MEMBERS ON THE MOVE

Welcome to NAIOP Colorado's Members on the Move Board, where you can find the latest updates on local Chapter members and their recent career news. Want to share details about a recent job change, Submit your posting now.

Members on the Move - Submitted May 2023, Posted August 2023

Joe Swensson: Joins NAIOP Colorado Board of Directors

Joe Swensson, Director of Real Estate Development with Opus Development Company, L.L.C., was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for NAIOP Colorado in late April. A member of NAIOP since 2015, Joe has served the Colorado Chapter of NAIOP in a variety of roles to include former Chair of the Winter Classic Skiing with the Icons event, volunteering on both the Developing Leaders and Public Affairs Committee, and currently serves as a NAIOP Forum Member on the National Industrial Perspectives group. Joe is a graduate of the Chapter's Mentor Program and was recognized as Developing Leader of the Year for 2020.

Joe has been with Opus since June 2016. Prior to joining Opus, Joe spent several years on the U.S. Ski Cross Team and competed in the ESPN Winter X-Games and at the F.I.S. Freestyle Ski Cross World Championships. Joe previously worked for a family development company and was involved in design, planning and site management.

As Director of Real Estate Development, Joe focuses on creating new development opportunities throughout Colorado. He works on site selection and acquisition, due diligence, government approvals, partnership formation, project financing and coordinates the efforts of the design, construction and development teams.

Joe has developed or has under construction $690 million of projects in the Denver market, including over 1,000 apartment units and nearly one million square feet of industrial space developed or under construction. That figure will climb significantly with Sun Empire, a 316-acre, 3.9 million-square-foot master-planned industrial development near the Denver International Airport.

Members on the Move - Submitted June 2023, Posted August 2023

Erin Kelley: Begins Exciting New Chapter in SLC

Erin Kelley has been a longstanding, active NAIOP Colorado member and has left a meaningful mark on our Chapter. It is our pleasure to wish Erin farewell as she embarks on her next chapter in Salt Lake City, UT, in her new role as Client Development Manager for Terracon.

Soon after Erin joined NAIOP and became active with the Developing Leaders in 2013, she quickly found herself in charge of the Mentor Program. After four years overseeing the program, she, with the help of Marc Perusse, completely revamped the program and significantly increased interest in it and the impact it has on countless careers. Through this time and the years after, Erin has been a steady, active presence – she was a two-time Developing Leaders Co-Chair (once with Brandon Kramer and once with John Huemoller), was an integral part of establishing our Chapter’s DEI Committee and was passionate about her involvement in the Legislative Affairs Committee, even testifying to the House regarding reformation of construction defect laws. Most recently Erin was a NAIOP Colorado at large Board Member until having to step down as she embarks on her next milestone in Salt Lake City.

Erin’s involvement in NAIOP was never passive. She never missed an event and always was looking for ways to improve the committees and programs she was a part of to better the experience they would provide other members and participants. Erin is passionate about people and connecting them with one another. We will miss her greatly but know her energy will be welcomed to what will now become her new chapter in Salt Lake.

When asked what her favorite NAIOP Colorado memory was she knew right away: NAIOP Fight Night 2016 - when she wore the Hillary Clinton mask and went toe-to-toe with Donald J. Trump himself (also known as Chris King).

Erin’s parting advice to her Colorado peers is, “Say yes to everything! Find something you like about the organization and be all in. You won’t regret it.”

Cheers, Erin!

Members on the Move - Submitted May 2023, Posted August 2023

Jim Mellor: Retires from Pinkard Construction

Long-time NAIOP Colorado member Jim Mellor retired this past April from Pinkard Construction, where he worked as Director of Business Development for almost 30 years. A mainstay on the Chapter's Programs Committee since joining in 2000, Jim has served a past Property Tour Chair and participated as a mentor for multiple years.

Jim is a 1978 graduate of Arizona State University with a bachelor’s in construction. He studied at the University of Santa Clara for his MBA with an emphasis in marketing. Jim has worked as a project engineer, project manager, estimator, and superintendent. During his tenure at Pinkard Construction, Jim performed and managed all aspects of marketing and business development, from sourcing leads, to writing proposals, and conducting presentations; from creating strategic and targeted business plans, to developing lifelong client relationships.

Jim's remarkable achievements within the real estate industry were recently acknowledged in Colorado Construction and Design Magazine. His enduring legacy is poised to serve as an ongoing source of inspiration and influence for the construction sector in the years ahead, as Jim begins doing consulting work, helping AEC companies with their business development efforts.

Members on the Move - Submitted May 2023, Posted August 2023

Erik VanMeetren: Promoted to Senior Manager

Erik VanMeetren has recently been promoted to senior manager of finance at Confluent Development. Since he joined the team in August of 2020 as an Associate, he has quickly ascended in his career progression, as he was promoted to Senior Associate in 2021.

Erik is responsible for a variety of tasks, including financial modeling, capital raising, joint venture structuring, investor relations, loan monitoring, and disposition analysis. Additionally, he is tasked with developing and measuring Confluent's annual corporate budget.

Prior to joining Confluent, Erik worked at Logic CRE in Las Vegas, where he was an associate on the Capital Markets team. He also spent time at a boutique investment bank in Las Vegas and played minor league baseball in the Washington Nationals organization.

Erik holds a bachelor's degree and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is also a CFA charterholder and was a student-athlete for four years and later an active member in the athletic department.

Members on the Move, posted November 17, 2022

Howard Pollack

Full Name: Howard Pollack

Company: Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti PC

Title: Shareholder & Director

Howard Pollack has practiced for over 30 years in multiple jurisdictions across the country and across a wide range of practice areas. His expertise lies in quarterbacking large, complex real estate transactions from the earliest stages of the deal through completion and operations including drafting and negotiating letters of intent, joint venture agreements, purchase and sale documents, construction agreements, acquisition, construction and permanent financing, ground leases and condominium documents. He routinely leads pre-development and entitlement activities, due diligence review with an emphasis on title, survey and environmental matters and works with his clients on analyzing and making strategic business and operational decisions. Over the years, he has also drafted and negotiated numerous development agreements, hotel/property management agreements, retail and office leases, franchise agreements, non-disclosure agreements and services contracts. Howard takes a broad view of representing his clients throughout the entire life cycle of each project and seeks to find practical, effective solutions to complicated legal issues. He places a high degree of emphasis on being an integral part of his client’s team and values extensive communication and working with all members of the client’s organization to achieve the best results possible. Immediately prior to joining the Firm, Howard served as the executive level general counsel for a large privately owned hospitality company for almost 13 years. There he directly oversaw and actively engaged in all aspects of the legal affairs of the company. Prior to that, he worked as a transactional real estate attorney at a large Denver based firm for 18 years and a large firm in Wilmington, Delaware for 3 years.

Practice Areas

Business Transactions & Capital Markets
Real Estate
Real Estate Finance

Publications

In the Right Place at the Wrong Time: Should Federal Prisoners be Required to Exhaust Their Administrative Remedies Prior to Bringing a Bivens Typle Claim in Federal Court, 42 Syracuse L. Rev. 241 (1991)
Purchase of Promissory Notes Secured by Real Estate, CLE International Conference: "Distressed Real Estate", Denver, Colorado

Awards & Involvement

Denver Business Journal 40 under 40
Denver Botanical Gardens, Board of Directors (former)
Colorado Outward Bound, Board of Directors (former)
Denver Athletic Club, Board of Directors (former)
American Jewish Committee, Board of Directors (former)

Jurisdiction

State of Colorado
State of Delaware

Education

J.D., Syracuse University College of Law (1991), cum laude, Senior Editor, Syracuse Law Review
B.A., University of Delaware (1987), Economics

Members on the Move, posted March 29, 2022

Tim Schlichting

Full Name: Tim Schlichting

Company: Prime West

Title: President

Prime West, a Colorado‐based commercial real estate firm, announced today Tim Schlichting has been named President of Prime West Development, effective Jan. 1. In this new role he will be responsible for the overall success of Prime West Development and work directly with the leadership team to enhance its vision, goals, objectives, strategies, and market focus. Jim Neenan, who joined the firm in 2012, has served as Prime West’s President and CEO since 2015. He will continue serving as CEO.

“We are excited about Tim taking the helm as president of the firm,” said Jim Neenan. “Tim’s leadership skills, strategic thinking and vast experience in commercial real estate will expand our business growth in both our core business of office development and into new sectors including multifamily and oversee our further diversification into industrial development.”

Schlichting has been in the real estate industry for nearly 25 years, most recently serving as Prime West’s Chief Development Officer since joining the firm in 2019. While his new role as president expands his strategy and leadership responsibilities, he will continue to focus on sourcing development opportunities, formulating the vision and investment strategy, managing underwriting and financial modeling, directing project entitlements and community relations, and forming the optimal capital stack with Prime West’s equity investors and lenders.

Prior to joining Prime West, Schlichting was a partner with LCP Development in Denver where he worked on office development and value‐add repositioning. He also spent several years specializing in healthcare real estate while serving as the Regional President for Cogdell Spencer Erdman and as Managing Director with NexCore Group. He was also the regional acquisitions officer for Lowe Enterprises, a national real estate investment and development company. He started his real estate career as an associate with Walton Street Capital, a large real estate opportunity fund based in Chicago, IL.

“It’s an honor to become president of Prime West Development and lead this incredible team,” said Tim Schlichting. “My goals as president are to lead the firm effectively in developing forward thinking, innovative solutions that add value for our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate.”

Schlichting earned his MBA from Stanford University and his M.S. from the University of California at Berkeley. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois.

Prime West has been a premier real estate developer in Colorado’s Front Range since 1981. From inception, the core philosophy of Prime West has remained the same: to develop best‐in‐class buildings with an emphasis on quality, reliability, and relationships. Over the past several decades, Prime West has completed over seven million square feet of commercial projects. For more information, visit https://www.primew.com/.