The Future of Downtown Denver

Peter H. Coors is Chairman and Chief Customer Relations Officer of Molson Coors Brewing Company. He is a graduate of Cornell University (engineering) and Denver University (business). Pete has spent his entire career in the beer business. He serves on the Board of Directors of American Enterprise Institute. He is president of the Adolph Coors Foundation. He also serves on the Board of the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America; and the National Western Stock Show. Pete is the son of Joseph and Holly Coors, and is a great-grandson of Adolph Coors, who founded the Golden brewery in 1873. He and his wife, Marilyn, have six children and fourteen grandchildren.

Dick Monfort enters his 21st season with the Rockies franchise in 2018 and continues in his role as Owner/Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the club. A Colorado native, Monfort and the Colorado Rockies Ownership Group have established the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club as a leading organization in the Rocky Mountain Region in both sports and business. Brothers Dick and Charlie Monfort have done extensive community outreach through their family-directed Monfort Family Foundation. In September 2004, the Monfort Family Foundation gifted $10 million to Children’s Hospital Colorado for the construction of a new medical facility in Aurora, CO. The oncology floor of the new hospital is named in memory of Rick Wilson, a cousin of the Monfort family. The foundation is a longtime provider of funding and endorsement for the Boys & Girls Clubs in Metro Denver and Weld County. Also active in higher education, the Monfort family supports the Monfort School of Business at the University of Northern Colorado and the Monfort Excellence Fund at Colorado State University; both impact students, faculty and the Northern Colorado community through scholarships for exceptional students and support of outstanding faculty. Other organizations that have benefited from the Monfort family’s years of philanthropic work include CU Cancer Center, Craig Hospital, United Way, the Denver Art Museum and Habitat for Humanity. Individually, Monfort was the 2008 recipient of the United Way of Weld County Humanitarian of the Year Award—an award his father, Kenny Monfort, received twenty years earlier. Monfort is currently the Chairman of the University of Northern Colorado Board of Trustees and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of University of Colorado Health. Monfort spent 25 years in the cattle business, primarily with his family’s company. He became president of Monfort of Colorado, Inc., a subsidiary of ConAgra, in 1987 and in 1991 became president and CEO of ConAgra Red Meats. After retiring from ConAgra in 1995, he helped launch the Montera Cattle Company in 1996. Currently, he owns the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, CA. A 1976 graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, Monfort has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Management. In May 2012, Colorado State University President Tony Frank awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters to Monfort in recognition of his significant contributions to Colorado industry and higher education. Also in May 2014, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship by Johnson & Wales University. Born April 27, 1954, Monfort makes his home in Greeley, CO., and he has three children: daughter Dr. Lyndsey Graber M.D. and sons Walker and Sterling who both work with him at the Colorado Rockies.

Tami Door is the CEO of Q Factor, and the former CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership. She joined the Partnership in 2005 after serving as executive vice president of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s largest regional chamber, and as vice president of a five state division of NBD-First Chicago. She is the co-founder of Denver Startup Week and The Commons on Champa. Tami is a recognized leader for her innovative approach to convening, collaborating and innovating to build a strong City. She is the incoming Chairman of the International Downtown Association.

Wende Curtis, Comedy Works’ head mistress, started as a cocktail waitress at Comedy Works in Fort Collins while finishing her degree in acting and directing some 30 years ago. Upon graduation, she quickly rose through the ranks to management and talent coordination and then as its eventual owner/proprietor in 2001. Wende expanded the historic Larimer Square Comedy Works location to a second DTC Denver location in 2008 – both clubs now greet over 200,000 patrons annually. USA Today and other industry insiders have ranked Comedy Works as one of the top comedy clubs anywhere. But most importantly, ask any comedian working what’s the top club in the country and Curtis and Comedy Works are on the top one or two for every one of them. In 2006, Comedy Works was recognized by the Downtown Denver Partnership.. In 2012, the Denver Business Journal honored Wende with its lifetime achievement award for women in business. In 2014, Comedy Works and Wende were recognized as the outstanding business of the year for a Women/Minority owned business by the Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. Comedy Works’ mission statement? To be the best comedy club, ever. (mic drop)

Daniel is responsible for the vision, design, entitlements and execution of new and existing real estate developments, and strategic positioning of all real estate assets. Previously, Daniel was the Senior Principal and Practice Leader for the Stantec Buildings and ViBE groups in Colorado, where he oversaw the vision, design and execution for multiple life sciences and healthcare facilities, mixed-use developments, sports and entertainment districts, arenas, urban districts, shopping experiences, nationally and in over 15 countries. He has over 20 years of experience in visioning, planning, urban design, architecture, interior design, branding and graphic design, environmental graphics and wayfinding, sustainable design, and placemaking. Daniel earned a Master of Architecture and Healthcare Design from Texas A&M University. He received his Bachelor of Architecture degree in from the Instituto Superior de Arquitectura in Mexico City, and the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, Israel. He serves on the Colorado University LEEDS Real Estate Center International Advisory Board, the ULI’s RETL Council, and the Better Boulder Board of Directors. For Daniel, delivering captivating, relevant, sustainable, and exceptionally unique projects is the status quo. He designs and develops places where people elect to spend their time. He finds connections and meaning; creating beautiful design, focused on the experience.

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.

A James Beard Foundation award winner for Best Chef Southwest in 2013 and nominee for Outstanding Chef in 2016, Jasinski opened her first restaurant, Rioja, in Denver’s Larimer Square to critical acclaim in 2004 featuring a Mediterranean menu influenced by local and seasonal products. She and business partner Beth Gruitch acquired Bistro Vendôme, a French bistro in 2006, opened Euclid Hall Bar & Kitchen in 2010 and their homage to seafood, Stoic & Genuine, debuted at Denver’s historic Union Station in 2014. Her newest is Ultreia featuring the foods of the Iberian Peninsula, also in Union Station. “Chef Jen” was a finalist on the 2013 season of Top Chef Masters and won the Denver tour stop of Cochon 555 in 2014. She was named 2004 Colorado Chef of the Year and 2005 Western Regional Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation. Rioja is consistently listed among Denver’s top restaurants by the 5280 Magazine and The Denver Post and Rioja has been annually awarded four stars by AAA since 2010. Jasinski’s impressive restaurant credits include stints at Wolfgang Puck restaurants including Postrio, San Francisco; Spago, Las Vegas; Granita, Malibu; Spago, Chicago; corporate chef at Wolfgang Puck Food Company. She lives in Denver with her husband Max MacKissock (also a chef) and their dogs.

Amy is the Managing Partner of East West Partners in Denver. East West Partners is devoted to creating terrific places. Since 1986, the firm has developed and sold over $7 billion of residential and commercial real estate. Amy is always looking for ways to connect people with the places they live and work. Amy is responsible for bringing the new Cherry Creek West development to life. Her team recently completed one of the Denver Union Station transit hub redevelopment and much of the adjacent residential and office including The Coloradan and 16 Chestnut. She also oversaw the revitalization of The Landmark, a distressed mixed-use community that needed new eyes and perspective. Prior to this, Amy helped to create the Riverfront Park community in Denver. More than a collection of buildings, the Riverfront Park neighborhood of Denver, Denver’s Union Station Neighborhood and the Landmark development represent something important to Amy - creating a sense of place. Amy is deeply committed to the community. She a founding member of the Center City Collaborative, which is a coalition of civic-minded, business and community leaders working to find creative and inclusive solutions to the current challenges facing downtown. She is also on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, the Denver Metro Chamber’s EDC, Downtown Denver Partnership’s Civic Ventures Board, the University of Colorado Real Estate Center’s International Advisory Board, and a member of Colorado Concern and the Urban Land Institute’s national Mixed-Use Council, Also deeply committed to the arts, Amy is a founding board member for the Riverfront Park Community Foundation, which fosters organizations particularly in the areas of arts and education in Denver, and as a founding board member of Union Hall, a new model to support local and emerging artists in 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.

Brian P. Wynne serves as a President and co-Founder of Wynne Yasmer Real Estate. Wynne Yasmer was formed in 2019 and is a Denver-based real estate company with focus on multi-family and mixed-use development and acquisitions. Until June 2019, Mr. Wynne was Senior Managing Director for Mill Creek Residential Trust. He oversaw all activities in the Mountain States division of the company as well as the office as a whole. Prior to joining Mill Creek, Mr. Wynne served as Vice President of Simpson Housing LLLP, responsible for all development activities in Colorado, California, and Arizona. In this positions, he sourced and executed the development of over 2,000 apartment homes worth over $600mm in capitalization. Mr. Wynne previously held development positions with Forest City Enterprises, covering mixed-use development activities in Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Arizona. In this capacity, he oversaw over a million SF of commercial and residential development including high-rise office and residential as well as luxury retail. Prior to starting his career in real estate, Mr. Wynne worked at Deloitte Consulting in New York City. He is an alumnus of Leadership Denver 2015 and is actively engaged in the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation. He sits on the Colorado ULI Multi-Housing Product Council. He holds a Master of Business Administration with a focus on finance and real estate from The Anderson School at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Virginia. Mr. Wynne lives in Denver with his wife and three children.

Aaron Townsend brings breadth and depth to his role as Director of Preconstruction Operations with a background in estimating, project management and field supervision of a wide variety of project types and delivery methods. A born leader whose natural tendency is to think critically through all situations and provide many well thought-out solutions is key to the many successful projects he has performed. Aaron’s primary role is to “own the budget” and to coach the team through the risks and opportunities in design. Specifically, Aaron is absolutely responsible for estimate control, systems analysis, materials research, subcontractor evaluation, and buying strategies. Aaron engages with the operational team to coordinate a truly integrated project delivery environment that becomes the plan for successful project development.

Nicole has been working in real estate law for more than 20 years, and has experience managing transactions with as many as 276 properties in a single portfolio, as well as has expertise with handling $1.5 billion deals. These are just some of the many credentials that Nicole Ament brings to her role as Brownstein’s Real Estate Department chair—and to her clients’ projects, every day. Focusing on land use, development, financing and disposition, she spearheads transactions featuring complex portfolios and large single assets. Nicole draws on diverse experience navigating complicated development and land use issues, to ensure her clients across the nation—from hotels and healthcare facilities to ski resorts and fitness clubs—maximize opportunities. Previously, she served as the chair of the firm’s Hospitality, Resort & Recreation industry group and, in 2018, was named one of Bisnow’s Denver Power Women for having a significant impact on the business and commercial real estate industries, and helping propel cities and communities forward.