Joe Spartz
President of the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)
Joe Spartz — the new head of the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association — is a newcomer to the commercial real estate industry, but he has nearly 20 years of experience in association management. That expertise in running organizations impressed BOMA's search committee.
BOMA is a St. Paul-based organization representing building owners and managers in St. Paul and the east metro. Spartz came on board in February, replacing Matt Anfang.
In his new role, Spartz, 55, is responsible for strategic direction, membership development and relations, economic development, and government relations. Before joining BOMA, Spartz was CEO of Plymouth-based Trusight — formerly called Employers Association Inc. — a consulting/human resources company. He worked there for 18 years, starting as an HR consultant.
Q: Why transition into real estate?
A: The thought came to me that at some point I'm going to want to try something else. I have all this association management experience, and I might try a totally different industry but still stay in the association world. The opportunity here came up and they were really looking for somebody with more of the association management expertise. … I'm a passionate person about learning, and the opportunity to go into a brand new industry really intrigued me.
Q: You're not only new to real estate, but also the East Side, correct?
A: Yes. I spent my entire professional career working and living on the west side of the river. We've been in Ham Lake for 18 years. Our youngest son has one more year of high school. Once he graduates and is off to college, my wife and I decided we're going to move to St. Paul. … I'm very excited about it. … Until you either work or live in a particular city, you really don't know it.
Q: What are you finding most interesting about the real estate industry?
A: I'm absolutely fascinated with it. … Commercial real estate is really the big engine in an urban area.
Q: What are some of your goals?
A: Beyond just some of the standard association things — like driving greater value for members and increasing the number of members — we want to play a larger role in terms of driving growth, especially in the downtown St. Paul area.
Q: Downtown is seeing new development with the new Saints ballpark, light-rail transit, apartments and a Lunds store.
A: The timing on this has just been fantastic because there are so many positive things going on in the city right now. The Coleman administration and the city itself, especially PED [Planning and Economic Development], have really put the time and effort in — along with other players — to make it happen. To be able to take those foundation components that are in place and continue to build on those is really exciting.
Liz Wolf is a freelance writer in Eagan. She can be reached at wolfliz99@aol.com.
