Colorado Real Estate Journal -
Eric Dienstbach, senior vice president of Binswanger, was named a 2011 CoStar Power Broker by CoStar Group. This annual award recognizes distinguished professionals in commercial real estate brokerage by highlighting the achievements of the U.S. firms and individual brokers who closed the highest transaction volumes in commercial property sales or leases for the entire year of 2011 in their respective markets. Dienstbach qualified as one of the top commercial brokers in Denver based on the total leasing transactions he closed during the year. In order to be selected for this honor, Dienstbach was evaluated against other commercial real estate brokers active in the region by CoStar Group, and subsequently ranked among the top brokers in the market. This is the second year in a row that Dienstbach has been awarded this honor. Significant transactions closed by Dienstbach in 2011 included the sale of a 212,042-square-foot industrial building in Cedar City, Utah; 209,000-sf high-tech facility in Pocatello, Idaho; and the lease of a 113,524-sf manufacturing/ warehouse facility in Wichita, Kan. In addition, Dienstbach negotiated two 10-year tenant representation transactions of 282,500 sf and 303,820 sf in Reno, Nev. Teresa L . Spaulding joined Fidelity National Title Co.’s Aurora/DTC escrow office. Spaulding has 18 years of closing experience in the industry with four years as an escrow manager. Her expertise is in the fields of commercial, residential resale, refinance and builder closing transactions with a focus on customer service and retention. Spaulding has a Bachelor of Arts from Western State College. Greenberg Traurig LLP attorney Nick McGrath recently was named to the board of directors of The Bridge Project, a local nonprofit that provides educational opportunities for children living in Denver's public housing neighborhoods. The group’s mission is to have the children graduate from high school and attend college or learn a trade. The Bridge Project was created in 1991 through a collaboration involving community representatives and faculty members in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. In addition to his board appointment, McGrath serves on the Scholarship Committee and as tutor for The Bridge Project. McGrath focuses his practice on real estate transactions, including acquisitions, leasing, planning, financing and development. McGrath also assists clients with property tax matters, including protests and abatements. He is a LEED Accredited Professional. Transwestern's Denver office announced the expansion of its Denver area multifamily services group with the addition Steven Rahe, senior vice president; Tom Wanberg, senior vice president; Craig Paton, vice president; and Johnny Neff, associate broker. Rahe specializes in the sale of apartment communities. He represents owners of Colorado private capital, institutional, and subsidized properties. Rahe has been involved in commercial real estate sales for 26 years and in Denver since 1992. Prior to joining Transwestern, Rahe spent three years with Grubb & Ellis Co. and 23 years at CB Richard Ellis, where he represented both institutional and private capital clients with closed transactions exceeding $1.1 billion. His transaction experience includes institutional-quality community sales, private capital multifamily sales, sales of subsidized multifamily properties and student housing. He has been involved in the sale of apartment communities throughout the state of Colorado, and is currently a National Multi-Housing Council member. Rahe earned his Bachelor of Arts in business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and his Master of Business Administration in finance and strategic planning from UCLA. Wanberg specializes in the sale of apartment communities. His primary focus is representing private capital apartment owners in Colorado, ranging from 30 to 300 units. He has spent his entire career serving clients as an investment services specialist. Prior to joining Transwestern, Wanberg worked for the Grubb & Ellis Co. in Denver for 27 years. His career has focused on the acquisition and disposition of a variety of investment properties, while always maintaining a special emphasis on apartment properties. Successfully closing in excess of 175 investment sales during the last 30 years, Wanberg has been a consistent top producer in Denver. Wanberg earned his Bachelor of Science in business marketing from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. Paton specializes in land and distressed asset sales, representing private and institutional capital. He has been in the commercial real estate business for 30 years, handling in excess of $1 billion of real estate assets as broker, consultant, financier or developer. Paton started his career in 1980 as a land broker at Coldwell Banker Commercial. He was a consistent top producer, selling apartment, single family and commercial land, brokering several of the largest land transactions in Denver history up to that time. In the early 2000s, Paton acted as acquisition director for a partnership buying and building high-density multifamily development sites in Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis. Paton recently has been involved in land development in Colorado, Arizona and California, as well as apartment development in Laramie, Wyo. Paton attended the University of Northern Colorado, where he majored in prelaw political science and minored in business. Neff has been in commercial real estate since 2003. Prior to joining Transwestern, he was with Grubb & Ellis Co., where was a member of the Multi Housing Investment group. From 2006 – 2009, Neff was with the Memphis, Tenn.-based shopping center developer, The Spectra Group, where he was one half of the team responsible for the development and leasing of all shopping centers (approximately 650,000 square feet) in the eastern half of the United States. Prior to that, he was a sales associate at Coldwell Banker Commercial – ALMAR Group, in San Diego, where he earned the “Most Transactions Award” for his work in 2005. Neff earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Memphis. James “Jamie” Sabatier was named president and chief operating officer of Destination Hotels and Resorts, Lowe Enterprises’ hospitality management subsidiary. Established in 1973, the Destination collection of properties now includes a portfolio of nearly 40 award winning hotels, resorts, and conference centers. Sabatier has 25 years of experience inside and outside of the hospitality industry. As a senior executive with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Sabatier was part of the team that led the W Hotels brand to industry prominence, and was involved in determining the strategic direction, positioning and growth plan for the brand. During his tenure, W Hotels’ portfolio and its active pipeline grew significantly. Sabatier also oversaw Starwood’s global investment team as it completed approximately 50 corporate and real estate transactions, including the Le Meridien mezzanine investment and brand acquisition and the $600 million acquisition of Vistana, its residential, fractional and vacation ownership company. Prior to his time at Starwood, Sabatier was a senior member of the investment banking division of Montgomery Securities, where he led the completion of merger, acquisition and equity transactions totaling more than $1 billion. He began his career in investment banking with Lehman Brothers and, before that, Coldwell Banker Commercial. Most recently, as the head of J. Sabatier & Co., he acquired commercial real estate assets while guiding the successful turnaround of a family owned business. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Brown University and his Master of Business Administration in finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business. After more than a year of planning for transition, Sabatier will take the helm from retiring president Charles S. Peck, who has led the company for 15 years of growth and profitability. Under Peck’s leadership, Destination Hotels and Resorts has grown to be currently ranked the third-largest hotel management company in the United States (Hotel Business) and has just completed another year of significant growth, adding seven properties to its management roster over the last 12 months. Alexandra Hilker joined SRS Real Estate Partners as a marketing coordinator in the Denver office. Prior to SRS, Hilker spent the last two years in Paris working in public relations, marketing and social media for the retail and fashion industries. In 2009, she worked as a public relations manager for the trend forecasting and brand identity firm Beautystreams. After Beautystreams, Hilker was a marketing and research assistant with the executive recruiting firm Martens & Heads. Hilker graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications.