"The Men From Minnesota"
Two of the most active developers in downtown Wichita are also complete unknowns to many in the local business community. Minnesota developers Dave Lundberg and Michael Elzufon have, for the past four months, been making visits to Wichita every other week, searching for old buildings downtown that they can buy, renovate and make into new office space or condominiums.
Together with partner Steve Cheney, the two men have bought the Commerce Bank Center at 150 N. Main; the Sleep Warehouse Building at 201 S. St. Francis; Exchange Place at 110 N Market; and the Kauffman Building at 206-210 S. Market, and are considering other downtown properties, as well.
The men were first introduced to Wichita when a broker of Lundberg's went to a Society of Exchange Counselors meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., in December2002.
At that meeting, the broker ended up trading a building Lundberg owned in Minnesota for a property Wichita realtor Rod Stewart had for sale at Kellogg and Tyler. Lundberg now owns the property, a strip mall called Kellogg Crossing.
That meeting did more than introduce Lundberg and Elzufon to Wichita. It established a relationship with Stewart and other local brokers and Realtors that made the Minnesota-based developers take notice of opportunities in Wichita.
Wichita, in turn is taking notice of them, Stewart says.
"I think they’re helping to give people faith in downtown," he says. "There are a lot of people who have interest in what they're doing. They work hard and are straight shooters."
Starting Over Again
At 57, Lundberg is the older of the two partners. Married for 36 years, he has three adult children. He is a native of Minneapolis.
Lundberg worked for 10 years in the car business before buying his own dealership in 1980. A year later, after interest rates skyrocketed to an average of 22 percent, Lundberg found himself about $500,000 in debt.
He figured the job that would result in the biggest commission was commercial real estate, so he sold the dealership and got into the real estate business, eventually earning enough money to sell apartment buildings.
He eventually worked his way out of debt, but on Dec. 31, 1986, the tax laws changed and Lundberg once again found himself broke.
Luckily, he says, he still had people who believed in him and they gave him seed money to start over again.
Now, through is company, Wood Hill management - which owns residential buildings, assisted-living facilities and a hotel - Lundberg employs about 200 people.
He also owns buildings in several other states.
He may have entered the real estate market out of desperation, but Lundberg ended up finding a career he loves.
"I enjoy the development - starting something from scratch and making it new or taking something old and fixing it up and watching it grow,” he says.
The thing he's most proud of in his career, he says, is making it through those tough financial times without having to file bankruptcy.
Creating Environments
Elzufon and Lundberg met about seven years ago when Elzufon rented space for his carpet business in a building Lundberg owned.
Elzufon, 35, is from Rochester, N.Y., and moved to Minnesota when he was in high school.
While in high school, he stripped floors at stores. At 18 years old, he and a friend started a business cleaning carpets. From there, he graduated to selling and installing carpet and eventually began working in interior design. By 1998 he was remodeling and renovating hundreds of apartment units a year.
Elzufon, who is married and has a 9-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter, now owns three Minnesota businesses: Renovation Systems, Real Development, and Serenity Village.
Elzufon, a highly social person who says he thrives on taking risks, says he enjoys every aspect of what he does.
"It gives me an ability to create environments where people feel comfortable, content and happy,” he says. "I see Wichita as a place that has an absolutely incredible wealth of wonderful people. I don't mind being the guy to break the doors down and carve the wave."
In some ways, Lundberg and Elzufon play differing roles.
The elder Lundberg is more placid, described by Elzufon as the one with the vision and ideas.
Elzufon, who takes Lundberg's ideas and finds a way to make them happen, is always on the go, moving as fast as he talks
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