In a recent interview with Finance & Commerce, Roers Companies Owners and Co-founders Brian and Kent Roers discuss our ongoing efforts to meet housing demands, the expansive Prudential campus redevelopment in Plymouth, Minn., their inclusion as finalists for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Heartland awards, and our unique approach to multifamily construction.

Article Excerpts

Q: How many housing units have you developed?

Kent: We’re at like $2.9 billion in real estate that we’ve done in 13 years. We’ve done about 13,000 units. And we’ve raised about $550 million from just our individual investors.

Brian: We are one of the few firms in the country that works the way we do with “friends and family” equity. And we raise it $100,000 and $1 million at a time. Others flocked to institutions. We’ve always stayed true to our “friends and family,” and we always will.

Q: I understand that Roers is a finalist for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 Heartland Award. Tell us about it.

Kent: Ernst and Young puts on an Entrepreneur Of The Year award each and every year. We actually tried for it back in 2021. We were nominated back then, so it’s our second go-around. I believe there are 36 other folks from the Midwest that are up for that award.

Brian: Obviously, we’d love to win this award. We’re super honored. The other thing is, you’re up there with companies that are multigenerational. But we tell our team all the time, we’re not elbowing our way up there. We’re not pushing anybody down. We’re just thrilled to be a part of that group. When you talk about Mortenson, you talk about Ryan Cos. — companies that are legacy household names in Minnesota, and suddenly our name is right next to them. Whether it’s above or below, we don’t care. We’re on the list. It’s a testament to what our team has done.

Read the full article “Q&A: Roers follows the demand for housing” by visiting the Finance & Commerce website, and listen to the Beyond the Skyline podcast for more insights.