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As we close out 2025, Element Commercial Real Estate is proud to reflect on a year defined by momentum, collaboration, and meaningful impact. Celebrating our 10th anniversary made this year especially significant, a moment to honor the clients, partners, and communities who have shaped our journey, while continuing to build toward what’s next.
Celebrating a Decade of Impact
This year marked 10 years of Element. We celebrated this milestone with deep gratitude for the trust placed in us over the past decade and for the relationships that continue to fuel our work. Every project, partnership, and shared success has helped define who we are and how we show up for our clients and communities. We marked the milestone the best way we know how—by bringing our community together. Early in the year, we hosted an anniversary celebration with clients, partners, and collaborators who have shaped our journey, and unveiled a refreshed Element brand designed to carry us confidently into our next decade. In the spirit of celebrating longevity and commitment, we were also proud to recognize our Marketing Manager Tricia Hanson and Aaron Meyers, Senior Advisor, who both reached five-year milestones with Element in 2025, an important reflection of the people who make our work possible.
Growing Our Team
In 2025, we welcomed Kate Lamers, Senior Development Advisor, to the Element team, bringing deep expertise in community-centered development, planning and implementation, strengthening our advisory practice and expanding our ability to guide complex, multi-disciplinary projects with clarity and care.
Development Milestones
This year brought meaningful progress across several transformative development initiatives:
- Avenues for Youth broke ground on “A Home of Our Own”, which will advance critical housing and support resources for youth experiencing homelessness.
- Pillsbury Creative Commons celebrated the opening of Phase I, with Phase II now underway, continuing to build a vibrant, community-centered creative hub.
- Opportunity Crossing officially opened, delivering affordable housing paired with supportive services in a thoughtfully designed, impact-driven development.
- Brooklyn Center Community Center completed the steps to start renovations in 2026.
Behind the scenes, our development work continued to grow in both scale and impact. In 2025, we supported 5 emerging developers through city and county programs, partnered with new clients on 6 feasibility studies, processed 58 construction draws, and managed more than $81 million in grant funds, helping numerous projects move from vision to reality.
Leasing Momentum & Retail Openings
Leasing activity remained strong throughout the year. In total, Element completed 61 leases, representing 146,673 SF:
- 14 leases for retail and office tenants totaling 30,976 SF
- 48 leases for landlords totaling 117,197 SF
- 4 buildings totaling 97,512 SF were sold to new owners
We also celebrated the opening of several local favorites and exciting new retail concepts, including Rustica Wayzata, Bellecour North Loop, Rosalia Northeast, Saturday Dumpling, Black Blue and Madge Home + Market, each adding fresh energy and sense of community to some of our favorite walkable neighborhoods.
On a national scale, we were proud to support the opening of 12 new Discover Strength franchises, spanning from Colorado to Texas and back to Minnesota (hello, Highland Park!).
Supporting Clients & New Partnerships
We were honored to welcome new clients in 2025, including Inner City Tennis, ACER, KMOJ, Footprint Development and Nuveen expanding our work across development, leasing, and advisory services. Each new partnership represents an opportunity to explore possibilities and help bring bold ideas to life. We also celebrated continued growth with longtime clients, including the grand opening of The Coven’s newest franchise in Northeast and an expansion of their flagship location in St. Paul.
A New Chapter: The Consortium Building
One of the most exciting milestones of 2025 was the purchase of the Consortium Building in the Warehouse District. Element is actively managing and making strategic capital improvements to enhance the experience for current tenants while positioning the building to attract exciting new office users in an emerging stretch of First Ave. Even more exciting, we are building out our new office in Suite 200, where we will officially be moving in January. This move represents both a physical investment and a long-term commitment to the neighborhood and our future. Stay tuned as we open our new doors in the Warehouse District!
Looking Ahead
As we wrap up a year filled with growth, collaboration, and celebration, we extend our sincere thanks to our clients, partners, and team.Your trust drives everything we do. Here’s to the next decade—and to all the possibilities we’ll continue building together.
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