BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (December 23, 2013). FirstService Residential Minnesota, the leading Community Association Management firm in the greater Twin Cities metro area, has made a commitment to give $25,000 annually through the FirstService Residential Fund for Community Excellence in memory of Mel Gittleman, company founder. To implement and manage the grant, the company is working with the Minneapolis Foundation to award organizations where distributed funds will make a genuine difference in the communities where the company manages their client homeowner associations. To date, the company has established giving opportunities with the following Twin Cities-based environmental, housing, and cultural organizations:
 
·         Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
·         The Loft Literary Center
·         Three Rivers Park District
·         Midtown Greenway Coalition
·         Friends of Loring Park
·         Capital River Council – District 17
·         Friends of Mears Park
 
“Throughout 2014 FirstService Residential Minnesota looks forward to cultivating deeper relationships with these organizations and the communities they serve. In addition to financial giving, we are working to have a positive impact in the communities of which we are a part by giving back through volunteering, including organizing our inaugural FirstService Residential build day with Habitat for Humanity,” said Mark Gittleman, company President and son of Mel Gittleman.
 
Mel Gittleman was a leading developer of condominium associations in the Twin Cities and made numerous contributions to Community Association living throughout his career. Loring Green East and Loring Green West in downtown Minneapolis are just two of the dozen plus landmark condominium properties he developed in the 1970s. In 2012 Gittleman received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Community Associations Institute Minnesota for his dedication and commitment to the communities he served.
 
FirstService Residential, previously known in Minnesota as Gittleman Management Corporation, is a subsidiary of FirstService Corporation, a global leader in the rapidly growing real estate services sector, one of the largest markets in the world.  As a leading property management company in North America, FirstService Residential oversees more than 6,500 residential and commercial associations including 1.5 million residential units and over 50 million square feet of commercial space across 21 U.S. states and three provinces in Canada. The company has more than 12,000 employees driving local market expertise and manages in excess of $6 billion in annual budgets. For more information, visit www.fsresidential.com.
 
Dec 23, 2013