Freitag, whose Wilcon business is based in St. James, has increasingly expanded into the Mankato market as he and his wife, Kirsten, have been joined in the business by their sons David, Andy and Nick. The company now has an office here.

Nick said Mankato is still a good market because its diversified economy has been more protected through the recession and he thinks the future is strong.

“We have a lot of seniors coming in from area towns. They are coming to retire here because there’s more to do,” Nick said. “There’s going to be a strong market for condos and townhomes, I think.”

Bill Freitag said the commercial and single-home construction is perking up, but there has been virtually no multi-family projects in the area. “There was some thought that as foreclosures picked up people would fill up apartments, but it didn’t happen. I think a lot of them just live with family.”