Scott Goltz arrived early Monday to work out in the athletic facility at the U.S. Bank Center, one of more than a dozen properties he managed in downtown St. Paul. Goltz, a Realtor recently named president of Madison Equities, reached for his cellphone shortly before 7:45 a.m. and then collapsed. Paramedics were unable to revive him. He was 49 years old.

Madison Equities founder Jim Crockarell said Goltz’s death has blindsided co-workers, tenants and building officials throughout downtown.

“Scott could walk through the skyway and half the people in the skyway would know him,” Crockarell said. “We have a lot of tenants, and they all just loved Scott. He was a hugely charismatic guy. I’ve just been in a stupor.”

In his memory, the company has turned off the iconic “1st” sign atop the First National Bank Building on Minnesota Street, and it will remain unlit through his funeral on Monday.

Goltz was married with two children, said Robert Humphrey, a spokesman for the St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections who had worked with Goltz for years. The department is a decade-long tenant of 375 Jackson St., one of the properties Goltz managed.

“Scott was a great human being, a good guy all the way around,” Humphrey said. “He was responsive to the city’s concerns, the kind of guy you could joke around with.”

He said Goltz enjoyed staying active and adopted a rigorous exercise routine.

Added Dave Brooks, a downtown building owner: “He loved St. Paul. And he worked his butt off on every project. And you know what? He always had a smile on his face.”

Goltz joined Madison Equities in April 2010 and worked his way up the ranks to be named president this year, according to Crockarell and his resume on the professional site LinkedIn.com. He was also the owner of Blue Earth Land Management, a property management and real estate investment company that sells and leases homes throughout the suburban metro.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said Goltz worked closely with the city, particularly Environmental Director Anne Hunt, on sustainable energy initiatives, such as a recent effort to upgrade heating and cooling within the First National Bank Building and relight the red neon 1st sign with LED technology. By the end of the process, Goltz could change the colors on the 1st sign from an app on his phone. “It’s fading blue to white, right?” said Goltz in a phone interview with a Pioneer Press reporter from his Oak Grove home in late January. “We’re celebrating the Winter Carnival!” Related Articles St. Paul council approves mayor’s basic-income project for poor families

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The mayor said that on Monday morning, he attended a session of the city’s Emerging Leaders Academy that was located next door to the U.S. Bank Center’s workout room and saw family members gathered.

Goltz, who attended St. Francis High School in St. Francis, studied at Anoka Ramsey Community College and Mankato State University, where he graduated in 1988 with a bachelor of science in business, management and marketing.

He is survived by his wife, Luana; two children, Kyla Karger and Tristen Goltz; parents, Sidney and Juneal Goltz; and brothers, Randy and Travis Goltz.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. April 10 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, 19001 Jackson St. N.E., in East Bethel. Visitation begins one hour before the service.