In 2010, the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business started the Minnesota Real Estate Hall of Fame to honor people in the local industry. Those nominations are based on several criteria, including outstanding business performance, high standards of ethics and community activities. On Nov. 10 at the Golden Valley Golf and Country Club, the hall will add three more:

Walter Nelson

Nelson's career included 56 years at the Eberhardt Co. He started at the Minneapolis real estate advisory company as an associate of Alex Eberhardt. When Eberhardt died in 1951, Nelson bought the company and was its president until 1976. He stayed with the company until 1995 as chairman of the board.

In 1959, Nelson served as president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. He was active in several mortgage and real estate-related companies and filled several volunteer leadership roles, including director of the Minneapolis YMCA and president and board member of the Minneapolis Downtown Council.

Nelson received the Counselor of Real Estate designation and the Mortgage Bankers Association's Distinguished Service Award.

Fred Wall

Wall started his real estate career at the Spring Co., which was one of the most prominent residential real estate companies in the Twin Cities at the time, and was quickly promoted to sales manager. After several years, Wall and another Spring Co. manager, Carl Martin, opened the Wall-Martin Co. and Norseman Realty. When Martin died in a plane crash in 1968, Wall formed the Wall Cos.

Since, Wall has been involved with several notable real estate deals in the Twin Cities. He once owned and renovated the historic Foshay Tower, and he partnered with the Trammell Crow Co. in the development of the Normandale Office Park in Bloomington. Wall has supported the United Way, the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and does community outreach through the Fred and Alice Wall Family Foundation.

Mark Westra

Westra, a longtime partner at Fabyanske, Westra, Hart and Thompson, has been a prominent commercial real estate attorney in the Twin Cities since 1975. He has been involved in hundreds of local real estate projects and has represented some of the largest lenders, developers, owners and investors in the metro. Westra has been an expert in a wide variety of real estate-related practice areas, including real estate finance, zoning, land use and leasing. Westra was an instructor at Hamline Law School and a mentor to many young real estate attorneys in the Twin Cities.

Jim Buchta