Steve Ladin
brokerage business 500 square feet at a time. Location: Plymouth
Ladin, CEO and owner of Ladin Ventures, Description: Boutique real
has turned the focus of his three-year-old firm estate firm representing
primarily to representing mom-and-pop busi- small tenants
nesses that fly under the radar of most com- Revenue: Not disclosed
mercial real estate firms. Employees: 5
On Monday, Ladin moved his five-employee Web: ladinventures.com
company from a small office in St. Louis Park Twitter: @ladinventures
into a strip center next to a Famous Dave’s res-
taurant in Plymouth.
Ladin said his company targets day-care end of 2010, then double that in 2011.
providers, hair salons, restaurants and other Ladin said he received a lot of quality re-
small companies that can benefit from having sumes from brokers through ads on Craig’s
a real estate advocate. That strategy has poten- List. His blog, theschmoozer.net, says that the
tial because the small-business market is ex- company is seeking agents who know the mar-
panding as laid off workers start new compa- ket and are enthusiastic about trying new busi-
nies, he said. “We see this huge upswing in the ness methods. He indicates the brokers might
small-business realm. In Minnesota, 44,000 make more than $80,000 in the first year.
new businesses start every year.” NaNCy kuehN | MINNeaPolIS/ST. Paul BuSINeSS JourNal Ladin is heavily involved in social media. He
Small tenants and new entrepreneurs tend to Steve Ladin designed his own avatar (above) and has about
rely too heavily on finding commercial real es- 950 followers on Twitter.
tate by calling phone numbers on signs in front buy and sell apartment buildings. When that Ed Hanlon, a commercial real estate broker
of buildings, Ladin said, adding that it’s often market tailed off this year, Ladin began to fo- in the Minnetonka office of Edina Realty Inc.
difficult for small businesses to find a broker. cus on the needs of small businesses. who works with many small companies, said
Ladin wants his company to be approach- Ladin said he has about 20 small clients, and most small businesses can benefit from having
able by small businesses. “We’re not going to most deals he works on are for between 500 their own tenant reps and it seems like Ladin’s
wear suits or be ostentatious.” and 10,000 square feet. business plan has merit.
Ladin’s real estate career began in 2000 He’s recruited Jackie Fenske, former vice However, it takes many little deals to equal
when he joined Miller Management Co., a St. president of merchandising operations at one big deal, and the little ones often require
Louis Park-based apartment operator that he Fingerhut, to be executive vice president and hand-holding while excited entrepreneurs fig-
and two partners sold in 2006. oversee most day-to-day operations. ure out the realities of paying for real estate.
He spent his first few years at Ladin Ventures Ladin’s goal is to increase the firm’s size to at
focusing on the multifamily market, helping least 15 advisers and 25 total employees by the sblack@bizjournals.com | (612) 288-2103
Slide in Twin Cities hotel business starting to slow
By johN Vomhof jr. year-over-year increase since May 2007.
Staff Writer Declining room rates, however, remain a sLowIng deCLIne
The recession has battered the Twin Cities challenge for local hotels. PKF projects that av- Fiscal period Revenue per Percent change
hotel market, but there are signs that the in- erage daily rates will slump 7.7 percent in the available room from year-ago
dustry’s declines are beginning to slow. fourth quarter. Rates were down 8.9 percent in (daily average) period
Hotel consulting firm PKF Hospitality October, following drops of 23.1 percent and Q1 2008 $56.91 -0.6
Research projects that revenue per available 29 percent in August and September, respec- Q2 2008 $69.81 0.2
room (RevPAR) — a leading industry met- tively, according to Smith Travel Research. Q3 2008 $81.10 3.9
ric — will drop 9.7 percent from a year ago in Local hotel managers have mixed views on Q4 2008 $51.07 -15.0
Minneapolis during the fourth quarter of 2009, the strength of the market. Q1 2009 $45.90 -19.3
the smallest decline since the Twin Cities host- Hilton Minneapolis General Manager John Q2 2009* $54.93 -21.3
ed the Republic National Convention in the Luke is among the most optimistic. He ex- Q3 2009^ $59.51 -26.6
third quarter of 2008. pects revenue at his hotel to grow more than Q4 2009^ $46.09 -9.7
RevPAR climbed 0.7 percent in October, 10 percent in the fourth quarter, compared to
following declines of 20 percent or more in double-digit declines in each of the first three * Includes estimated results for month of June
nine of the past 10 months, according to quarters of the year. ^ Projection
Hendersonville, Tenn.-based Smith Travel “We’re not out of the woods yet, but the sil-
Source: PKF Hospitality Research,
Research Inc. ver lining is that we are starting to see some Smith Travel Research Inc.
Occupancy jumped 10.5 percent, the largest hoTels | PaGe 27
CoRReCtIons
The story, “Growing at a fast clip,” in the Nov. 13 In the Nov. 27 story, “Feds Fair and accurate coverage is at the heart of the
edition, incorrectly provided Bob Chelberg’s title. He double office space needed mission on the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business
is the area developer for Sport Clips hair salon, which for relocation,” an incorrect Journal. We will promptly print corrections of
has sold 29 franchise licenses in Minnesota. The photo was published on page substantive errors. If you believe incorrect or unfair
number of franchises sold was incorrect in the story. 19 of John McCarthy, an information has appeared in the Minneapolis/
office broker at Bloomington- St. Paul Business Journal, please contact Editor
The Nov. 20 story “Erickson family has troubled Lake based NorthMarq Real Estate Dirk DeYoung at (612) 288-2111 or ddeyoung@
Area Bank’s back” incorrectly stated Marc Campbell’s Services. bizjournals.com.
title. He is president and chief operating officer. McCarthy
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