Kelly Dolan, a prolific real estate developer who built thousands of luxury apartments in Minnesota and beyond, died Thursday after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 66 years old.
Since 2007, his name has become well known on construction sites across the Twin Cities. After working with retail development company Robert Muir for more than 20 years, Mr. Dolan founded Dolan Koss. He started in retail development and management, first moving into student housing and then market-rate apartments. Mill & Main was his first luxury project in Minneapolis’ St. Anthony Main Historic District. Over the years, he has developed more than 3,700 units, including The Reserve at Arbor Lakes in Maple His Grove, The Moline in Hopkins, and Laila His Apartments in Denver, Colorado.
In 2019, three years after surviving his last cancer battle, he sold a majority stake in Dolan Koss and founded Dolan Group with his eldest son Evan, who became president in 2022. It has employees and a real estate portfolio of more than $1 billion.
“We are all saddened by the loss of my father,” Evan Dolan said in a statement Thursday. “Not only was he an extraordinary businessman, he was also a loving father, grandfather, and friend. He built this company from the ground up and instilled in everyone he worked with excellence, integrity, and each other. It instilled in me a determination to care.”
Dolan was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame in 2019.read TCBClick here for Kelly Dolan’s profile. Check out the career highlights video from that event.