When I was 17 a friend of mine invited me along to a birthday party. The location was in the Mill District in downtown Minneapolis. At the time the neighborhood was nothing more than a handful of buildings with plenty of parking lots to boot. I can still remember being absolutely enthralled with the development of the area and what was about to unfold. I was inspired by the lifestyle, being an urban pioneer at the forefront of the density coming to downtown Minneapolis.
That night my mind was made up: when I finished college I would wind up living in, at the time, one of the few new residential buildings along the riverfront--this is exactly what I did and the gentleman that guided me in the journey as well as being the inspiration why I sell real estate today was Shel Hoffman.
Shel was a real estate broker from a generation past. He held a flawless reputation in the community as a man of strong integrity, understanding and grit. All of the these traits would suit Shel well for what he was about to embark upon in the early 1970s--marketing and selling developments around the Minneapolis lakes and Mississippi river. For almost 40 years Shel was responsible for the success of numerous condo and loft projects in Minneapolis--more than any other single real estate agent in Minneapolis.
I remember the first time reaching out to Shel asking about an upcoming building he was working on called Humboldt Lofts. As a naive, young adult, I remember making a call to Shel inquiring about his new building, completely unaware of the pricing of the units nor the process involved. To say the man took me under his wing would be an understatement--Shel explained every detail and what I needed to do to purchase the smallest unit in the building. He opened a whole new world to me--a lifestyle and an amazing network of people who were to become my new neighbors. He was the ultimate real estate broker--I was in awe and inspired.
I can count a handful of mentors that I have been blessed to have in my life so far. Though I spent the least amount of time with him, Shel made the biggest impact of my life inspiring me to take a leap of faith and jump into the world of residential real estate almost 10 years ago. I attribute all of the success I have been so blessed to have from this generous soul that was here for a fleeting moment.
In loving memory of Sheldon Hoffman 1945-2008
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