About Us

Sentinel Management Company was founded in 1972 by the Bernardi family and has a history of development and management of commercial real estate, particularly in the multifamily sector. In its early days, Sentinel developed about 300 acres of office, industrial, and single-family neighborhoods in the Bloomington and Edina area around the intersection of highways 494 and 100, including the construction of the former Radisson South building (currently the Doubletree Hotel). It also owned and managed a portfolio of 5,000 multifamily residential units throughout the Twin Cities, which has been its core business throughout much of its history. Over the years, Sentinel also acquired large tracts of undeveloped land (such as 3,000+ acres in Chaska) to hold for future projects.

By the early 1990’s, Sentinel began to diversify away from multifamily and developed various retail shopping centers through its sister company, Aurora Investments, including a 145,000+ square foot center in Chaska and a 122,000+ square foot one in Burnsville. It entered the office market and acquired stakes in various buildings throughout the Twin Cities and across the country, such as the World Trade Center in St. Paul, LaSalle Plaza, and Fifth Street Towers.

By the 2000’s, Sentinel and its related businesses, including Aurora, continued to divest itself of older multifamily assets and diversify further into the hospital and medical office market. It developed the 172,000 square-foot, state-of the-art Two Twelve Medical Center in Chaska, which includes an ambulatory surgery center that services the surrounding area and is master leased to Ridgeview Medical. It also developed the 245,000 square-foot Aurora on France assisted-living and senior care center that is attached by skyway to Fairview Southdale Hospital. Other acquisitions during this time period included the 100,000+ square foot Centennial Lakes Office Plaza in Edina and two Advocate-Aurora Healthcare properties totaling over 92,000 square feet in Germantown, WI. Sentinel currently holds over 1 million square feet of non-residential commercial real estate.

In recent years, given the strong fundamentals of the industry and its expertise in the area, Sentinel has returned to the multifamily industry as a growth sector for its business. Along with its related businesses like Aurora and Arcadia, it has developed new projects with various partners, such as Vélo Apartments in the North Loop, The Abbey Apartments in Loring Park, and the Eleven condo tower in the Gold Medal Park neighborhood of Downtown Minneapolis.

In the year 2022, Sentinel brought three new properties to the market with a total of nearly 400 units. The Ballantrae Apartments phase II project added 110 Class A apartments and additional amenities to an existing property that Sentinel has successfully owned and operated since the 1970s in Eagan, MN. The Abbey project brought 124 new apartment units and a rehabilitation of a historical mansion to the Loring Park neighborhood of Minneapolis. The mansion includes unique amenities and brings a charming blend of new and old to the project. These two properties were stabilized at 95% leased within 3-4 of months of opening.

The third and most recent project in 2022 is the Nico phase II project, which opened in August and added 129 additional units directly across the street from Sentinel’s successful 2020 Nico development. The properties will be operated together as part of a broader re-imagination of the Nicollet Ave corridor.