CREJ - Journal

Page 14B —

COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL

— July 1-July 14, 2015

TRAI LBLAZER

by Jennifer Hayes

Editor, Colorado Real

Estate Journal

Celeste Tanner never imag-

ined a career in commercial

real estate, let alone being rec-

ognized by NAIOP Colorado

for her impact on the industry.

Yet this year’s winner of

NAIOP Colorado’s Trailblazer

Award can’t fathom not being

part of Denver’s real estate

community for years to come.

“I was an English major, I had

no idea what commercial real

estate was,” recalled Tanner,

co-founder and vice president

of Confluent Development,

who, on the suggestion of a

headhunter, took an entry-level

assistant position with The

Opus Group.

“I thought I would be there

until I found a ‘real job,’” laughed

Tanner. “Instead, I ended up

really loving the industry. I found

a language in business.”

And it was a language she

quickly excelled at – since 2003

she has built an experience

base of more than 2.5 mil-

lion square feet of ground-up

development across all product

types, working with Opus and

McWhinney before co-found-

ing Confluent Development

with Marshall Burton in April

2014.

Since Confluent’s formation,

she has played a key role in

securing nearly $120 million

in development volume with

projects such as The Lab at

17th and Platte streets, Village

Center at DTC and Dove Valley

Commerce Center as well as

the recent merging with MVG

Development Inc.

“It was a big leap of faith

we took when we started

Confluent, but we received a

warm reception, not to men-

tion a lot of opportunities,”

said Tanner, noting the oppor-

tunities presented to the firm

meant grow-

ing the new

business.

“The oppor-

tunity to

merge with

MVG gave

us instant

growth,

diversity and

synergy. We

now have

$450 mil-

lion in work today. It’s hard

to believe I came from a rural

farm in Louisiana to where I

am today.”

Half-serious, half-joking,

Tanner said her whole career

is “taking on much more than

I can handle.” But she insists

it’s the only way she knows how

to do her job, which has been

aided by NAIOP Colorado.

Tanner had attended month-

ly NAIOP meetings, but it was

only when Burton, while they

were working at Opus, was

named president of NAIOP

Colorado that she became an

active part of the organization.

“It was then I saw what a

great organization it was,

what great opportunities it

offered,” said Tanner, who has

been a part of the Programs

Committee, Developing

Leaders, Rocky Mountain Real

Estate Challenge and chapter

leadership.

“NAIOP is a very relevant

organization,” she continued.

“It’s an organization where you

don’t just sit around but one

which is informative, timely

and engaging. The tagline of

‘where deals get done’ is true.”

Although, she might add

subterfuge to NAIOP’s tagline

after this year’s awards.

Consistently a part of the

awards program and script

writing team, Tanner’s nomina-

tion for the Trailblazer Award,

which recognizes and honors

NAIOP members who are 35

and under and have made

a significant impact on the

industry, was noticeably pulled

out of the script.

“At first I thought it meant

I won the award, but then it

was so uncomfortable during

the script writing, I was sure I

didn’t get it. So at the awards,

when my name was called,

I was really shocked,” said

Tanner.

“It’s a huge honor for some-

one who had no background,

no education in this industry

to receive this award. I am

so grateful to work with such

great people. It is humbling to

receive this award and I take

to heart what it means to be a

trailblazer.”

In addition to NAIOP

Colorado, Tanner, 35, also

is active with the Women’s

Foundation of Colorado,

spending time with her hus-

band and two sons, 15 and 5,

and gardening and hiking.

Tanner takes to heart what it means to be a ‘trailblazer’

Celeste Tanner

by Jill Jamieson-Nichols

Editor, Colorado Real

Estate Journal

NAIOP Colorado is a ben-

eficiary of Wade Warthen’s

determination to get out from

behind his desk and into the

community.

“It’s so easy as an attorney to

focus on the files that are on

your desk,” said Warthen, who

joined the chapter as a way to

network and learn about the

local commercial real estate

industry.

Nearly a decade later, Warthen

says he relies on NAIOP activi-

ties to keep abreast of new proj-

ects, companies that are moving

to town and industry trends. He

is less vocal about all he’s given

back.

Warthen, who attends virtually

every chapter event, champi-

oned the NAIOP Colorado’s

legislative efforts related to the

retainage/prompt pay issue, and

for the past five years as part of

the Membership Committee,

he has helped NAIOP Colorado

maintain its position as one of

the largest NAIOP chapters in

the country.

Attending the NAIOP

Colorado awards in February,

Warthen never expected to

be called to the podium to be

honored as 2014 Member of the

Year.

“I was very surprised,” he said.

“I think it’s a great organization.

I’ve made a lot of friends and

learned a lot about the Colorado

real estate community at NAIOP.

To be named Member of the

Year is beyond my wildest expec-

tations,” he said.

An Illinois native who earned

his law degree at the University

of Illinois, Warthen moved to

Colorado in 2000, after spend-

ing three years doing oil and gas

litigation at Koch Industries Inc.

“My wife and

I were talk-

ing, and we

said, ‘If we’re

going to move

somewhere,

let’s move to

Colorado,

where we like

to visit.’ And

we made it

happen,” said

Warthen, who

at Koch was

part of an in-

house team that defended what

at the time was the largest Clean

Water Act case ever filed by the

U.S. Department of Justice.

Coming to Denver, Warthen

served as in-house counsel for a

local real estate investment trust,

and as his career progressed,

he began focusing more and