<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2uJs89_126doIFv00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2uJs89_126doIFv00" width="1080" height="919" ><figcaption>Photos courtesy of A&amp;L The Technology Village structure represented a new beginning for Downtown Duluth at the crossroads of Superior Street and Lake Avenue.</figcaption></figure>A&amp;L Properties celebrates 40 years in business this year, a time span that encompasses two distinct phases for the Duluth-based commercial real estate company. The early years were highlighted by a string of visionary, high-profile development and redevelopment projects in which the company invested and spearheaded, including the construction of new buildings such as the Technology Village in downtown Duluth, the Lakewalk Center and numerous other commercial, retail and medical structures.Notably, this work was undertaken at a time – the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s – when few others were willing to invest in area commercial development. A&amp;L has built or restored more than 50 properties in its 40 years, according to company estimates, creating an inventory of corporate, commercial, medical, retail and warehouse facilities worth more than $300 million. That dollar figure covers construction that was done mostly in the Northeastern Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin region, and also some scattered developments in California, Colorado and Montana.Fast forward to the present, the company has shifted its work away from construction and has assumed a more day-to-day, operational role, focusing on managing and leasing many of their buildings and other commercial real estate sites in the region.“We haven’t done much development work in the past 15 years. We’ve become more of a property management enterprise,” acknowledged CEO Tiffany Hughes in a recent interview with BusinessNorth. Yet, with a nod to A&amp;L’s development roots, she added that her firm is open to the “exploration of development opportunities if we are presented with the right thing.” Hughes has worked in various capacities with A&amp;L for 24 years. She was named CEO in 2022.Bold developersA&amp;L Properties formed in 1985 with partners Lee Anderson and Rob Link, the A and L in the firm’s name. The two had already been working together on other business interests in the Twin Cities and elsewhere. A short-term project brought Link to Duluth in 1984. He liked Duluth so much he decided to stay and encouraged Anderson to support development projects in the area.Bill Burns, a business and real estate lawyer and partner at Hanft Fride Law Firm in Duluth, who has worked with A&amp;L over the years, remembers that the partners were a solid team. “They worked together in the sense that Rob had a billion ideas and then Lee would pick the ones he was willing to fund, and Rob was the one to get things done like I’ve never seen. He was creative, relentless. He wouldn’t quit. If Rob got something in his head, he willed it to happen.”Gary Doty, Duluth mayor from 1991 to 2002, agreed. “They were kind of our go-to people at the city. We didn’t shut anyone else out, but, whenever we had a project, they would jump on it immediately.” Projects included the Duluth Athletic Club, the Wieland-Hayes Block, Superior’s old city hall and the Bridgeman Russell Building.In addition to its own funds, the company, for some projects, was able to gain city assistance, such as low-interest loans and tax-increment financing.Some critics at the time thought A&amp;L was somehow getting special treatment and cutting sweetheart deals with city officials. But, as Doty recalled, this was a period in Duluth when few developers were willing to step forward and take risks. “Our business climate wasn’t that great. People really didn’t believe in the city of Duluth. We saw the potential and so did Rob and Lee. And we couldn’t do it on our own. Rob was the one who saw that … Rob had a vision for Duluth that was unmatched.”Sadly, Link died at age 66 in 2016. But he left behind an impressive legacy in the area. The properties and projects are too numerous to mention, but a few prime development and redevelopment examples include: Technology Village on the corner of East Superior Street and Lake Avenue downtown, the Lakewalk Center and Lakewalk North on London Road in East Duluth, more than a dozen medical facilities for Essentia and St. Luke’s in Duluth and the region, the Phoenix Building downtown, and the Oneota Industrial Park in West Duluth, which is home to manufacturing, industrial, medical and retail businesses.Several sources pointed out that many of these projects were welcome replacements for empty or blighted city blocks or districts in the area. “I remember people would say when a project was being considered or announced, ‘what in the world are they (A&amp;L) thinking,’” Doty said. “For example, they bought the Diamond Tool property out in West Duluth, cleaned up a badly polluted site, and built a retail center there. It helped in the revitalization of West Duluth … and encouraged others to purchase old buildings there.”Anderson, Link’s business partner and funder of many of A&amp;L’s construction projects, who was the long-time owner and chairman of Twin Cities-based APi Group before selling the company in 2019, could not be reached for comment. Property managersThese days, A&amp;L’s five employees manage about 22 different properties in Duluth, Superior and Hibbing, totaling more than 925,000 square feet, for nine different owners, according to CEO Hughes. The properties include mostly Class A office and medical space, plus retail and warehouse facilities. Tenants include law firms, accountants, architects, tech companies, financial services businesses, medical clinicians, mental health counselors and others.Hughes acknowledged that office vacancies persist throughout Duluth, but noted she’s hopeful that those vacancies will decline, given that more companies’ employees are returning to work in their offices, and given the potential for some office space to be converted to residential dwellings.Right now, in Duluth, the office vacancy rate is estimated to be 15 to 20%, with some buildings as high as 25% empty, according to Greg Follmer, owner of Duluth-based Greg Follmer Commercial Real Estate, which serves the region. That said, Follmer added that his “favorite buildings” right now are warehouse and industrial properties. In fact, “some companies are preparing to build new because there isn’t much inventory right now … and there’s a lot of demand for warehouse and industrial property.”As A&amp;L navigates the challenges ahead, Bill Burns of Hanft Fride, who continues to work with A&amp;L, and who was a long-time friend of Link’s, believes the firm has transitioned well into its new role. “One of the things that has been a hallmark of A&amp;L, in development, they didn’t do anything other than first class. Everything is well-built, well-designed and functional, and that has carried over now into their management capabilities, their management style … which makes them one of the top property management firms in the community.”</div></body>

Block Source: businessnorth.com

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A&L Properties celebrates 40 years in business this year, a time span that encompasses two distinct phases for the Duluth-based commercial real estate company. The early years were highlighted by a string of visionary, high-profile development and redevelopment projects in which the company invested and spearheaded, including the construction of new buildings such as the Technology Village in downtown Duluth, the Lakewalk Center and numerous other commercial, retail and medical structures.

A&L has built or restored more than 50 properties

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A&L Properties celebrates 40 years in business this year, a time span that encompasses two distinct phases for the Duluth-based commercial real estate comp

A&L has built or restored more than 50 properties

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