in 1874, menage returned to minneapolis and entered the real estate business with partner h. c. brackett. menage gradually built an empire by purchasing farmland at the fringes of the city, platting and developing the property into residential neighborhoods, then financing the mortgages for people to purchase the homes. he also worked with thomas lowry, head of the city's streetcar system, to ensure that new lines were built to serve the outlying areas he was developing. much of the present day prospect park neighborhood, and the areas surrounding lake harriet and lake calhoun, were developed by menage and his companies.