Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 6, 2016
So far, 2016 has been a record-breaking year for the Colorado chapter of NAIOP. This growth reflects not only the strength of our chapter, but also the strength of our Denver and Colorado markets. It has been another strong development year in the commercial sector, and I am happy to report all engines are firing in this market! Two key accomplishments this year for our NAIOP chapter include broadening our membership base and increasing sponsorship. We now have representation from the construction, architecture, engineering and title insurance fields, in addition to our long-term membership base of real estate developers and owners, real estate investors, service providers, and investment and leasing brokers. Let me again extend a warm welcome to our new members. We’ve also seen a spike in sponsorship, with a 25 percent increase in donations over the previous year, and saw record attendance at the Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge and our Awards of Achievement events. Thank you to our generous sponsors for making this progress possible. I’m proud to say I believe the NAIOP Colorado Chapter is the premier real estate organization in Colorado and, with more than 600 members, one of the largest and most active NAIOP chapters in the country. That’s no small feat: Nationally, NAIOP represents more than 15,000 members and boasts a significant and influential lobbying group. In 2016, the board of directors for the Colorado chapter of NAIOP continued our focus in three areas: • Networking: to continue to expand and create meaningful opportunities for real estate professionals to spend time together, • Education: to deliver meaningful programs that provide timely and relevant information to the real estate community and • Legislative affairs: to have NAIOP represent the real estate community in critical legislation and community affairs that affect the real estate environment. In 2016, the Colorado chapter has provided opportunities for networking and educational advancement in many ways. The Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge pitted real estate students from the University of Colorado and University of Denver on a challenging parcel located in the city of Westminster’s mall redevelopment district. The Annual Awards banquet recognized the best and brightest of the commercial and residential brokerage community, and a property tour featured a ride on the commuter rail line from Union Station to the DIA Westin. Upcoming events include a construction education series plus, back by popular demand, Fight Night and the Winter Hockey/Curling Classic.
In an election year like this, NAIOP’s legislative affairs role of understanding critical issues being discussed in the Legislature and providing timely communication to our members to keep them informed is more important than ever. In particular, NAIOP Colorado and the members of the Legislative Affairs Committee have monitored the dialogue on construction defect litigation, affordable housing, urban renewal districts and many other issues confronting our industry today. There are great opportunities for NAIOP members and the real estate community to work together to support and maintain our representation in the Senate and the state of Colorado, and to confront the issues facing development at the local and state levels. For example, we are seeing a push to raise impact fees for affordable housing in Denver that could be onerous for development and ultimately make the city less competitive. I am honored to have the privilege of serving as the 2016 NAIOP Colorado Chapter president and working with our members. Surrounding me is a team of great colleagues on the board, committees and staff who give 100 percent to keep our chapter strong, and I thank them all for their efforts. I encourage our members to serve on a committee to help us build on our progress. So let’s keep those economic engines firing on all cylinders to propel us forward for the rest of the year!