Page 12B —
COLORADO REAL ESTATE JOURNAL
— December 16, 2015-January 5, 2016
V. Michael Komppa
President
Corum Real Estate Group Inc.
Peter A. Kudla
CEO
Metropolitan Homes Inc.
Walter A. “Buz” Koelbel Jr.
President
Koelbel & Co.
Walter Koelbel
Years in the industry:
35
Birthplace:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Education:
Bachelor of Science in engineering and
Master of Science in real estate investment analysis,
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Professional affiliations/charities:
Urban Land
Institute; NAIOP; University of Colorado Real Estate Center,
current board chair and board of governors member;
Wisconsin Real Estate Alumni Association.
What advice would you give someone starting
in commercial real estate today?
Maintain a good
reputation and a strong network of business associates and friends.
What professional accomplishment or achievement are you most proud of and why?
Keeping a real estate organization alive and prosperous through the ups and downs of the last 30 years
What changes do you foresee for Colorado real estate in the next 10 years?
Continued
growth with the population influx will mean long-term growth for the real estate industry, barring any
major economic or political crises.
What was your first job?
Paper route in Milwaukee
What projects are you currently working on or planning?
Central 62 Distribution Center,
a 125,000-square-foot warehouse development in the central Denver market; recapitalizing and
renovating Cherry Creek Plaza, a 315,000-sf office complex in Glendale; development management of
a new 180,000-sf building in the Denver Tech Center; and early predevelopment on a mixed-use site
in Lower Downtown Denver.
What are your rules to live by in business?
Maintain a strong reputation and remember it’s a
big round world we live in – what goes around, comes around.
Who is the person you most admire?
Professor James A.Graaskamp, who started the Real
Estate Program at the University of Wisconsin.
Family:
Married to Gloria for 37 years; two sons, Ryan, 35, and Eric, 33
Hobbies/interests:
Golf, squash, snowboarding and travel
Favorite book or TV show:
“Winds of War” by Herman Wouk
Years in the industry:
Real estate development – 37
Birthplace:
Amsterdam, New York
Education:
Bachelor of Science and Master of Science,
State University of New York
Professional affiliations/charities:
Affiliations –
Colorado real estate broker and certified property manager;
charities – Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver Youth
Orchestra, Jewish Community Center, Shalom Park, Jewish
Day School and others.
What advice would you give someone starting in
commercial real estate today?
• Identify your Top 3 choices of commercial real estate.
Study the Top 5 most successful individuals and companies performing these efforts.
• Create an “Ingredients to Success” checklist to identify similarities and differences between the identified
subjects. Visit many quality, well-recognized projects frequently and identify attributes.
What professional accomplishment or achievement are you most proud of and why?
The development of people, relationships and reputation over the years. Mentorship is the greatest
accomplishment. Also, Vallagio Tenant Orientated Development (dating back to 2005)
What changes do you foresee for Colorado real estate in the next 10 years?
The greater
emphasis of sustainability and livability of both business and community environments
What was your first job?
Painting houses on a 30-foot extension ladder when I was 16. Money was
great and the risk was high. First job after grad school was as housing director at Boston University.
What projects are you currently working on or planning?
Two residential high-density projects
at Vallagio; rezoning and developing of former synagogue and church at Crestmoor Park; developing a
new mixed-use office/apartment project in Denver; and others.
What are your rules to live by in business?
Know one’s strengths and weaknesses. Do not
overrepresent capacity. Tell the truth always.Work and focus diligently. Give back energy and capital to the
community.
Who is the person you most admire?
Robert E. Loup, philanthropist, businessman and, most of all,
great soul.
Family:
One daughter, Danielle, an attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s office inWashington, D.C.
Hobbies/interests:
Contemporary art, cycling, cooking, yoga, travel
Favorite book or TV show:
Book – “Iilluminata” by MarianneWilliamson; TV – ESPN
Years in the industry:
39
Birthplace:
Denver
Education:
University of Colorado, 1974, B.S., business
finance
Professional affiliations/charities:
• Denver Museum of Nature and Science board and executive
committee member
• Urban Land Institute – 37-year member, joining in 1978;
four three-year terms as trustee; inaugural year chair of
Colorado ULI District Council in 1998; chaired international
conference in Denver in 1998 & 2006
• University of Colorado Real Estate Center, along with father,
Walt Koelbel, a founding member
• Joint Southeast Public Improvement Association – original founding member in 1981 and served
several terms as chair
• Southeast Business Partnership founding member in 1998 and inaugural chair, 1998-2001. As Chair
of SEBP, served as co-chair of finance committee that raised $1.6 million for the successful 1999 dual
ballot issues that paved the way for the T-REX project.
• Southeast Corridor Mobility Coalition – co-chaired with Joyce Foster in 1995-2000. Public-private
partnership that lobbied the state congressional delegation, as well as key committee members, FHWA
and FTA for the project.
• Southeast Public Metropolitan Improvement District founding member in 2004, currently serving as
chair
• Denver South Economic Development Partnership founding member and current vice chair of the
reconstituted organization
What advice would you give someone starting in commercial real estate today?
It is truly
one of the most rewarding and exciting businesses you can be in. It does, however, require tenacity,
perseverance, patience and a vision for the future. If you enjoy participating in the continually changing
face and fabric of our community, then real estate very well may be for you.
What professional accomplishment or achievement are you most proud of and why?
With a 63-year-old company and being involved for 39 years, it is very difficult to isolate any singular
project or achievement. For me, it is a collection of long-term rewarding involvements that are a small
manifestation representing the exciting evolution of the Denver metro area. These would include helping
complete envisioning, planning and executing the Preserve at Greenwood Village, one of the largest
custom-home communities in the region; the 30-year involvement in acquisition and development of
The Breakers, one of the largest apartment communities in
the Denver metro area; helping my father complete his vision
that started in 1955 of Pinehurst Country Club, one of the first
master-planned golf course communities in the western United
States; and 30 years of involvement working on transportation
solutions on the southeast I-25 corridor with many hundreds
of people, culminating in voter approval and construction of the
T-REX multimodal highway and light-rail transit project.
What changes do you foresee for Colorado real
estate in the next 10 years?
We are involved and already
experiencing the exciting resurgence of the downtown and
inner-city areas regentrifying many of the original communities
of Denver. Dramatic changes in how and where people want
to live, how and where people want to work, how and what
transportation mediums will be used, all combined with the
energy and connectedness that I believe residents of the future
will be looking for will dictate how and what we will build.
What was your first job?
Working in a ski shop in Vail,
followed by property management in San Francisco before returning to Denver
What projects are you currently working on or planning?
With the exciting opportunity of
now working with the third generation of Koelbel family involvement, the mountain resort community of
Rendezvous in Grand County, Catalyst, the digital-health collaborative on Brighton Boulevard and a variety
of small, infill townhome for-sale projects within the city limits of Denver
What are your rules to live by in business?
Patience is a mandatory virtue, matched by the need
to move very quickly at the appropriate time. It takes years to build credibility and reputation, which then
must be relentlessly protected. Always be looking forward for new opportunities and the continually
evolving desires of the consuming and buying public.
Who is the person you most admire?
There is no one person. The top of my list would include my
grandfather, Carl A. Norgren.
Family:
Wife of 33 years, Sherri; Carl, 31, and wife Fallon, with first grandchild, Harper; Walt, 29, and
wife, Laura; Dean, 27, and wife, Kristin, with grandchild, Arabella; and Bethany, 22.
Hobbies/interests:
Golf, skiing, fly-fishing, and rocks and minerals
Favorite book or TV show:
The biographies of Walt Disney and Ray Kroc.
