Mankato, MN; June 3rd, 2024 – NAI North Star Chief Strategy Officer and Principal Cate DeBates announced that her newly organized firm has joined NAI Global to serve the Mankato and North Mankato metro market and six surrounding counties.

DeBates is joined in managing NAI North Star with other principals and Chief Executive Officer David Schooff, CCIM, SIOR, CPM,® Eric Harriman, Chief Operations Officer and Joey Lund, CPA, Chief Financial Officer. Including brokers and staff, NAI North Star is comprised of 12 professionals in the industry, having a combined 50 years of experience in commercial transactions as well as garnered national and global attention for their investment management, development and sales expertise. The group’s property management business operates under the brand Plaid Hat Management (and has more than 1 million square feet under management) while its development arm does business as Compass North Development.

NAI North Star offers its clients a range of services including investment sales, leasing, asset management, development, property management and advisory services involving office, land, investment, industrial, and multifamily asset classes, and especially focuses on turnkey development projects. The new NAI Global office also provides broker-opinion-of-value (BOV) services, management consulting and 1031 Exchange Services.

NAI North Star primarily serves Southern Minnesota to the south Mankato metro area and Iowa border. Minneapolis/St. Paul is about 90 minutes north of Mankato while Des Moines, Iowa, is a little over 200 miles due south of Mankato. The population of Mankato’s MSA is approximately 60,000, and the area has the highest consumer spending per capita in the State of Minnesota.

“We joined NAI Global because we wanted to align our business with the best and strongest brand in commercial real estate that isn’t publicly traded, and has national and international reach that is managed and run by like-minded professionals. Our team is comprised of landlords, investors and managers and each of us work from a place with owner mindsets. This has served our clientele extremely well in the past. All of the principals have previously worked together in different capacities,” Schooff said.

For example, Harriman started Plaid Hat Management in 2023, yet has served as Schooff and DeBates’ property manager for the past seven years and has grown a management portfolio of more than 500 units in under 11 months at Plaid Hat.

“I have been working with this team on management, investment and as a contractor for the past few years. I have been impressed with the level of care that my investment properties receive. The transparency that they share is something I had never received with previous firms,” shared Josh Williams, CEO/President of WEB Construction.

DeBates added that NAI Global’s platform also offers something of importance to her and her partners – one that supports entrepreneurial ventures, and that her team is dedicated to growing and building a powerful environment based on education and smart management.

Cate DeBates and David Schooff were formerly top producing agents at Coldwell Banker Commercial. DeBates was a Global Pathfinder Recipient in 2022 and David Schooff has consistently been a top 2% producer nationally. He also positioned their affiliated office as the #1 Commercial Brokerage Office in the State of Minnesota. Schooff is a developer, investor, franchise owner (Dunkin’ Donuts) and also a business partner with DeBates on several investments.

“Our collective track record and book of business is our secret weapon, and we help owners and investors make the most of their properties, or reimagine them altogether, and our relationships with regional suppliers, contractors, lending institutions and municipalities set us apart in our services,” said DeBates, “Our team has come back stronger to better serve Southern Minnesota Clients,” said Schooff.

Signature development and/or leasing projects of NAI North Star include 72-unit and 7,000 sf commercial multiplex AXIS Lofts along the Highway 169 Corridor, big box absorption of projects like The Pond on Madison, 350,000 medical reuse development Madison East Center, more than 100,000 square feet of multi-family and mixed-use development across communities including Albert Lea, Marshall, Redwood Falls, Red Wing and the Greater Mankato area.

Major employers in the Mankato area include Minnesota State University, Mankato, Mayo Clinic Health System, Taylor Corporation and a number of agricultural conglomerates. While the agricultural industry is substantial in the region, banking, post-secondary education, technical/trade schools, a robust healthcare system and manufacturing are also strong business sectors that drive demand for all types of real estate. There are also healthy local foundations and philanthropic networks in the Mankato area that supports the livability, community services and investment market in the most densely populated region of Southern Minnesota.

About NAI North Star
NAI North Star, based in Mankato, is the leading commercial brokerage and development firm in Southern Minnesota. We believe in practicing ethical and educated brokerage, property management and investing expertise to support all portfolio sizes. NAI North Star is one of three business units that makes up 10,000 Lakes Enterprises, a comprehensive asset management and investment collective serving more than 500 landlords, tenants and clients across the upper Midwest. Its office is located at 1400 Madison Avenue, Mankato, MN, 56001. For more information on NAI North Star, visit www.nainorthstar.com.

About NAI Global
NAI Global is a leading global commercial real estate brokerage firm. NAI Global offices are leaders in their local markets and work in unison to provide clients with exceptional solutions to their commercial real estate needs. NAI Global has more than 325 offices strategically located throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific, with over 5,800 local market professionals, managing in excess of 1.1 billion square feet of property and facilities. Annually, NAI Global completes in excess of $20 billion in commercial real estate transactions throughout the world. NAI Global provides a complete range of corporate and institutional real estate services, including brokerage and leasing, property and facilities management, real estate investment and capital market services, due diligence, global supply chain and logistics consulting and related advisory services. To learn more, visit www.naiglobal.com.

Gary Marsh, Marsh Marketing 415.999.3793 or [email protected]
Cate DeBates 507.380.6627 or [email protected]
Lindsay Fierro, NAI Global 212.405.2474 or [email protected]