Women in Development: Duluth Bus Tour
Tuesday, October 27th, 2026
Last week, leaders at Pope Design Group teamed with APEX and Downtown Duluth to coordinate a two-day event for women in development, real estate, and community-building.
Nichole Klonowski, Director of Market Strategy, and Sara Rapp, Northern Minnesota Market Lead at Pope Design Group helped coordinate the event to highlight current and future development projects happening in Duluth, Minneosta. The goal was to share ideas, strengthen connections, and gather momentum for future opportunities.
Stops included the Duluth Armory, The Kitchi Gammi Club, BlueStone Lofts, and Incline Village, each offering a unique perspective on Duluth’s continued growth and potential.
Beyond the sites themselves, the tour provided an invaluable opportunity to bring together visionaries, problem-solvers, and decision-makers to discuss challenges, exchange ideas, and explore how strategic investment and collaboration can help shape vibrant communities across the region.
“Bringing people from the Twin Cities that are already investing there and are familiar with those initiatives, coming up here, it’s wonderful to be at the kind of start all these initiatives,” said Klonowski. “So it’s a good opportunity, and there’s just something magical that happens when you get women together and they start ideating.”
Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the conversations along the way. Special thanks to Downtown Duluth and APEX for their partnership in making this experience possible.