The Future of Downtown Denver

Fiona Arnold is a long time corporate attorney and real estate investor. After seven years as an executive vice president at Vail Resorts, Inc., she launched MAINSPRING Developers focused on residential and commercial urban real estate redevelopment in Denver with the guiding principle that development must have at its core the obligation to create unique, enduring and community centered spaces. Fiona is a native Australian but adopted Colorado and Denver as her home in 2001, where she lives with her husband and two children.

Ms. Mossman is based in San Francisco and oversees asset management of properties in the Bay Area and Denver and has been with Beacon for 9 years. Prior to joining Beacon, Ms. Mossman was a Senior Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, DC. While at the Board of Governors, she researched, analyzed, and monitored the US residential and commercial mortgage markets and products. Ms. Mossman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Georgia and a Masters of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.

Karen Gerwitz joined the World Trade Center Denver in August 2010. She brings 25 years experience in international business and communications to the organization. Ms. Gerwitz recently served as Director of Communications for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and Director of Board Relations for the State Board of Education. She was also Manager of Communications for Raytheon in Aurora. Her international experience includes Chief of Protocol for the Colorado International Trade Office, where she planned the official visits of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, the G8 Summit, the Western Hemisphere Ministerial Summit, and hundreds of other delegations. Other international experience includes: Information Office for a science institute in Vienna, Austria; Operations Manager for a sawmill in Ghana, West Africa; Business Development Director for Attache International Marketing; and International Marketing Specialist for UNISYS. She earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in International Business and her Masters of Public Administration from the University of Colorado. She lives in North City Park with her husband, Elie, and serves on several community boards.

Stephen Dynia, FAIA is the Design Director of the firm of his founding with the goal of making buildings and spaces inspired by the phenomena of nature, fueled by innovation, and motivated by the essence of architecture in society and culture. He received degrees in Fine Arts and Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design, a place that taught the value of ideas, the rigor of design investigation, and the craft of making buildings, spaces, and objects of all scales. Dynia moved to Jackson, Wyoming after working in the design department of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in New York and founded the practice in 1993. The energy of that environment – both SOM and Manhattan – still serves as a model for the exhaustive design investigation within the Dynia Architects studio, and for the integrity of what we know as modern work. The desire to design larger commercial and multi-family projects led him to Denver, Colorado. Dynia established an office in the River North Arts District (RiNo) in 2010. The firm has completed the design of eight buildings in a collaborative process with Zeppelin Development, three of which are currently under construction. Dynia Architects’ residential, commercial, and institutional work has been recognized with over 40 design awards from the American Institute of Architects. They have been widely published in books, magazines, digital media, and Stephen has presented his work at design conferences nationally. Stephen Dynia was admitted to the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows in 2013.

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.

Scott Heimes serves as Chief Marketing Officer, where he is responsible for SendGrid’s brand strategy, driving demand for its solutions and leading global marketing operations. Scott oversees corporate marketing, demand generation, corporate communications, partnerships and alliances, international expansion and SendGrid’s community development team. Before joining SendGrid, Scott was the Chief Marketing Officer of Digital River, where he led marketing and demand gen, communications, strategic planning, partnerships and managed Digital River’s marketing services businesses including the company’s direct-response marketing agency and its BlueHornet email service provider. Prior to joining Digital River, Scott was the Chief Marketing Officer for WebMD Health Services, where he ran the company’s marketing, product management, and long-term strategic planning. In prior positions, Scott served as a senior marketing executive at OptumHealth, a UnitedHealth Group company; Target Corporation and Target.com.

A highly successful senior executive with a thirty year track record managing high-end commercial real estate portfolios and 40+ million sf in assets. Effective team leader who maximizes financial performance, business growth, capital planning and relationships. Consistently demonstrates superior judgment in all decision-making matters and crisis management situations. A proactive community leader combining a strong sense of civic loyalty and authentic interpersonal skills to guide major change initiatives.

Dan Cohen serves as the Senior Vice President of Community, Development & Acquisitions for McWhinney, a diversified independent real estate development, investment and management company in Denver, Colorado. Dan is responsible for identifying, structuring, planning and entitling new mixed-use deals. His focus is on acquiring outstanding urban infill real estate in the Front Range and western states that represent unique opportunities for long-term value creation and exceptional placemaking, many of which will be part of public-private partnerships. Prior to joining McWhinney, he was the founder and principal of Urban Investment Group, LLC, where he led, partnered and advised on urban infill, transit-oriented and mixed-use development projects in Colorado and throughout the U. S. Prior to founding his own company, Dan served as the Vice President of Planning and Development for Catellus Development, the mixed-use development division of Prologis, a Fortune 500 real estate investment trust (REIT). In that role he led the company’s national land acquisition efforts, specializing in public-private partnerships. He also had companywide oversight of land planning, design and entitlements for a nationwide portfolio of complex mixed-use retail and office assets. Previously, Dan served as the Director of Planning for Catellus’ Mission Bay project, a $2 billion, 300-acre mixed-use and transit-oriented development in San Francisco. Prior to joining Catellus, Dan worked for 15 years as a planning and development consultant to private sector developers on large-scale urban projects on the West Coast. His experience also extends to Tokyo, where he prepared land planning and urban design schemes for one of Japan’s largest architecture, engineering and construction firms. Dan is very involved in the communities in which he lives and works, including serving on numerous nonprofit committees and civic bodies. He currently sits on ULI Colorado’s executive board and is co-chair of ULI Colorado’s Transit-Oriented Development committee. He is chairman of the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority board and is a former Boulder County Planning Commissioner.

Harsh Parikh is known for his inclusive and intellectual approach to architecture. He firmly believes that the key to good architecture lies in the architect having a firm grasp on a vast variety of knowledge and skills. To tackle the complex design process one needs, not simply a keen eye for the contemporary aesthetic, but also a deep understanding of current construction technologies, the intricacies of building codes, cutting edge sustainable practices, navigating contentious entitlement processes, and advanced design software. Because of his great expertise in these very divergent but equally important arenas, Mr. Parikh has deservedly earned the reputation for being one of the most ‘complete’ architects in the region. Under his leadership, Parikh Stevens Architects have fashioned a rich portfolio of more than 50 affordable, market-rate, & senior housing projects involving more than 6,000 dwelling units, most of them in Denver. Several of Mr. Parikh’s designs have won local, regional, and national awards and are well recognized local landmarks.

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.