Colorado Real Estate Journal - July 6, 2016
NAIOP Colorado is the state’s leading commercial real estate industry trade group. NAIOP’s mission has three areas of emphasis: education, legislative advocacy and networking. To further its mission, NAIOP offers a full calendar of events throughout the year, almost all of which are open to members and nonmembers alike. 1. On July 7, NAIOP will hold its annual Mid-Year Economic Forecast Breakfast at the Marriott City Center. This event will be moderated by Kevin McCabe of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank and will feature several of the region’s top commercial real estate minds offering their outlooks for the remainder of 2016 and beyond. 2. On Aug. 18, lace up your skates for the Winter Classic Hockey Tournament, to be held at the Edge Ice Center in Littleton. Spectators and players are welcome for this always-sold-out annual networking event that benefits Children’s Hospital Colorado. A corresponding curling event also will be held Sept. 29 at the Denver Curling Club. 3. August also marks the start of NAIOP’s four-part Educational Series. This year the series will take an in-depth look at the role construction activities have on the overall real estate and development market. These breakfast events offer an intimate atmosphere and will be held once per month through November at the newly renovated offices of Holland & Hart. 4. Oct. 13 will mark the annual Fight Night at the Infinity Park Event Center in Glendale. This limited-capacity black-tie event offers unparalleled networking with the industry’s elite in an exciting and fun atmosphere with dinner, cocktails and live amateur boxing. Sponsorships for this event, only in its fourth year, sell out in a matter of days. 5. Finishing out the calendar year, NAIOP will partner with the Denver Metro Commercial Association of Realtors for their annual Holiday Reception to be held at the Art Hotel. This members-only event will include drinks, appetizers and networking with some of Denver’s most prominent commercial real estate industry members. 6. NAIOP helps ring in each new year with an Economic Forecast event held in early January. 7. February is time for NAIOP’s annual Awards of Achievement, which honors the “best of the best” in Colorado’s real estate industry. Held with a popular late afternoon format, the event will feature an awards program honoring brokers of the year in each product category, transaction of the year, president’s awards and many others, followed by a cocktail reception. 8. Rounding out the calendar of events is NAIOP’s Rocky Mountain Real Estate Challenge, which is held each April. This event pits the MBA students in CU’s and DU’s real estate programs against each other in a contest to develop a plan for transforming a challenging, high-profile site into a dynamic and successful real estate development. One of the most successful programs of its type in the country, the event routinely draws more than 700 attendees. Past challenge sites have included Midtown Industrial Center in RiNo and downtown redevelopment projects in Parker, Boulder and Westminster. Complementing these annual events are many other events hosted with partner organizations such as Urban Land Institute Colorado, Denver Commercial Association of Realtors, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Denver Partnership. There also are Developing Leaders events aimed at the next generation of commercial real estate professionals, including project tours, mentor-mentee pairings and exclusive access to some of the most accomplished veterans of the industry. NAIOP Colorado’s legislative arm, the Common Cents Fund, holds several events throughout the legislative session, allowing its members to stay on top of legislative activity, to meet legislators and lobbyists and, most importantly, to have their voice heard in the General Assembly. The national NAIOP organization also hosts its own full slate of events throughout the year to bring members of its local chapters together and offer those members a national perspective on the commercial real estate industry. Last year NAIOP held its marquee event, Development ‘15, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, highlighting the Toronto real estate industry’s rising prominence on the national stage. The national NAIOP organization offers participation in its National Forums programs, which allows members of its local chapters to network nationally with other commercial real estate professionals on a variety of topics. This is just a snapshot of all of the programming that NAIOP Colorado offers its members each year. Whether it’s networking, education or legislative involvement, NAIOP Colorado offers a wide variety of ways to enhance a career in commercial real estate.