Federico Pe帽a, former Denver mayor and former U.S. secretary of energy and transportation, will be the keynote speaker at the 2001 CU Real Estate Council Annual Conference, "2001: A Space Odyssey -- Will the Boom Continue?"
The conference is Feb. 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California St.
It will bring together Colorado's most influential and active real estate professionals to address issues facing Colorado's real estate industry and this year is focusing on space. As Colorado responds to extraordinary growth, space issues -- including open space, space for development and office space -- continue to dominate industry discussions.
The annual event is hosted by the University of Colorado Real Estate Center and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
Pe帽a will speak about his tenure as mayor from 1983 to 1991. He is credited with planning significant urban projects including Denver International Airport, the Colorado Convention Center and the Denver Art Museum, which poised Denver to benefit from the most recent wave of prosperity.
"Who better than someone with Federico's foresight to talk about the action required to prepare for the next wave of prosperity," said Byron Koste, director of the CU Real Estate Center. Pe帽a is currently a managing director of Vestar Capital, a private equity investment firm specializing in management buyouts.
Other conference speakers include Randy Zisler, a cofounder and principal of Colliers Apogee International, who will speak about global real estate investment banking and capital markets.
Afternoon panel discussions will focus on areas experiencing extraordinary growth, including downtown and metro Denver, the regions south of Denver to Colorado Springs and north of Denver to Fort Collins, as well as the Western Slope. Other sessions include "Differentiating Your Development by 'Building Green' " and "Mixed-use Development: Financing and Success." CU-Boulder MBA students specializing in real estate also will make presentations.
The CU Real Estate Center is an outreach branch of the CU-Boulder College of Business. The center provides real estate curriculum at the graduate and undergraduate levels, develops real estate internships for students and fosters an ongoing dialogue with the university to encourage theoretical and applied land-use research.
For more information, contact the CU Real Estate Center at (303) 492-3258 or .