Minnesota Icons 2025: Steve Wellington, Wellington Management, Inc.
Steve Wellington, chief executive officer of Wellington Management, Inc., has shaped the Twin Cities’ commercial and residential landscape for nearly four decades. Since founding WMI in 1984, he has built one of the region’s most respected real estate development and management firms.
Wellington’s path to real estate leadership began in public service. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Yale University in 1971, he pursued graduate studies at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, receiving his master’s degree in 1976. He then joined the City of St. Paul, serving as an aide to Mayor George Latimer before advancing to deputy director for the city’s Department of Planning and Economic Development.
As a leading St. Paul development official between 1976 and 1984, Wellington directed major redevelopment initiatives including District Energy, Lowertown redevelopment and the establishment of the Family Housing Fund. This foundation in city planning informed his subsequent transition to private sector development.
In 1984, Wellington completed a master’s degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business through a Bush Foundation Fellowship and launched WMI. Over 37 years, the company has developed or acquired more than 100 commercial and residential buildings across the Twin Cities. Wellington Management has grown into the region’s 10th largest property management company, maintaining a [five]-million-square-foot portfolio valued at more than [$1 billion]. The company provides space to over 600 retail, office and industrial tenants.
WMI developed approximately half its portfolio, beginning with small commercial projects near the company’s St. Paul headquarters. The firm achieved a construction milestone in 2021 with a record $120 million in total projects. Strategic acquisitions throughout the Twin Cities comprise the balance of the portfolio. The company has also developed [eight residential apartments] projects totaling [1,153] units.
Wellington’s civic engagement extends beyond real estate. He served on the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council from 1993 to 1999 by gubernatorial appointment and held board positions at Regions Hospital from 2003 to 2012, including board chair. He founded Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative in 1999, a nonprofit that has completed over 400 affordable housing units. He currently chairs the board of Drake Bank and serves on the Regions Hospital Foundation.
