The Future of Downtown Denver

Jeff Hermanson is the CEO of Larimer Associates, the well-known Colorado development company that he founded in 1987. Jeff is the owner and steward of Larimer Square which he purchased in 1993. Through his leadership and place-making experience, the iconic Denver block has evolved into one of the most recognized collections of independently-owned stores and chef-owned and operated restaurants in the state, and consistently ranks as one of Denver’s top attractions. Larimer Square is Denver’s first historic district and Jeff’s strong commitment to its preservation as well as his forward-thinking vision for the block, keeps the offering and experience fresh, ensuring that Larimer Square remains Denver’s most treasured historic asset. A strong proponent of incubating skilled, local talent, Jeff has partnered with a number of Denver’s most notable chefs and restaurateurs including Troy Guard, Jennifer Jasinski and Lon Symensma to create some of the city’s most acclaimed restaurants, including Rioja, TAG, Euclid Hall, Bubu, Bistro Vendome, Cholon and others.

Paul Eckert was named the Managing Director of the AC/Le Meriden Denver Downtown in February 2016. He joined White Lodging in August of 2015 as a bench general manager to assist with task force assignments and special projects, and has spent the majority of time at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown. Eckert has over 20 years of balanced leadership experience in luxury hotels and resorts, successfully driving associate engagement, guest satisfaction, market share and financial performance. Prior to joining White Lodging, Eckert served Omni Hotels & Resorts for over 13 years in many different capacities, inclusive of three opening assignments, a multitude of task force projects, and he led two resort acquisitions. Positions held with Omni Hotels & Resorts included vice president of special projects, managing director of the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia, general manager of the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, general manager of the Omni Jacksonville Hotel, as well as director of operations, and director of food and beverage assignments. Eckert was recognized in 2004 as the Omni Hotels & Resorts Operations Executive of the Year, in 2006 as the March of Dimes Community Chairperson of the Year for Denver/Boulder, and in 2012 by the Jacksonville Business Journal as a Top 40 Under 40 for North Florida. Eckert has a proven track record of community leadership previously serving in roles as president of the North Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, board member on the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, board member of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association, executive board member of the Jacksonville Convention & Visitors Bureau, boardmember of the March of Dimes Denver/Boulder, the Gator Bowl Committee, and the Patrick Peterson Foundation.

Mark Witkiewicz is the Senior Vice President, Commercial Development with McWhinney. Formally educated in engineering, he utilizes his expertise in both the development and construction sides of real estate development, asset management, capital raising and community Mark has previously worked for Corporex Colorado, LLC as Managing Director and with Silverman Development as Senior Vice President where he cultivated his real estate development skills in financing, deal making and negotiating contracts. Two of Mark’s recent developments are the ART, a hotel in Downtown Denver and the Hyatt Hotel and Conference Center at Fitzsimons Village in Aurora, Colorado. Mark graduated Cum Laude from Michigan Technological University with a bachelor of science in Civil Engineering. He received his master’s degree in Manufacturing Operations from Mark resides in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with his wife, Monica, and four daughters. He and his family enjoy anything outdoors, including camping, hiking and skiing.

Raised in both Hawaii and San Diego, Troy Guard spent much of his youth in the ocean or the kitchen. His career started in college at the famed La Costa Resort in San Diego. At the age of 21, Guard began his tutelage under fusion legend Roy Yamaguchi in Hawaii. During their eight-year journey together, Chef Guard developed a distinct multicultural style that would lead him to executive chef positions all over the world; from acclaimed New York hotspot TAO and Doc Cheng’s in Singapore, to Richard Sandoval’s award-winning Latin-Asian fusion restaurant Zengo. Troy joined Yamaguchi for his next culinary adventure – the launch of Roy’s New China Max in Hong Kong. By age 25, he was responsible for several Roy’s outposts throughout Asia. Troy spent eight years working closely with Yamaguchi before taking the coveted post of Executive Chef at New York City hotspot, TAO. Leading a high- volume operation with a large kitchen staff prepared him for his next calling at The Raffles Hotel in Singapore—where, as Chef de Cuisine at the world-renowned Doc Cheng's restaurant, he developed his own unique Pacific Rim style. It was at Doc Cheng’s that Troy met Richard Sandoval, the visionary behind award- winning “Modern Mexican” concept restaurants across the United States. Together, Guard and Sandoval hatched the idea of creating Denver’s first Latin-Asian fusion restaurant, Zengo, in the city’s emerging Riverfront area. After life at Zengo, Troy led several other restaurants to success – including nine75 and Ocean. Still, the calling of owning his own restaurant beckoned – and 2 years later, TAG became that reality. Chef Guard opened his flagship restaurant, TAG, on Larimer Square in the bustling LoDo District of downtown Denver. A culmination of a life-long dream, TAG embodies Guard’s unique vision of Continental Social Food – a combination of his Hawaiian roots, his Pan-Asian expertise and fresh, local Colorado ingredients. Since the opening of TAG, Guard has created that of a restaurant empire across Denver with concepts including Los Chingones (“badass” Mexican), bubu (quick-casual), TAG Burger Bar (imaginative, handcrafted burgers), Guard and Grace (modern American steakhouse), Mister Tuna (American eclectic), HashTAG (breakfast/brunch) and FNG (neighborhood wood-fired eatery). In 2019, Guard will make his first move outside of Colorado with the opening of Guard and Grace in Houston, Texas.

Bruce James has played a leading role over the past 25 years in some of the most notable real estate projects in the Denver area and a number of significant projects throughout the country. Practicing across a broad spectrum of real estate transactions, Bruce is best known for his expertise in public/private partnerships, hotel and resort properties and the acquisition, disposition and financing of commercial real estate portfolios. In the public/private arena, Bruce served as lead counsel for the redevelopment of the historic Union Station train station in Denver, leading a deep bench of Brownstein lawyers who provided expertise on issues concerning construction, hospitality, public/private partnerships, historic tax credits and joint venture issues, among others. He has also served as lead counsel on many other impactful public/private projects in Denver, including the Colorado Justice Center, Colorado History Museum, Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building and Museum Residences. In the hospitality sector, his recent projects include The Art Hotel in Denver, the Hyatt Fitzsimons Hotel and Conference Center in Aurora, the Marriott Lane Field Hotel in San Diego, The Maven at Dairy Block Hotel in Denver, Union Tower West in Denver, the Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California and the Eventi Hotel in New York City. In portfolio transactions, Bruce has led the acquisition, disposition and financing of several large commercial real estate portfolios, representing several billion dollars in transactional value.

Chris Frampton is managing partner of East West Partners, whose projects include Union Station, Riverfront Park, The Landmark and Buckley Row at Boulevard One. Chris is also president of the board of the Civic Center Conservancy. He and his wife, Yvette, are lucky enough to have three awesome kids and a glorious golden retriever.

Austin Kane is Vice President, Regional Director working out of Denver, Colorado. He oversees Unico’s real estate investments in Colorado and Texas. Austin co-directs and executes asset strategies on more than 3.6M rentable square feet of class A office and retail space and is Unico’s point of contact for new business opportunities in his region. Prior to joining Unico in 2013, Austin was a broker with the Frederick Ross Company for more than 10 years. In this role, he worked with institutional landlords from across the country. During his tenure with Frederick Ross, Austin completed more than 250 lease transactions. He also worked closely with management to mentor young brokers and connect with the larger Denver community. While with Unico, Austin has overseen multiple successful leasing efforts on repositioned properties, setting a bar within individual competitive sets in multiple markets and submarkets. Additionally, Austin has identified multiple off-market office investment opportunities that have closed as well as a significant off-market development play that is currently in progress. Austin was elected President of the Denver Metro Commercial Association of Realtors in 2013, and was the recipient of Allen P. Hackstaff Award for outstanding community involvement. Austin serves on the Downtown Denver Partnership Business Improvement District as Secretary and is a member of the Executive Committee for the 5280/Downtown Loop. Austin also is a member of ULI. Austin believes that real estate is a service business, and he excels at creating positive, lasting relationships.

Chad Ellington is the owner and principal of Peak Development Group. He received his undergraduate degree in Construction Management from Colorado State University and his MBA in Real Estate and Construction Management from the University of Denver (DU.) Chad went to work for a Colorado based commercial general contractor following his undergraduate work and was the lead on several high profile projects around the state including a 13-story condo building in Downtown Denver, the Green Valley Ranch Shared-Use K-8 School and Rec Center Facility, and a large mixed-use development in the mountain resort town of Breckenridge. That project, Main Street Station, won the 2002 ACE Award for “Project of the Year Over $40M.” Chad was then Vice President with Oakwood Homes from 2004-2014 and headed up their land acquisition and development group focused on high profile residential and commercial master plan developments in Colorado, Nebraska and Salt Lake City. During this time Chad was also the lead as the “turnkey developer” on a $60M state of the art school project known as the Evie Garrett Dennis Campus for Denver Public Schools in NE Denver. The project is achieved LEED Gold and finished $6M under budget. Since leaving Oakwood in May of 2015, Chad formed Peak Development Group and has been partnering with other like-minded developers on a variety of developments and projects in Colorado including “X @ Sloans,” a 58-unit ground-up apartment project at Sloan’s Lake.

Tucker Manion is President and Founder of Centre Point Properties, a real estate investment firm in Denver, Colorado. Centre Point has acquired and actively manages over 750k square feet of office, retail and industrial space in Denver and the surrounding area. Having obtained his bachelor's degree in Business Administration & Accounting from Fordham University in Bronx, New York. Tucker worked in New York City for Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Investment Bank, and Fortress Investments where he honed his skills in commercial real estate valuation, asset management, and commercial debt originations on $100 million-plus properties. A native Coloradoan, Tucker moved back to Denver in 2008 to establish a business focused on acquiring and operating commercial real estate investments with a strategic vision that delivers long-term value creation and stability. Tucker currently oversees Centre Point's strategies for acquisitions, operations and developments.

Matt has been in the Denver Multi-family housing sector for the last 16 years. He has worked on a broad range of rental (market rate and affordable), for sale condos, student housing, and senior living projects. During that time, he has successfully taken complex urban sites through city entitlement, rezoning and permit approvals. Recently his work has included recapturing urban sites centered around TOD stations and the repositioning of existing assets to create vibrant communities with a mixed use focus. He is a strong leader in the development of sustainable construction practices working to improve the overall health and quality of life for the buildings occupants. His passion is for urban infill projects that contribute to the development of great cities. Matt lives in Northwest Denver with his family and is an active member in his local community serving on the City of Denver’s Board of Appeals, Highlands neighborhood association board and participating in revitalization efforts for an area church.