Ever Upward
Red Leaf Partners makes long-term investments through real estate developments that honor the history, scale, and way of life of Excelsior.
Excelsior, Minnesota
We believe Excelsior to be among the best small towns in America. Founded by New Englanders, Excelsior represents an east coast ideal in an inland lakeside setting. Its well-preserved historic village has narrow streets and a walkable retail district with a terminus at 13 acres of public commons along Lake Minnetonka, one of the country’s most storied bodies of water. Only 2,300 residents call Excelsior home, but hundreds of thousands visit its idyllic streetscape in any given year.
For many, Excelsior is a nostalgic memory of a long ago place. A tourism destination, an amusement park, the grounds of their teenage playground, a theater, a dance hall, a boat ride, a homecoming parade. For others it’s a place that’s visited only occasionally. For yet others, it’s simply home.
Red Leaf Partners has led the investment of over $50 Million into Excelsior’s future while honoring its past, through both historic preservation of its existing assets and redevelopments that complement its historic fabric.
Water Streetscape through the Decades
Historic images courtesy of Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
Investing in Excelsior’s streetscape.
Streetscapes are living organisms that must adapt as a community grows and evolves. In historic communities, they become central to the identity of a place - representing what a community was, what it is, and what it can be. They are shaped by events - natural disasters, recessions, closures, pandemics, changing transportation, eCommerce, sprawl - things that modify their utility and test their survival. Consisting of varying uses, owners, and storefronts spanning styles and eras, together these eclectic pieces become the physical fabric of a community.
Red Leaf Partners believes in protecting what is most beloved about historic communities - its streetscapes - through ensuring its fabric is nurtured, preserved, and adaptable to change.
Our Properties
Dan Johnson
dan@redleafpartners.com
Dan Johnson has spent his 20 year career shaping complex real estate projects to be compatible with the communities they serve. He has negotiated thousands of real estate transactions across the country in 47 states. Unique among real estate practitioners, his experience spans both geography and product type - with experience in retail, office, industrial, medical, multi-family, mixed-use, residential, and raw land development.
A lifelong resident of Excelsior, Minnesota, Dan is passionate about the history of Lake Minnetonka and positioning Excelsior’s historic assets to create a more vibrant commercial and livable residential neighborhood. He is a former board member of the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society and the park conservancy Community for the Commons where he led or co-led the Excelsior Commons Master Plan and Commons Pavilion projects.
Mitch Day
mitch@redleafpartners.com
As an attorney and former officer in the United States Army, Mitch is adept at leading teams and navigating complex negotiations.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and US Army Ranger School, Mitch’s military career included stints in Afghanistan, Texas, and Alaska. Following his service, Mitch received his J.D. from the New York University School of Law, where he served as Editor in Chief of NYU’s Journal of Law and Liberty. After law school he joined the international law firm Jones Day, where he practiced general corporate law, with a focus on capital markets. Mitch’s transactional experience includes representing U.S. and international clients on a broad range of transactions, including leases, acquisitions, public and private equity and debt offerings, and restructurings and advising clients on corporate governance matters.
Mitch is on the Young Professionals Board of Directors of the Minnesota Chapter of Folds of Honor and the Board of Directors of the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Morning Rotary Club. He and his wife Katie live in Excelsior, Minnesota.
Jesse Nelson
jesse@redleafpartners.com
Jesse has spent his career as an educator and coach. He serves as an asset manager for Red Leaf Partners properties.
A graduate of Concordia College - Moorhead, Jesse graduated with a major in Education while serving as the captain and quarterback of the Cobbers football team. After graduation, Jesse became a college football coach with stops at the University of South Dakota and the University of Minnesota. He completed his Masters Degree in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota in 2011.
Jesse coaches high school football and adaptive bowling at his alma mater, Minnetonka High School. He and his wife Sarah live in Excelsior, Minnesota with their three children.