business

Developer Solomon Real Estate Group is expected to break ground next month on a residential-commercial expansion of Calhoun Square. The development will triple the size of the 1983-vintage Hennepin-and-Lake development that spearheaded the transformation of that Uptown intersection into one of the busiest, trendiest corners in the Twin Cities.

Jay Scott, a principal in Eden Prairie-based Solomon, said Friday that the project will see several levels added to the existing three-story complex and that it will be expanded along Hennepin Avenue south to 31st Street. The work could cost as much as $100 million by the time it's completed in 2009. That would make the expanded Calhoun Square one of the biggest investments in a Minneapolis neighborhood.

Solomon also is a minority equity partner in Calhoun Square, which is principally owned by the real estate division of Principal Financial Group of Des Moines, an insurance and investment conglomerate.

Developer Ray Harris and his partners sold Calhoun Square in 2004 for about $29 million. The new owners have spent an additional $15 million or so to acquire some adjacent properties, including several Hennepin Avenue buildings acquired last year.

In 2004, the buyer was reported to be North American Properties. Scott and several others from the former Minneapolis office of North American formed their own company and assumed the interest and liabilities from North American after it closed its local office. They then brought in deep-pockets Principal, which has a reputation as a long-term, patient investor.

"We retained an interest in the property and brought in Principal as the majority owner," Scott said.

The Minneapolis City Council approved the scaled-back plan in February over the objections of some neighbors who wanted to cap the height of new construction and curb traffic that is said to be the busiest of any intersection in the metropolitan area around-the-clock, seven days a week.

The 150,000-square-foot existing Calhoun Square will stay open during construction.

However, one of the anchor tenants, Borders Books, is expected to close soon. The bookstore couldn't come to lease terms with the new owners after many years as a Calhoun Square mainstay.

Faegre & Frankfurt

Faegre & Benson is doubling the size of its office in Frankfurt, Germany, to 17 lawyers with the addition of eight attorneys from the Frankfurt office of the German law firm Heussen.

"This move reflects our strong and continuing commitment to the international market," said Tom Morgan, chairman of Faegre. "We will have more than 50 lawyers in Europe and Asia, constituting more than 10 percent of our firm."

Faegre, with 475 lawyers, serves clients such as Bemis, Graco, H.B. Fuller, Pentair, Flextronics, First Solar, Japan Airlines and Zippo from offices in Germany, London, Shanghai and the United States.

Owner of the year

The Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) will announce that Sharon Avent of Smead Manufacturing in Hastings is its "owner of the year" at the NAWBO annual gala April 27 at International Market Square in Minneapolis.

Smead, now in its second century as a national manufacturer and distributor of home and office filing systems, has increased revenue by 139 percent since Avent succeeded her mother as CEO in 1998.

Avent also will be recognized for her support of the Sister Kenny Institute, the Hastings Public Schools Foundation, and the Minnesota Business Academy.

Judy Hoff, founder of HealthcareAcademy, an online learning program for the health care industry that she started in 2001, will be the recipient of the Emerging Woman Business Owner award.