Business Leader Chooses to Live and Work in Downtown St. Paul

Mark Henneman, longtime leader of the Mairs & Power investment advisory firm, has undergone three major transitions in his life since 2022.

Two of them demonstrate his confidence in the future of downtown St. Paul, which has been beset by a high office vacancy rate and concerns over crime and growing homeless and addicted populations.

For two decades, Henneman served in a variety of leadership roles at Mairs & Power, which was founded in St. Paul in 1931 by George Mairs Jr. Much of Henneman’s time was spent working in the firm’s office in the First National Bank Building in downtown St. Paul.

When Henneman was CEO, the firm conducted an extensive study process to identify a new office location. Sites outside of St. Paul were considered, but the firm’s leadership ultimately decided to remain in St. Paul. In 2022, the Mairs & Power office moved from First National to the 25th floor of Wells Fargo Place at 30 East 7th Street.

This year, Henneman has experienced two major changes in his life.

In October, Rob Mairs succeeded him as company CEO. Henneman will remain with the firm as chairman through the end of 2026.

In late summer, Henneman and his wife moved from a single-family home to a condo in downtown St. Paul.

In a recent interview at the Mairs & Power office, Henneman talked with Twin Cities Business about the decision to live downtown.

“I love downtown St. Paul,” Henneman said. “The things that we love about it are the thriving arts [scene.]” Henneman and his wife enjoy theater and music offerings downtown, which include events at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

“My wife and I, we just walk to all these different venues,” he said. He noted substantial investments that have been made in cultural venues downtown. “They’re vast and that’s just created a great way of life for us.”

Henneman isn’t naïve about the fact that downtown faces economic and social challenges. He also recognizes that not everybody views downtown St. Paul the way that he does.

In some instances, when people learned that he now lives downtown, Henneman said he got reactions such as: “Why would you move downtown? It’s dangerous.” Often, he said, the people who have the harshest views of downtown St. Paul spend little or no time there.

“The impressions of downtown St. Paul are not the reality of downtown St. Paul,” Henneman said. “We’re very comfortable down here. We know there are areas you don’t want to go to at night. But that was true where we lived before.”

Henneman is among the business, government, and nonprofit leaders who serve on the board of the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance, which is a coalition that’s focused on making downtown a better place to live, work, and play.

“There is a homeless issue for sure,” Henneman said. “That doesn’t make us feel unsafe down here. It makes me feel bad, and it feels like a problem that we’d love to help solve.”

There are many unoccupied office spaces in downtown St. Paul, including in the First National Bank Building where Mairs & Power previously was headquartered. The office vacancy rate in St. Paul’s central business district was 31% in the third quarter of this year, according to a report from Cushman & Wakefield.

“We’re in the midst of a commercial real estate meltdown,” Henneman said. “But I think that’s presenting an incredible opportunity, and one that I want to participate in and help with.”

In mid-November, the Downtown Alliance released a report from architectural and design firm Gensler concluding that all or parts of 10 downtown properties could be converted to housing.

The Gensler report focused on the elements of the buildings’ physical structures and their locations. It provided some baseline data for developers, government officials, and other stakeholders who now need to determine the financial feasibility of housing conversion projects.

“There are issues that are coming up in the short term,” Henneman said. “It looks, frankly, kind of bleak. But I feel strongly that the long term [outlook] is excellent, and that the things that are going to be happening over the next few years will make downtown something special.”