Dialect is a real estate advisor and master broker for organizations with a national reach.

As our clients' de facto real estate department, we represent their national real estate interests ensuring their varied projects complement the local dialect, while being grounded in the dialect of their organization. We lead real estate strategy, broker engagements, site selection, lease and purchase negotiations, and acquisition due diligence.

Every place has a dialect. Every organization does too.

 

All real estate is local.  The states in our country, the cities in our states, the neighborhoods in our cities, all have their own dialect - a nuance in the way people shop, speak, and conduct business.  

For organizations with multi-market real estate requirements, it's critical to engage experts who intimately know the local dialect.  The dynamics of a place - its history, the communities attitudes and habits, traffic patterns, the current competitive pressures in the market, and the personalities and motivations of property owners - can only be truly understood by locals.  

But organizations have dialects too.  And understanding the culture and rhythm of an organization - specifically how they make decisions - is what distinguishes its best service providers.   

Our Advisors

  • Dan Johnson

    djohnson@dialectRE.com | 612.805.2397

    Since 2004, Dan has represented corporate clients around the country to locate, negotiate, and entitle key real estate holdings. He has led and brokered real estate projects in 47 states and nearly every major metropolitan area and has broad experience across product types including extensive work in industrial, retail, medical, office, mixed-use, and multi-family as well as raw land development.

    Prior to founding Dialect, Dan was a Director with a Minneapolis-based real estate consulting firm for 13 years, where he led or co-led national real estate portfolios for numerous mid-sized organizations. He has represented clients on millions of square feet of lease and purchase requirements.

    A graduate of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Dan is the past chair of the Office and Hotel Development Task Force of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. He is a past board member of the land economics society Lambda Alpha International’s Minnesota Chapter, as well as the Lake Minnetonka park conservancy, Community for the Commons. Dan, his wife Brittney, and their four children live in Excelsior, Minnesota.

  • Mitch Day

    mday@dialectRE.com | 612.719.5402

    An attorney by background, Mitch has extensive experience advising and navigating clients through complex transactional due diligence.

    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, development agreements, public and private equity and debt offerings, and restructurings and advising clients on corporate governance matters.

    Mitch is a board member of the Minnesota Chapter of Folds of Honor and the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Morning Rotary Club. He and his wife Katie live in Excelsior, Minnesota.

  • Bentley Graves

    bgraves@dialectRE.com | 513.377.0029

    With extensive experience in legislative policymaking, lobbying, and government affairs, Bentley supports pre-development efforts related to land use, due diligence, and municipal and governmental affairs for Dialect clients.

    A native Iowan, Bentley made his way to Minnesota by way of Washington, D.C., where he spent nearly eight years working on Capitol Hill for an Iowa congressman. He began his time on the Hill as an intern, before becoming a Legislative Assistant, Legislative Director, and eventually Chief of Staff where he managed all aspects of the Congressional office and served as a liaison between the Congressman, constituents, and state and local government leaders. Bentley’s policy experience includes work on small business concerns, health care, transportation, taxes, and federal appropriations. He later joined the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce to lead Health Care and Transportation policy.

    Bentley graduated cum laude in 2005 from Hillsdale College in Michigan with a degree in Political Economy. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Community for the Commons and Minnesota Community Measurement; as well as a member of the Minnesota Freight Advisory Committee and MnDOT’s Transportation Plans Advisory Committee. Bentley lives in Excelsior with his wife and their four children.

  • Jesse Nelson

    jnelson@dialectRE.com | 952.412.7629

    Jesse supports Dialect clients with broker engagements, market research, site searches, and lease administration. His background as an educator and coach provide unique skillsets to lead projects teams to exceptional results.

    After quarterbacking the Minnetonka Skippers to their first football state championship, Jesse enrolled at Concordia College - Moorhead, where he 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 adaptive bowling at his alma mater, Minnetonka High School, and high school football at Holy Family. He and his wife Sarah live in Excelsior, Minnesota with their three children.

  • Brett Long

    blong@dialectRE.com | 952.237.4415

    For more than 25 years, Brett has steered multibillion-dollar healthcare businesses successfully through major growth, development, and innovation initiatives, much of which included substantial facilities expansion. In his executive roles in strategy and growth, Brett was at the center of innovative projects, such as launching and growing TRIA Orthopedics, expanding Park Nicollet’s ambulatory footprint in the Twin Cities, and helping launch Blaze Health, a joint venture between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota and North Memorial. Facilities projects related to these growth efforts totaled over $200M. A career highlight for Brett was being involved in the planning for the Gonda Building at Mayo Clinic, the largest building project in the clinic’s long history. His deep experience on the client side of complex and large projects brings an invaluable perspective to the Dialect team. Brett also fuels passion and inspiration within the people and organizations he works with. He brings a unique blend of real-world experience and conceptual knowledge and is someone who can move easily between strategy and innovation.

    Brett has an MA in Healthcare Administration from University of Iowa and BA in Accounting and Business Administration from Graceland University. Just as important, Brett started learning about business and hard work at age 12 when he started working at his family's gas station/auto repair shop in northern Ohio. He lives in Excelsior, Minnesota with his wife Megan and children, Noah and Rachel.

What We Do


 

Strategic Real Estate Planning

Lease Tracking & Administration

Local Broker Engagement & Coordination

Site & Building Searches

Market & Financial Analysis

Lease or Purchase Negotiations

Due Diligence Coordination

Acquisition Real Estate Support

What We Don’t Do


 

Represent Landlords or Developers

Replace the Local Broker

List Properties for Sale or Lease

Add Cost

Own or Develop Our Client’s Projects

Share your Confidential Information

Contact us.

Dialect, Inc.

djohnson@dialectRE.com
(612) 805-2397

441 Second Street
Excelsior, MN 55331