Inside View: Sonja Dusil, Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq

Executive director at Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq

Sonja Dusil's specialty is working with landlords in downtown Minneapolis, the North Loop and the Warehouse District to renovate and reposition properties.

Dusil, 43, has been with Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq for 18 years. Her projects include the renovations of Butler Square, the Ford Center, the TractorWorks building, RBC Plaza and the former Gaviidae Common II.

The four-story Gaviidae Common II building, at 555 Nicollet Mall, underwent an overhaul that took an outdated mall and created new, Class A office space while joining the building with the adjacent 40-story RBC Plaza.

Before joining Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq, Dusil worked for SBA Inc., where she did land leases, rooftop rights and tower site locations for Sprint. She's the incoming 2015 president for the Minnesota NAIOP chapter.

Q: Why focus on renovation work?

A: I absolutely love doing it because it's not just transactional work. We do leasing all the time, but it really allows you to take a look at a property and go, 'OK, how can I make this better for my owner and make it more valuable and achieve some of their goals?

A: It has been really fun working with owner KBS on this, because it was an interesting acquisition for them in that they purchased RBC Plaza, which is inherently a solid, Class A boutique office building that has a history of good occupancy. But along with that, they purchased Gaviidae Common II. Four levels of dated, 1980s retail. It was red and gold everywhere, a food court on the fourth floor and just tired retail. The question was how do we utilize that to enhance RBC Plaza's visibility and marketability in the [central business district]?

Q: So what was done?

A: RBC Plaza didn't have a tenant amenities package, and for Class A buildings downtown that's almost a requirement. We utilized the Gaviidae asset and put in a fitness center, conferencing center, secure bike storage and a valet parking lobby. There's now a first-floor lobby and a skyway level, and we converted floors three and four into office space.

Q: How's the leasing going?

A: Fish & Richardson took the fourth floor; they're also an existing RBC Plaza tower tenant. We're marketing the 30,000-square-foot third floor. We've had a lot of interest. New tenants on the street and skyway levels include the Fresh Market, Sprout, Subway and a credit union.

A: I'm looking forward to some new projects in the North Loop and the [downtown] core and leasing that third floor.