NAIOP Colorado

Volunteers Brave the Elements at Gates Camp

Submitted by Mark Cheeks, Ware Malcomb

Saturday, May 30, 2009 was NAIOP’s twelfth annual Spring Work Day at the Boys and Girls Clubs Gates Camp.  It was a great day, despite heavy rain showers in the mountains.  The volunteers met at the Broomfield Park and Ride for a light breakfast and car pooled up to the camp.  About ten of the camp counselors volunteered their time as well.  Tyler Edmonson is the camp’s director and is always eager to have us come up because we are the final push needed to get the camp ready for the campers coming this summer.

We did prep work to get the camp ready for opening the following week, so the Boys and Girls Clubs really count on us to lend some elbow grease to the projects.  There are always a variety of jobs to choose from, this year there were things such as, putting up the large outdoor tents, staining the barn, setting up the archery targets and area, lining trails with cut posts and constructing a stepping post course.

DL Mentor Program Thrives in Tough Economy

Submitted by Doris Rigoni, Mentor Program Chair and Assistant Vice President, Chicago Title

Unlike the economy, the NAIOP Colorado Developing Leader (DL) Mentoring Program is thriving in the beginning of its third year.  From its inception in 2007, the Mentoring program has seen an increase in applicants each year and more involvement from industry mentors. 

The DL Mentoring Program was designed to match the Developing Leaders members, those individuals 35 years of age and under, with more experienced real estate professionals who have been in the industry for ten plus years.  To date, the program has had over 75 Mentee participants and demand continues to grow each year.  Applicants are selected through an application and interview process.  The Mentor/Mentee match is then made by understanding applicants goals and by specific Mentor requests through a selection committee.   Below are some testimonials from previous year participants:

“I was part of the 2007-2008 Mentoring Program.  In addition to obtaining very beneficial career advice and gaining a friendship, my mentorship had an unanticipated immediate positive impact on my career; it directly led to a job “opportunity” – Dan Metzger, Divided Capital Trust, 2007 Participant

“The mentor program offers young professionals a unique and valuable opportunity to network and develop a relationship with a leader in the commercial real estate industry.  I have found the program to be very beneficial with career goals, market intel, specific deal issues, and developing a trusting relationship that I can rely on in the future.  Additionally, the mentor program has provided me with the opportunity to meet not only with my mentor but other leaders in the commercial real estate industry” – Ben Kuruvila, U.S. Bank, 2007/2008 Participant

“The mentor program has been extremely beneficial for me, and applying to the program was one of the best decisions I made as a Developing Leader in NAIOP.  The program allowed me the opportunity to have access to an industry professional who has been instrumental in offering advice and perspective on my specific niche in the real estate industry. Our industry leaders volunteer their time and energy to committing to helping someone in the early stages of their career. That is a huge commitment on the part of the mentors and NAIOP and I encourage other DL members to take advantage of the opportunity” – Sara Croot, Compass Bank, 2008 Participant

“The NAIOP mentoring program is something all Developing Leaders should strongly consider.  It allows you to tap into industry leaders who have experienced all facets of the commercial real estate industry on a more personal level.  The one-on-one relationship allows for a stronger understanding and a platform to ask any type of question; from career advice to specific transaction knowledge to helping facilitate new introductions.  It is a great program that proves to get better every year” – Doris Rigoni, Chicago Title of Colorado, 2007 Participant

Mentor and Mentee Applications are now being accepted for the 2009-2010 DL Mentor Program.  Deadline for applications is June 12th.  For more information, please visit the Developing Leaders page of the NAIOP Colorado website at www.naiop-colorado.org.

 

Developing Leaders Tour 1800 Larimer

Submitted by Brad Sicard, AECOM

On Thursday, May 14, the Developing Leaders (DL) Group held their second annual DL Project Tour. This year’s tour was held at Westfield Company’s 1800 Larimer in downtown Denver. When completed, 1800 Larimer will be Denver’s first LEED Platinum office tower. Attendees were provided with safety equipment courtesy of Construction building services, Kiewit Building Group, Pinkard Construction Company, and Mortenson Construction. Participants were given a safety briefing and split into four groups. Each group toured the project site with members of the design and construction team including RNL Design, SRI, and Mortenson Construction. The tour focused on the unique challenges faced by the design and construction team as a result of the building location, complex design, and LEED accreditation requirements as well as the innovative solutions that the team used to overcome those challenges. The developing leaders were enthusiastic to learn about the design-build process and asked many questions of the project team. Touring the project site at such an early stage in construction was a rare opportunity for the DL members. The project team worked very hard to allow the DL members to access the structure without interrupting the construction schedule.

NAIOP 12th Annual Boys & Girls Club’s Spring Work Day

Submitted by Mark Cheeks, Ware Malcomb

Each year, the Colorado Chapter of NAIOP supports the Boys and Girls Clubs of Denver by spending a day prepping the Gates Camp.  Gates Camp is a beautiful 80-acre camp in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area that was developed for and continues to provide a wilderness experience for inner-city children for a minimal fee.

Saturday, May 30, 2009 will be the twelfth annual Spring Work Day for NAIOP.  It will be a great day.  The volunteers meet at the Broomfield Park and Ride for a light breakfast and we will car pool up to the camp.  About ten of the camp counselors volunteer their time as well.  Tyler Edmonson is the camp’s director and is eager to have us come up because we are the final push needed to get the camp ready for the campers coming this summer.

We do all the prep work to get the camp ready for opening the following week, so the Boys and Girls Clubs really count on us to lend some elbow grease to the projects.  There are always a variety of jobs to choose from, last years there were things such as cleaning up the cabins, putting up the large outdoor tents, clearing out cut or fallen branches, digging post holes and setting posts, and staining a cabin.

The camp depends on this group of volunteers each year.  The one day of work that the volunteers give the camp is like having 15 people spend a 40-hour week on the multiple projects.  While the work is the primary focus, other added bonuses are: networking in an unconventional setting up in the mountains, enjoying a beautiful day, the drive back and forth is a beautiful ride and the food and the drinks taste that much better after a hard day’s work.

This year we will have the abbreviated version of the day again; leaving at 7:30 and returning to Denver by 2:30.  The more hands we have there are the more we can get done for them.  It will be a rewarding day as usual and it just makes you feel good to know you are helping to make the experience better for the 600 campers that will stay there throughout the summer.  We look forward to seeing all the volunteers this year.  As the camp cheer goes: Heepwah!

For more information or to register, click here http://www.naiop-colorado.org/pdfs/ev09_workday.pdf.

 

Developing Leaders’ 2nd Annual Dinner With The Icons Lifts Spirits

Submitted by T.J. Johnson, Fuller and Company

On February 25th, the Developing Leaders held their hugely successful “Dinner with the Icons” event at The Magnolia Ballroom for the second consecutive year.  Icons from the development, brokerage, legislative, banking, legal and architectural communities were on hand to share insight and offer guidance to over 80 attendees that came out for the event.  The event was offered almost exclusively to Developing Leader membership and then opened to the broader NAIOP Colorado community and included a three course dinner, cocktails and access to some of brightest industry minds in a round table format.

Mindy Humphrey, who chaired this year’s event, remarked that the great turnout in spite of the turbulent economy was a testament to the quality of Icon panelists this year and the past success of the event.  Jason Newcomer, 2009 co-chair of the Developing Leaders committee, was master of ceremonies and helped orchestrate as tables of 6-8 recipients spent time posing questions to each Icon.  After 15-20 minutes,  each Icon would move on to another table in succession to face a new set of questions and concerns about ways to navigate through these uncertain times.

If you are interested in Developing Leader involvement or have questions about our program, please contact Jason Newcomer at Jason@urbanvillages.com or Sara Croot at Sara.Croot@compassbank.com.

NAIOP Colorado takes university pilot program to DU

Submitted by Jill Jamieson-Nichols, Colorado Real Estate Journal

After launching its Careers in Commercial Real Estate pilot program in November, NAIOP Colorado took the program to the University of Denver the afternoon of Jan. 21.

NAIOP Colorado teamed up with the University of Denver Real Estate and Construction Management Club to present the program to 23 DU students, offering roundtable discussions on commercial real estate development, architecture, ownership, brokerage, finance and entitlement/due diligence.

Most student participants who responded to a survey about the event said it helped them decide in which area to focus their career, and all said they would recommend it to other students.

Questions revolved around the instability of the credit market and career searches.  One industry professional urged DU students to “network like crazy” and focus more on getting started in the industry than on a specific role. 

MacKenzie House served as the development partner for the event, providing insight into the process of developing its Asbury Green student housing project, including hurdles that had to be overcome – like removal of 12 inches of soil from the site. The 171-unit, 350-bed LEED Silver development is under construction near the campus at East Asbury Avenue and Josephine Street.

The Careers in Commercial Real Estate program is part of a NAIOP Colorado effort to reach out to Colorado university students as they look forward to beginning careers in commercial real estate. The program provides students with the opportunity to explore the commercial real estate industry through interactive dialog. The roundtable discussions are led by veteran commercial real estate professionals and members of the Developing Leaders program.

Helping make the DU program a success were: Pete Tobin, Charlie Davis, Frank Kelley, T.J. Johnson, Todd Grover, Sara Croot, Greg Kelly, J.D. Praeger, Patty Gage and Tim Yeager.

Check out the Student Participants’ Resumes:  Click Here

Chapter Launches University Outreach Program

Submitted by Jill Jamieson-Nichols, Colorado Real Estate Journal

University of Colorado real estate students got an inside look into the commercial real estate industry as NAIOP Colorado launched a University Outreach Pilot Program in Boulder Nov. 12.

Thirty-eight University of Colorado graduate and undergraduate students sat down with veteran commercial real estate professionals and Developing Leaders in roundtable discussions focusing on ownership, development, brokerage, finance and entitlement/due diligence.  The W.W. Reynolds Company sponsored the program at its Colorado Building, providing students with a glimpse of the company’s plans for a future mixed-use redevelopment of the downtown Boulder site. 

The event kicked off expanded chapter efforts to reach out to real estate students throughout Colorado.  Bridgette Waldron of NAIOP National selected the Colorado chapter to pilot a program because of its record of engaging young industry professionals.  Results of a student survey will be used to refine the program and roll it out to other universities in Colorado and, perhaps, nationally in 2009. 

Special thanks go the presenters for getting the program off to a successful start. They are: Rick Woodruff, Jason Newcomer, Charlie Davis, Jake Hawkins, Todd Wheeler, T.J. Johnson, Todd Grover, Eddie Watters, Greg Kelly and Chris Becze. 

Check out the Student Participants’ Resumes:  Click Here. 

DL’s Strike a Networking Success

Submitted by:  Sara Croot, Compass Bank

On Tuesday November 19th, the NAIOP Colorado Developing Leaders held their year-end Cocktails and Conversation event at the Lucky Strike in Belmar. With over 50 attendees, the evening kicked off with food, drinks and networking and evolved into a spirited night of competition as the DL’s dusted off their bowling shoes and hit the lanes. 
 
The event was open to all NAIOP members as well as non-members. It was an opportunity for DL’s to connect with their peers as well as those participating in the Mentorship program to connect with their mentors. The University contingent was well represented with many student members in attendance looking to connect with other industry professionals.

These are tough times for the Commercial Real Estate Industry and the year-end Cocktails and Conversations event was an opportunity to pay a significantly reduced registration fee to participate in the event. The NAIOP Developing Leaders program is open to any NAIOP member 35 years of age and under and the Colorado chapter’s inaugural year is coming to a close.  2009 will be full of opportunities to participate in educational events, an educational project tour and many additional networking and community development events.

The Cocktails and Conversation events will resume on a quarterly basis in 2009. Additional details will soon be available on the website with location and dates.

If you are interested in Developing Leader involvement or have questions about our program, please contact Jason Newcomer at Jason@urbanvillages.com or Sara Croot at Sara.Croot@compassbank.com.

To view additional pictures, please click on the link below:

Negotiation Seminar is a Hit with DLs

Submitted by Edmond Watters, Johnson Capital

On October 28, 2008 NAIOP’s Developing Leaders Group held its first annual Educational Event, a seminar on “How to be a Better Negotiator”.  The event took place at the Oxford Theater in the historic Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver.  There were more than 50 attendees for the four hour conference, which included a continental breakfast and refreshments throughout.   

The seminar was directed by Barry Elms, president of Strategic Negotiations International out of Boston, Massachusetts.  Mr. Elms is acclaimed by many as America’s business coach on negotiation skills.  He has been speaking for more than 20 years, and has given over 2,000 presentations worldwide.  His extensive client list includes General Motors, Ford Motor Credit, American Express, Verizon, Dell Computers, Shell Oil, and the Federal Reserve.

DL's Celebrate Mentoring Program

Submitted by: 

Edmond Watters, Johnson Capital

The second annual NAIOP Developing Leader Mentoring Program is now in full swing.  The commencement of the Innagural Class of 2007–2008 and the kickoff of the 2008–2009 program was held on Thursday, August 21^st.  After a very successful first year, applications for the second year doubled and NAIOP has every reason to believe the program will flourish going forward.

The event was held on the fifth floor veranda of Herman Miller, at

1899 Wynkoop Street

.  The space affords great views of downtown, including Coors field only a block away.  There was excellent attendance from both first and second year participants in the Program.  It is refreshing to see a mix of seasoned real estate professionals and Developing Leaders conversing at a real estate event.  While there is no doubt the mentors will be able to help the mentees in countless ways, it is the committees’ hope and expectation that the mentees will also be able to add value to the relationship, and NAIOP as a whole.