Age: 57 Owner: Sherman Associates
Education: B.S., biochemistry 1976; MBA, 1977: University of Minnesota
Career: Sherman started buying and converting Uptown Minneapolis apartment buildings into condominiums in 1978; he built new townhouses on the site of former public housing on Minneapolis' near North Side in 1979-81. He's known for urban renewal projects that often include public financing.
Today, Sherman employs 350 people who develop and manage Sherman-owned apartment buildings, commercial buildings and several hotels in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Burnsville, Des Moines and St. Louis. Sherman values the portfolio at more than $1.3 billion.
Notable projects: The $132 million ongoing renovation of 1,300-unit Riverside Plaza (Cedar-Riverside) in Minneapolis; the $61 million Aloft Minneapolis Hotel/Zenith Condominiums (2008) near the Guthrie Theater on Washington Avenue; the $55 million refurbishment of Duluth's Greysolon Plaza and construction of the Sheraton Duluth Hotel (2007); the $77 million Midtown Exchange Apartments and Chicago Lofts in the former Sears, Roebuck building on E. Lake Street in Minneapolis (2005), and the $96 million Wacouta Commons housing-retail complex in downtown St. Paul (2001-06).
