Kelly Dolan, a Twin Cities real estate developer who founded both the Dolan Company and Dolan Properties Group, passed away overnight on Thursday, December 28, after a battle with cancer, according to a press release from the Dolan Group. announced. He was 66 years old.
Dolan, a Duluth native, was a leader in the multifamily industry as well as the retail industry. In 2007, he founded Doran Cos., a powerhouse commercial real estate company. The company has three divisions: Doran Development, Doran Construction, and Doran Management.
In 2019, he sold a majority stake in Dolan Company, and then sold his last stake in the company in 2021. He said at the time that he was leaving the company, now led by Anne Behrendt and Ryan Johnson, to start Dolan Properties Group. That was because he was going back to building “buildings that we own” and “never liked doing the third-party design and construction work” that was done at Drancos.
Dolan Property Group is a business venture started by Dolan with his son, Evan Dolan. Evan Dolan will take over the group, which he has led as president since 2022, according to a press release.
“We are all saddened by the loss of my father,” Evan Dolan said. “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.”
In an interview with Finance & Commerce earlier this month, Kelly Dolan said Dolan Property Group expects to add 700 units in 2023, many of which will be luxury apartments. Projects in progress include his second building at The Reserve at Arbor Lakes in Maple Grove and the triple His Crown Residences at Canterbury in Shakopee.
In the same interview, Kelly Dolan said that the process was underway to hand over the reins to her son and that she was happy with the process.
“He’s done a great job with what he’s been working on so far and I believe the future of the company is bright,” Kelly Dolan said earlier this month.
Prior to founding the Dolan Company in 2007, Dolan also served as president of the Robert Muir Company from 1992 to 2005. In 2006, he launched an unsuccessful DFL gubernatorial bid.
Related:
Dolan sells his last stake in the company and launches a new business
Power 30: Kelly Dolan