Announcing the 2021 Award Honorees

Colorado’s top commercial real estate professionals and development projects earned accolades at NAIOP Colorado’s 35th Anniversary Awards of Achievement, hosted by Fidelity National Title National Commercial Services, on February 24, 2022 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.   

An audience of more than 400 was on hand for the event, where development projects and real estate professionals were recognized for their accomplishments in 2021. 

The 3.2 acre high-rise, community-driven baseball destination, McGregor Square, received top honors as Development Deal of the Year. Developed by West Lot Holdings, LLC, designed by Stantec Architecture and constructed by Hensel Phelps, McGregor Square features 818,000 gross square feet of residential, Class A office, retail, hotel, and outdoor performance plaza.

Meow Wolf's Convergence Station, developed by Revesco Properties and designed by Shears Adkins Rockmore, was selected as the Innovative Development of the Year. The new Block 162 30-story office tower, developed by Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate, was named as Office Development of the Year. The transformation of a former church into transitional housing for the homeless, Warren Residences, developed by Saint Francis Center and constructed by Taylor Kohrs, took home the the Community Impact Award.

Colorado commercial real estate veterans Ann Sperling and John "Packet" Lowrey were recipients of the President's Award and Legacy Broker Award, respectively.

Jessica Biller of JLL was named the new Broker Rising Star of the Year; Jim Bolt of CBRE and the team of Tyler Carner, Jeremy Ballenger, and Jessica Ostermick of CBRE took home top Industrial Broker Awards; Jordan Robbins and Pamela Koster of JLL received the Multi-Family Broker of the Year Award; while Patrick Bolick of JLL had a breakout year and was named the Individual Office Broker honors.

Continuing reading for a full list of this year's Award Honorees.  

Congratulations to the 2021 Broker and Capital Markets Award Honorees 
  • Capital Markets Transaction of the Year 
    • Colorado Tech Center Industrial Portfolio - CBRE Debt & Structure Team: Jeff Halsey, Brady O'Donnell, Tom Traynor, and James Millon; and Investment Sales Team: Tyler Carner, Jeremy Ballenger, Jim Bolt, Jessica Ostermick, and Tim Richey. 
  • Industrial Broker of the Year
    • Jim Bolt, CBRE (Individual)
    • Tyler Carner, Jeremy Ballenger, and Jessica Ostermick, CBRE (Team)
  • Investment Broker of the Year
    • Tim Richey, Jenny Knowlton, Charley Will and Chad Flynn, CBRE
  • Land Broker of the Year
    • Eric Roth and Martin Roth, CBRE
  • Multi-Family Broker of the Year
    • Jordan Robbins and Pamela Koster, JLL
  • Office Broker of the Year
    • Patrick Bolick, JLL (Individual)
    • Doug Bakke, Ty Ritchie, Todd Papazian, Lee Diamond and Melanie Fontenot, CBRE (Team)
  • Retail Broker of the Year
    • Jon Weisiger, CBRE

Congratulations to the 2021 Development Award Honorees 

  • Deal of the Year - McGregor Square View Project Video
    • Developed by West Lot Holdings, LLC; Designed by Stantec Architecture; Constructed by Hensel Phelps 
  • Office Development of the Year - Block 162 View Project Video
    • Developed by Patrinely Group and USAA Real Estate
  • Community Impact Award - Warren Residences View Project Video
    • Developed by Saint Francis Center, Blueline Development, CHFA and Colorado Division of Housing, City of Denver; Designed by Shopworks Architecture; Constructed by Taylor Kohrs
  • Industrial Development of the Year - Pecos Logistics Park View Project Video
    • Developed and owned by Westfield Company, Inc.  
  • Innovative Development of the Year - Convergence Station - Meow Wolf View Project Video
    • Developed by Revesco Properties
  • Multi-Family Development of the Year - Edit River North View Project Video
    • Developed by Zocalo Community Development, Principal Real Estate Investors, and Brue Baukol Capital Partners; Designed by Craine Architecture
  • Retail Development of the Year - The Exchange at Boulevard One View Project Video
    • Developed by Confluent Development and Kelmore Development

Awards of Distinction 

President's Award for Community Service - Ann Sperling, Trammell Crow Company
A longtime friend and contributor to NAIOP Colorado for over 20 years and passionate leader in metro Denver's real estate and development community for more than 30 years, Ann Sperling has had an impact on a variety of the most influential projects in the Denver Metro Area including: Tamarac Square; The Shops at Old Town Station Arvada; Cherry Hills Marketplace; Tabor Center; Crossroads Commerce Park; and Riverview at 1700 Platte. In addition to her successful career in commercial real estate, Ann has devoted herself to philanthropic efforts by actively serving as a Board Member and/or advisor the public boards of organizations such as: the New York Stock Exchange;  Children's Hospital Colorado; Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine; Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences; and International Advisory Board of the University of Colorado Real Estate Center. Ann was honored as the 2021 President's Award recipient in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the CRE industry and greater community. Ann's friends and peers celebrated her accomplishments with a video tribute. Watch Now

Legacy Broker Award - John "Packet" Lowrey, JLL
With over 50 years of commercial real estate marketing and sales experience, John "Packet" Lowrey is the very definition a Legacy Broker. Throughout his career, Packet has handled sales for a variety of investment properties and the sale of all forms of raw and improved land for his clients. Prior to joining JLL, Packet worked with Newmark Knight Frank Frederick Ross and CB Richard Ellis as an investment sales specialist where he was a top producer for many years. There is hardly a person in Denver that has more real estate history than he does. Barry Dorfman refers to Packet as “The Godfather of Land Brokerage.” Denver is a different city because him. There are office buildings, industrial parks, and housing communities that exist only because of the skill set and the vision that Packet brings to his craft. Packet has been a mentor to far more people than anyone would ever know. There are many real estate professionals around metro Denver and beyond that would proudly say they would not be where they are without Packet. His impact has even been generational as he worked with both Ned Carner and his son Tyler Carner with CBRE in Denver. Tyler spoke of Packet saying “He loves to learn and has never lost his curiosity. He lives his life with integrity and trustworthiness.”

James T. Brubaker Legislative Award - Representative Hugh McKean
In 2016, Representative Hugh McKean was elected to serve in the Colorado House from District 51, which encompasses Loveland and the surrounding area. He was reelected in 2018 and 2020, after which House Republicans elected him House minority leader, a role which he has held since January 2021. 
It was in this role during the 2021 legislative session he became instrumental in guiding his caucus to ensure that the once-draconian energy benchmarking bill was amended into a reasonable, palatable piece of legislation. For his efforts, NAIOP honored Representative McKean as the 2021 Legislative Award recipient. 

Broker Rising Star Award - Janessa Biller, JLL
This year NAIOP introduced a new broker award that recognizes a rising star within the brokerage community. High key contributions to their organization and recognition in the industry accomplished with less than five years of production experience is the key criteria. Our inaugural honoree, Janessa Biller with JLL, is originally from Denver and after high school moved to New York for both her undergraduate and MBA degrees. Janessa then worked on Wall Street for ten years with several firms including Goldman Sachs. After returning to Denver, she began working as a Tenant Rep broker. She has been a valuable addition to her organization and embodies the characteristics of someone who will be a long-term force in Denver commercial real estate.

Sherman R. Miller Trailblazer Award - John Comunale, Comunale Properties
As this year’s winner of the Trailblazer Award, John Comunale of Comunale Properties, has grown his company from a small, family-operated property owner to a developer with regional significance working with the largest institutional capital partners in the country. As President of Comunale Properties, John is responsible for strategic planning, capital structuring, business development, and asset management operations for the company. Over the past 5 years, John has grown Comunale from a team of 3 to a team of 16 and the portfolio from 25 properties with 420,000 sf to 35 properties with over 1.5 million sf and an additional 2 million sf under development in Denver, Akron, Houston, and Phoenix.

 Award of Excellence - Tyler Carlson, Evergreen Devco, Inc.

The Award of Excellence is a tribute to the outgoing NAIOP Colorado President, Tyler Carlson, and is a heartfelt thank you for his time and effort spent on behalf of the organization. In 2021, Tyler With his bold leadership style, Tyler challenged the Chapter's Board and Committee’s to advance the organizations efforts to emerge from the pandemic and to do so stronger and more confident. Under his leadership, the Chapter continued to provide world class networking, education, and public policy impacts. The Chapter's two premier events were held with tremendous success. The Real Estate Challenge was presented in a hybrid format and was the first major event with significant in-person attendance and the year was capped with the 2021 Fight Night event where over 500 people came out to support the highest number of Real Estate Ringers in the events history. Lastly, Tyler put a laser focus on Public Policy issues by attending meetings with City Council members, testifying at the legislature, and working with sister organizations to craft a response to the Denver Affordable Housing proposal. Thank you Tyler!

NAIOP Member of the Year - Jim Fitzmorris, JR Engineering
The 2021 Member of the Year honoree, Jim Fitzmorris, has been a NAIOP Colorado member for over 15 years and has served on the Chapter's Membership and Public Policy Committees, both for over 10 years. During his tenure, Jim has been a mainstay at Chapter events such as the quarterly breakfast programs, networking events, and our cornerstone events including the Awards, Real Estate Challenge and Fight Night. JIm was recognized for his commitment to the Chapter, evident through committee involvement and a willingness to “show up” and support the Chapter in our endeavors while sharing the benefits of NAIOP membership. Thank you Jim!

NAIOP Developing Leader Member of the Year - Yvette A. Roman, Turner Construction Company
A NAIOP member since early 2021, Yvette has been a fixture on the DL Committee helping with the Public Policy Committee and Golf Tournament. While ever having addressed a legislative committee, it didn’t stop Yvette from volunteering to take part in the Chapter's efforts to influence the legislature on one of the biggest issues we faced in 2021.  Arriving early and staying through the entire hearing to learn about both the issues and the process showed commitment and determination. Congrats Yvette!