3 Denver CRE Families Talk About Continuity And Change In Their Family Businesses

Commercial real estate is known for its privately held family businesses. Every major market has them. But what keeps them going? Why do successive generations come into the business and make it their own in their own time?

Bisnow assembled members of three long-standing, highly successful Denver real estate familiars — the Fulenwiders, Koelbels and Zeppelins — to tackle those questions at our recent Denver State of the Market event. 

Turns out passing the torch to the next generation is no simple or guaranteed thing.  

One important factor, our speakers said, was a strong sense of legacy and history about the family business, and how it fits into the wider history of a region, in this case Denver. 

Cal Fulenwider III and Blake Fulenwider represent the latest family members in a long history dating back to Cal's grandfather, who began in real estate in 1904. Cal's been with the company more than 30 years, and Blake joined just this January. They both said they found their passion in real estate — in their respective times, each with its own challenges — and ultimately the right place to pursue it in their family's established operations.

Another important factor in passing the torch, our speakers said, is that the next generation not feel obligated to enter the family business just because it is the family business. That kind of pressure is a recipe for not passing the torch effectively.

Walter "Buz" Koelbel Jr. and Carl Koelbel are the second and third generation in their business, which dates back to 1952. Both of them worked in other businesses and other places before joining the family business. Eventually, they were attracted to the family business to build on the successes of the past, and take on new challenges in the future.

It is no surprise that the children of real estate families become interested in real estate eventually, even if not in the family business. Buz characterized that as "dinner table DNA" — or what you hear about all the time growing up.

One of the reasons family businesses sometimes succeed as well as they do is that the younger generations bring with them successive new waves of ideas and the energy to pursue something new. That is critical for any business, but especially real estate, as cities and markets change, and real estate businesses need to adapt.

Mickey Zeppelin and Kyle Zeppelin are first and second generation, and thus relatively new as a family business. But sometimes a real estate family has its origins in family members that are not, strictly speaking, in real estate.

Mickey Zeppelin said his father was a catalyst for him getting into the business. Mickey helped him with his real estate holdings starting when Mickey was in law school, and it helped spark a deeper interest in real estate as a career.