NAIOP Colorado

NAIOP joins Xcel Energy, Denver Water to be ResourceSmart

Submitted by Kathie Barstnar, NAIOP Colorado Executive Director

NAIOP-Colorado’s ResourceSmart Colorado initiative is a precedent-setting program bringing together  three leading Colorado organizations in pursuit of a common goal: to make office buildings, warehouses and other commercial real estate in the Denver-metro area more energy and water-efficient.  By joining forces, these three organizations have a unique opportunity to reduce the amount of valuable resources consumed in Colorado’s commercial buildings:

• The Colorado chapter of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is one of the largest and most active chapters in the country with approximately 850 members representing the owners and key decision-makers of the region’s commercial real estate industry.

• Xcel Energy is Colorado’s largest electricity and natural gas utility, serving more than 1.6 million customers. Its business customers in Colorado consume more than 19 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and 414 million therms of natural gas each year.

• Denver Water serves more than 1.3 million customers in the Denver metro area. Its customers use more than 225,000 acre feet of water each year, 20 percent of which is used by the commercial sector.

By coming together, these three groups have the ability to make a real difference in improving the energy and water efficiency of Colorado’s commercial real estate.

Developing Leaders Keep Denver Beautiful

Submitted by Sara Croot, BBVA Compass

On Saturday July 18th, the NAIOP Colorado Developing Leaders (DL) Program participated in the City of Denver’s Keep Denver Beautiful Program, volunteering for graffiti removal and alley clean-up initiatives.

The DL volunteers focused on the south metro Denver neighborhoods and spend the morning hours cleaning graffiti off of public dumpsters and public property. Focus was also on trash removal cleanup in the alleys between 1st and 5th Avenues off of Santa Fe. Approximately 30 dumpsters were re-painted and 8 city blocks of alley ways were cleaned up. Our goal was to help our neighbors in our community to keep our city streets and alley ways clean and safe.  At the end of their efforts on this warm summer day, DL volunteers grabbed a drink at El Noa Noa to cool off.

Thanks to our DL volunteers for their time and efforts! From left, Rob Boydston, Jason Newcomer, Pete Tobin, TJ Johnson, Chad Knoth and  George Sliwiak. Not shown, Joanna Bartnik and Sara Croot. Click Here for more information on the NAIOP Colorado Chapter’s Developing Leader program including upcoming events.  For more information on the City of Denver’s Keep Denver Beautiful Program, please visit their website at www.denvergov.org/KeepDenverBeautiful.

  

NAIOP Colorado Continues Support of 18th Annual Brokers Benefiting Kids

Submitted by Morgan Landers, Brownfield Partners, LLC

Grab your running shoes, sunscreen, hats, and business cards and join fellow NAIOP members for the 18th Annual Brokers Benefiting Kids Field Day. For the past few years, NAIOP, its members and companies have supported Brokers Benefiting Kids and this year is just as important as last. Real estate is not the only suffering group in the economy right now. We know that things will get better and we need to be sure that the children of the Denver Metro area have the means to take positive advantage of that bright future!
 
There are multiple ways you can help!  First and foremost, make a personal donation or ask your company to donate to the cause. Many companies have a long standing commitment to BBK and continue to do so during years of tight budgets. Remember, every little bit helps so go to www.bbkdenver.com and make an online donation. Individuals and companies that donate are recognized in many different ways by BBK and Denver 20/30 so be sure to get your name out there for supporting such an amazing cause!
 
Second, come to the main event on August 22nd, at Inverness Business Park in Englewood. Be a participating member of the NAIOP team and get all the perks! Team participation is FREE and you will receive a t-shirt, free beverages and food, and the opportunity to network with hundreds of fellow real estate professionals while partaking in numerous recreational activities. Please email Morgan Landers at mlanders@brownfieldpartners.net for more information and to register for the NAIOP team.
 
Don't pass up this fun filled day of games, food, and fun!! Join NAIOP in supporting our children!!

Denver Market Forecast

Submitted by Sherman Miller, Cushman & Wakefield

The July 14th breakfast meeting titled, “Mid Year Commercial Forecast”, featured a panel of the 2008 NAIOP Brokers award winners.  The presenters included Mike Winn and Tim Richey of Cushman & Wakefield (Investment), Barry Dorfman of Jones Lang LaSalle (Office), Jim Bolt and Mike Camp of CB Richard Ellis (Industrial), Stew Mosko of Fuller Real Estate (Land), and Jon Weisiger of CB Richard Ellis (Retail). Sherman Miller of Cushman & Wakefield moderated the panel presentation and discussion.
           
The program featured videos clips from each of the presenter’s children and their candid remarks about their individual fathers were funny and poignant at the same time.  Each of the speakers then presented an overview of how their specialty market has been performing.  While the information was generally down due to the market conditions, each speaker provided some hope for recovery.  The general consensus was that Denver will see the market trend upwards in 2011.  This cycle has not featured the over building as in the past and the Denver economy has diversified from prior cycles.

Special recognition goes to Charmaine Rodden of Cushman & Wakefield for her work behind the scenes with the videos.  Click Here to view the featured speakers slide presentations.

Analysis of Audit: Prioritizing & Cost

Submitted by Karen Van Heukelem, LEED AP, Colorado Hardscapes, Inc.

NAIOP’s Green Series is off to a great start. The second installment of the series, on June 17th, was sponsored by Swinerton Builders, the venue provided by Holland and Hart, and breakfast by Taylor Kohrs. With speakers from EMC Engineers, The Governor’s Energy Office, and Swinerton Builders, NAIOP members and guests received an in-depth exploration of retro-fitting an existing building from these different industry perspectives.

To begin, Tom Poeling, Vice President of EMC Engineers, led the discussion on retro-commissioning. With over 17 years of experience in the field of energy conservation and optimizing HVAC systems, Tom not only has the knowledge and experience for turning buildings and systems “green”, he has the passion for it. Per Tom’s presentation, the number one reason for commissioning an existing building is to obtain energy savings. The energy commissioning practice is a process of looking at a buildings system, identify how it was intended to function originally, how it is operating today, and what improvements can be made. Tom Poeling stated, “Existing Building Commissioning is a systematic process for investigating, analyzing, and optimizing the performance of building systems through the identification and implementation of low/no cost and capital intensive Facility Improvement Measures and ensuring their continued performance over time”. The phases that go into this process are planning, investigagtion, implementation, turnover, and persistence. For more information about these processes and the top ten HVAC opportunities, and top five gas opportunities, click here to view a copy of Tom’s presentation.

The next speaker came from the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO). Joel Asrael, the Manager of Commercial Buildings program at GEO, has a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, is a LEED AP, a Certified Energy Manager, and has over 10 years of experience in performance contracting. Joel introduced the group to Governor Ritter’s Climate Action Plan, the High Performance Certification Program, information about the Governor’s Energy Office, and the sources of Colorado’s Federal Stimulus. Some highlights of Govenor Ritter’s Climate Action Plan are a 20% reduction of GHG emissions by 2020 and 80% reduction by 2050 (with 2005 being the baseline). The High Performance Certification Program sets a stage requiring certification with USGBC’s LEED program with a goal of LEED Gold, with leading by example programs in place for government buildings. Colorado’s three sources of funding come from the Weatherization Assistance Program, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, and the State Energy Plan. Joel also briefly touched on GEO’s Main Street program that they hope to have launched this summer. Keep your eyes and ears open for more information about that. To discover more, click here to view a copy of Joel’s presentation. For more resources and information about performance contracting, click here to visit their website.

The event’s final speaker, Clay Strickland has hands-on experience with LEED EB as Swinerton is in the process of certifying their building. Clay presented on the process, advantages, tips and tricks of LEED EB. To reinforce what the Tom stated in his presentation, Clay dove into the LEED for Existing Building O&M. Stressing the importance of having the right team together and training the staff about the green improvements to help maintain the level of sustainability achieved.  Click here to view a copy of Clay’s presentation.

Thanks to these speakers and the sponsors of this event for unveiling the discovery of gold buried in the buildings around town.