The Resop Brothers, Paul and James, started the Resop Real Estate Empire in 1952. The brothers were from Wisconsin and came to the Park in 1942.
On April 1, 1957, they sold the real estate office to realtor Ken Born, himself just 30. Born retained the offices at 4950 Excelsior Blvd., and in 1961 Born and Milton E. Brecke were listed as owners. Born operated the agency for over 20 years, much longer than the Resops. Born died in November 2004.
Ken Born’s daughter tells us:
My dad helped countless people find, not just houses, but their homes in St. Louis Park. If you wanted to find a home in St. Louis Park, you called Ken Born. Dad, who didn’t even graduate from high school, was a marketing genius and knew the power of relationships. Major corporations such as General Mills and Northwestern Bell would call him to help their transplanted executives find their homes in the Twin Cities. And the SLP school district also tapped into Dad’s ability to put people at ease and help them find a home in St. Louis Park. To this day, I still meet people who tell me that my dad helped them find their homes.
In 1962, the company was listed at 6032 W. 37th Street. At one time it was located at 3810 Princeton, and in 1972 it was at 3601 Park Center Blvd.
When the Resops sold the agency in 1957, they started up their Industrial Brokerage Firm, Resop Securities, at 4221 Excelsior.
