CREJ

March 2021 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 85 WORDS: Sean O’Keefe F rom the intersection of today and tomorrow, make no mistake. Denver has arrived. Less than a generation ago, the city’s glistening new down- town epicenter was a lonesome stretch of noth- ing at the far end of the 16th Street Mall – train tracks, trash and trouble hanging out behind Union Station. Nationally, it seemed the city was known for being the cold and snowy gateway to the Rockies, home of the Broncos, and little else. At the western edge of the American heartland, Denver was merely another of many Midwestern flyover cities, an indis- tinctmilepost between coasts. Things have changed. Today, Denver finds itself in the envi- able position of being the highest ground on a rapidly chang- ing landscape as the world redefines the meaning of commu- nity in a global, virtually connected economy. “The world is getting smaller, and Denver is growing,” says Jim Neenan, president and CEO of Prime West Development. Neenan has been a figure in the Front Range development market for nearly 40 years, playing his own small but signifi- cant part in the region’s transformation. “The mantra on the workforce used to be that employees followed the jobs. Now, employers are following the talent. Denver is the beneficiary of that because the quality of life and lifestyle here are excep- tional.” Neenan credits a community of interested, engaged citizens for the region’s success, acknowledging that while the pulse of a place is its people, the backbone of a place is its infrastruc- ture. “Themetrowide economy agreed a long time ago to tax our- selves as an investment in the infrastructure needed to man- age growth sustainably,” says Neenan. “The results are not just roads, bridges, DIA, and light rail, but a highly educated work- force composed of people frommany different industries and all walks of life.” PrimeWest’s recent delivery of a newNorth American head- quarters office complex for Swiss equity fund manager Part- ners Group is an excellent example of Front Range Colorado’s magnetism. Seeking to consolidate several U.S. offices into a single headquarters, a national search for ideal real estate led PartnersGroup to the Interlockenbusiness parkat roughly the midpoint between Denver and Boulder. A talent-rich ecosys- temof the best and the brightest on the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains with multimodal connectivity in every direction and roughly 350 days of incredible weather most years make the area an easy choice to feel good about. “PartnersGroup is a financial services firmthat decided they wanted to create a factorylike campus,” says Neenan, “140,000 Prime West Development Follows its North Star Growth across Front Range Colorado drives top-flight developers to think beyond boundaries LEFT TOP: Partners Group is a financial services firm that decided to create a factorylike campus, with each of the three buildings designed to showcase the tech-forward collaboration and efficiency that distinguish its brand and services LEFT BOTTOM: Designed by Open Studio Architecture and built by Swinerton Builders, Partners Group’s three red-brick buildings are situated to take full advantage of the spectacular views of the Rocky Mountain Front Range.