The Denver Metropolitan Commercial Association of REALTORS® (DMCAR) honored its top commercial real estate producers of 2019 in land, industrial, multi-family, office, investment, retail, and small office broker categories at the association’s annual Heavy Hitters Awards.
In addition, DMCAR recognized its Young Broker of Denver, Top Landlord companies in the office, retail and industrial categories and paid tribute to SullivanHayes Partner Courtney Key as its Broker of the Year.
Broker of the Year:
Key, well known throughout the industry for her can-do, will-do attitude, achieved one of her best production years in 2019 highlighted by an aggressive expansion for Chase Bank and a flurry of activity from pad users including fast food, gas stations, daycare and automotive tenants.
Originally from southern California and raised in Springfield, Missouri, Key came to school in Colorado after falling in love with state during family vacations. Coming out of the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business at the height of the recession, she embraced the professional challenge and went to work in a retail niche that, like every other sector, simply didn’t have any activity.
“She immediately understood and appreciated the value of every client, every transaction. No one can teach you that, you have to recognize it and you figure it out and that’s what Courtney has always done,” said Brian Shorter, managing partner of SullivanHayes who, despite being called her professional mentor, is equally complimentary of his 10-year veteran employee and a company partner.
In addition to her business accomplishments and perennial ranking in the top 5 for retail production, Key gravitated to serve her profession through involvement with DMCAR over the past eight years, including serving as the association’s president in 2018-19.
“She’s known for being one of the hardest working professionals in our business and someone who brings constant good cheer and results,” said DMCAR CEO Katie Kruger. “She’s moved through the ranks at DMCAR because everyone wants to work with her.”
Key remains active with the association as a mentor to up-and-coming brokers. Her examples and messages of hard work on deal flow and the value of nurturing relationships are well received by younger brokers throughout the region.
For Key, her competency, passion, energy and commitment to excellence are the driving factors in everything she does. She does not believe in making excuses and remains acutely focused on every detail that’s happening in her personal and professional life.
DMCAR’s 2019 Heavy Hitters award recipients by category:
Top Land Broker – Chris Cowan, Newmark Knight Frank Multifamily – from a Union Station project slated for future micro-housing to a shovel-ready opportunity in Boulder, Cowan’s diverse range of deals resulted in a career record year with $98.1 million in personal production.
Top Industrial Broker – T.J. Smith, Colliers International – rekindling a friendship from 25 years ago resulted in a $30 million transaction at Welby Gardens in a year that totaled $89.1 million in personal production.
Top Multi-Family Brokers – Shane Ozment and Terrance Hunt, Newmark Knight Frank Multifamily – with $755 million in individual production, the team captured another amazing year and earned their third straight Heavy Hitter honor in the Multifamily category.
Top Office Broker – Doug Bakke, CBRE – Bakke saw continued momentum in the office sector throughout 2019 with downtown Denver maintaining significant demand from tech companies and new users. He earned personal production of $118.9 million.
Top Investment Broker –– Tim Richey, CBRE – directed the sale of Denver’s first modern high rise, 1700 Broadway on his way to a year of personal production totaling $555.6 million.
Top Retail Broker – Courtney Key, SullivanHayes – the 2019 DMCAR Broker of the Year also earned the top spot in the retail category with a flurry of activity highlighted by an aggressive expansion for Chase Bank on her way to personal production of $32.6 million.
Top Small Office Brokers – Scott Patterson and Alex Ringsby, Ringsby Realty – the team’s deal of the year included the combined sale and lease of the two-building, 250,000-square-foot Centercore Distribution Center at 5725 and 5775 Broadway on their way to personal production of $42.5 million.
Young Broker of Denver:
DMCAR’s 2019 Young Broker of Denver is Sean Holamon of Nexus Commercial Realty. Selected from a group of young professionals with less than three years of experience, Holamon’s personal production of $31.1 million in 2019 was led by the two-time sale of a multifamily property at 4101 Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Top Landlord Honorees:
DMCAR recognized the 2019 Top Landlords in the Office, Retail and Industrial categories. Association members were asked to submit nominations for their top choices in the submarket that the individual broker practices.
Office: Beacon Properties
Retail: Regency Centers
Industrial: United Properties
“In addition to honoring our Heavy Hitters for the past year, we also celebrate the individual and collective body of work of our members who continue to lead the way with thoughtful, creative and service-focused commercial real estate and business solutions that provide long-term value and results for companies and our community,” said DMCAR Board President Paul Schneider.
“We’re incredibly proud to honor and celebrate the achievements of our industry’s top producers over the past year,” said DMCAR CEO Katie Kruger. “Our association’s success and strong national reputation have been earned through the incredible focus, hard work and leadership from across our 2,000 members.”
Photos courtesy of DMCAR
