Future of the Northwest Corridor

The mayor was elected at large in 2013. He was re-elected in 2015. His current term ends in November of 2017. His parents moved to Broomfield in 1966. After college and spending six years in the oil and gas industry he moved his family back to Broomfield in 1986. He is married to Wendy Ahrens and has three grown daughters, Ashley Luman, Amy Ahrens and Jordon Felker. Our Government is related directly to the U.S. Constitution and we have graciously sworn our allegiance to upholding the guiding principles created by our illustrious forefathers. It is a privilege and an honor to serve the community where I grew up and it has significantly shaped my ideals and ethics. Therefore, the passion for the well being of Broomfield citizens will always guide my decisions to maintain a safe environment and promote fiscal responsibility.

Alberto Garcia was elected to Westminster Council in November 2013 and selected as the Mayor Pro Tem in 2015. A graduate of the University of Colorado, he is an attorney and small-business owner. He served on the board of directors for the Westminster Optimist Club, the board of directors for Intercambio De Comunidades and as a policy director at the Colorado House of Representatives. He is a former congressional aide and assistant attorney general. Alberto currently serves as the City Council liaison to the Parks, Recreation and Libraries Advisory Board, as well as the Open Space Advisory Board. Alberto also represents the City of Westminster as a member of the Colorado Municipal League policy committee. You can follow Alberto on Twitter at: @garciaforwesty.

Jim joined the development team of Prime West in 2012, and became the Owner, President and CEO in 2015. Jim is responsible for the overall success of Prime West and works directly with the leadership team of the firm to establish the direction of the company, its vision, goals, objectives, strategies, and market focus.

As a partner and executive vice president of Etkin Johnson’s Asset Management team, Cyndi Thomas oversees the management, financial performance and business strategy for the company’s extensive property portfolio. Leveraging her extensive experience in real estate acquisitions, financing, restructurings, and asset management, Cyndi helps drive a progressive approach to Etkin Johnson’s asset management that consistently results in income-producing properties with favorable appreciation. Outside of Etkin Johnson, Cyndi is an executive committee board member of the Urban Land Institute – Colorado Chapter and a member of the CU Real Estate Council Board of Directors.

John is the President and Managing Partner of Comunale Properties and its affiliated companies. John is responsible for strategic planning, capital structuring, business development and all property and asset management operations for Comunale. He is also the founder and Managing Partner of the company’s investment affiliate, The J.Red Group, and serves as the Manager of all new investment partnerships. Under John’s leadership, Comunale has become a fully integrated multi-market real estate platform with more than 30 owned and managed assets.

DENVER (Aug. 4, 2015) – The Opus Group (Opus) announced today that Mark B. Johnson has joined Opus Development Company, L.L.C. as senior director, real estate development in the Denver office effective Aug. 3, 2015. In his new role, Johnson will pursue new office, industrial, multifamily, and retail projects throughout the surrounding Denver market. “We’re thrilled to welcome Mark to the Opus team as we continue to grow our reach in the Denver market,” said Peter Coakley, senior vice president and general manager, Opus Development Company, L.L.C. “His impressive real estate development background, including market analysis, site selection, negotiation, entitlements and project management from a national perspective, will bring added depth to our development team.” With more than two decades of real estate development and end user experience, Johnson brings a breadth of knowledge to Opus. Most recently, he was director, real estate services at Xcel Energy, where he worked with Opus on the new Xcel Energy headquarters in downtown Minneapolis and Amarillo, Texas. Johnson also held principal roles at J.R.E.A, LLC; JMW Development, L.L.C.; Wallace Enterprises, Inc.; and Dayton Hudson Corporation, Target Stores Division, completing more than 7 million square feet of new buildings across 22 states. He has also managed significant portfolios of real estate for Xcel Energy and Target Corporation. “I’m looking forward to joining the Opus team and leveraging my experience to expand the already- impressive company portfolio,” said Johnson. “It’s been a pleasure working with Opus on the Xcel Energy projects in Minneapolis and Amarillo and I’m excited to support the team’s efforts to grow the Denver market.” Johnson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture and became a registered landscape architect in the state of Minnesota. He earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business. In addition, he recently obtained the Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR) designation as an active member of CoreNet. He maintains a real estate broker’s license, and has completed certificate coursework in commercial real estate financing in investment analysis and feasibility at the University of Wisconsin.

Mr. Jencks joined Ranch Capital in 2016. Mr. Jencks is responsible for managing activities in Real Estate acquisition, development, and operations for Ranch Capital and its affiliates. Prior to joining Ranch, Mr. Jencks worked for Merlone Geier Partners in varying roles culminating in a partnership interest as Director of Development, where he led the entitlement and development efforts for multiple large, mixed use development projects in excess of $200 million each including office, retail, entertainment, hotel, and residential uses. Mr. Jencks also has prior experience as a practicing architect and private real estate development consultant. He has been responsible for the design or development of over $1.5 billion of real estate. Mr. Jencks is a licensed Architect and Real Estate Broker, a LEED Accredited Professional and active member of the American Institute of Architects, Urban Land Institute, and International Council of Shopping Centers. He received his MBA and Bachelor’s of Architecture from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo.

Marc Painter’s real estate practice focuses on complex real estate transactions, finance and development, as well as banking and related business counseling. For over 25 years, Marc's regional and national development and lending clients have sought his creative counsel in navigating difficult transactions to profitable completion. Strong Cost-Benefit Approach: Marc’s past experience as an economist and banker brings a unique and valuable cost-benefit approach to transactions and disputes. That experience also gives him knowledge of the financial and business needs of other parties in a deal and an ability to effectively work through those issues early to reach a favorable agreement. Structuring Deals to Avoid Litigation: Marc's prior experience as a commercial, banking and real estate litigator affords him a thorough understanding of the reasons for disputes and a unique sensitivity to the potential for, and the distractions of, litigation. Clients value his experience in helping them anticipate and then develop effective strategies to structure deals in ways that avoid disputes or in positioning their transactions properly if litigation is a necessity.

For more than 20 years, Scott has been immersed in Colorado’s real estate industry, gaining extensive experience in adding value to partners and the community for a variety of project types, including market-rate housing, affordable housing, office and mixed-use development. Previously, Scott served as a commissioner of the Boulder Housing Authority. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, and he is also an active member of the Urban Land Institute. Today, Scott leads Element’s efforts to source, underwrite, entitle and produce excellent project results for stakeholders. Scott garnered a B.A. in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and also attended the London School of Economics.

Mr. Cope has over 15 years of experience in the multifamily industry, being responsible for the acquisition, asset management, and disposition of over $2 billion of apartments during that time. Prior to Sagebrush, Mr. Cope was the Vice President of Multifamily for Apartment Capital Solutions, the multifamily division of Real Capital Solutions, based out of Louisville, Colorado. Mr. Cope oversaw the strategic direction and execution of over $400M in assets, consisting of 12 properties with 3,400 apartment units, and an additional 6 properties and 1,000 units under development. He specializes in distressed and value-add opportunities including REOs, note purchases, and ground up or redevelopment throughout the US. Prior to his position at Real Capital Solutions, Mr. Cope worked for the multifamily REIT Apartment Investment and Management Company (AIMCO) based in Denver, Colorado. He was responsible for sourcing and closing transactions throughout the Eastern U.S., with concentration in high barrier-to-entry markets. Prior to joining AIMCO, Mr. Cope was Regional Property Supervisor for a large third-party management company that was later purchased by Riverstone Residential.

Spencer Stuart, Jr. is a Regional Partner and Senior Managing Director at Legacy Partners. He is responsible for acquisitions, dispositions, management, asset management, new development and operations. He currently handles Legacy Partners’ multifamily activities in Colorado and the far south states from Texas to Florida. Mr. Stuart also serves as senior vice president of the KBS Legacy Multifamily REIT, which owns a nationwide portfolio of apartments. As a developer, Mr. Stuart has been responsible for creating award-winning projects that have advanced the state-of- the-art of design, amenities and resident services in multifamily properties. Among others, his projects have been awarded the NAHB Pillars of the Industry Award, Multifamily Executive’s Project of the Year Award, the HAB McSam Award, The Star Award and Gold Nugget Certificates of Merit. In Austin, Legacy’s high-rise apartment project was the first of its kind to achieve LEED certification. He has a broad base of experience as an officer, director, general partner and advisor to both public and private companies in such areas as real estate development, investment, financing and syndication. Over his career he has been involved in real estate transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $2.5 billion. Mr. Stuart is a member of the Real Estate Financial Executives Association in Dallas. He is also a full member of the Urban Land Institute and serves on its Green Multifamily Product Council and previously served on NAHB’s Multifamily Leadership Board. Mr. Stuart has been a speaker at the Urban Land Institute’s national and regional conferences, MultiHousing World, the National Multifamily Housing Council’s annual meeting the NAHB Pillars of the Industry Conferences, Multifamily Executive’s Annual Conferences, the ULI’s Multifamily Trends Conference, Crittenden’s Multifamily Conference and numerous other events.

Lorne Polger is the Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Pathfinder Partners, LLC. Pathfinder is a real estate private equity firm based in San Diego, California with a billion dollar portfolio of real estate investments primarily in the western United States. Lorne focuses on acquisitions, dispositions, business and legal strategies. He practiced real estate law for more than 20 years and prior to co-founding Pathfinder in 2006, was the head of the Real Estate, Environmental and Land Use team at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, LLP, San Diego’s largest law firm. Mr. Polger is recognized for his multi-family expertise, having directly participated in the acquisition, disposition, financing and development of apartment, condominium and condominium conversion transactions exceeding $6 billion in value. His law practice included acquisitions, dispositions, developments, financings, foreclosures, reorganizations and workouts, syndications, and leasing, along with residential, office and industrial condominium conversion and construction. Mr. Polger graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Colorado College, Cum Laude, in 1984 and earned his law degree from UCLA in 1988. Mr. Polger was a finalist in the 2015 EY San Diego Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. He has been a member of Vistage, the international CEO organization, since 2013. His community activities include serving as a national commissioner and chair of the Regional Advisory Board of the Anti Defamation League, as a board member at the Burnham Moores Centre at the University of San Diego, as a board member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and as a Director of the San Diego Chapter of the CCIM Institute. He also currently serves on the Campaign for Cardiovascular Care at Scripps Health in San Diego.

David Hart serves as an executive managing director in the Denver office of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Mr. Hart joined the company in August 2014, bringing 33 years of experience and multi-market expertise to the firm. With a reputation for successfully executing repositioning assignments as well as significant build-to-suit and speculative large project leasing, Mr. Hart has completed commercial real estate transactions encompassing more than 25 million square feet throughout his career. Highly adept at building new relationships and qualifying and closing transactions, Mr. Hart draws on personal experience that spans national corporate accounts, as well as local brokerage and consulting. Prior to joining Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Mr. Hart was director of business development at Hannay Realty Advisors. Mr. Hart was formerly a top-producing broker in Denver, San Francisco and Chicago, having worked at CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield in both the San Francisco and Denver markets, and before that, at Lincoln Property Company in San Francisco and Equitec in downtown Chicago. He also ran his own commercial real estate firm, Commercial Colorado. Mr. Hart graduated from University of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Science in business and public administration. He also attended Lewis and Clark College.

Tribe was founded out of a desire to be and do better. Not being limited to real estate development, but as thought leaders, stewards of the built environment and as fellow tribe members. My native American roots have shown me that being part of a team, a Tribe, generates stronger results, better ideas and problem solving, and it is far more fun than trying to work alone. The foundation of my career was built in the design world as a landscape architect, focused on luxury resort projects. It is here that I learned from the best, about the importance of delivering positive and memorable customer experiences to stand out from the competition and drive loyalty. For over a decade now, I have been focused on exceeding customers’ expectations in commercial development, what we now refer to as experiential development. Though these projects were rewarding, both personally and financially, I was very aware of an underserved, yet powerful, stakeholder --- the employee-- the very people who can make a brand come alive for your customers. I started asking- How do we create exceptional experiences for not only customers or visitors, but also the employees, perhaps the most critical constituency? I believe that the brand of a company or project is not separate from the culture, and that brand should drive every decision from design and development to recruiting and onboarding. Employee engagement, recruiting and retention are issues for every business regardless of industry. Creating brand loyalty starts from within. If you have passionate, engaged and loyal Tribe members the likelihood of success on any real estate development project is exponentially greater. The mission for Tribe is to create compelling spaces not just for visitors, but for everyone the space touches. The goal is that everyone becomes a brand ambassador, or better yet, a member of the Tribe!