One of Denver’s most prominent real estate development firms has undergone a leadership shuffle that brought its former general manager back to the helm.
Marshall Burton, 40, has returned to his position as vice president and general manager for the Denver office of Opus Northwest. He replaces John Shaw, who took over the position when Burton moved to sister company Opus East LLC in Washington, D.C.
The opportunity for the switch came about when Shaw, 64, opted for retirement — albeit a short-lived one. About the same time, Opus East, along with other Opus regional properties — Phoenix-based Opus West and Atlanta-based Opus South — filed for bankruptcy.
“My desire to come back early in the year, along with John’s desire to retire at the same time, sort of converged,” Burton said. “What I’m excited about in coming back to Denver is that we have an excellent book of business today.”
Meanwhile, Shaw has joined Loveland development firm McWhinney.
“Over a 60-day period, it evolved from retiring to consulting to going back to work,” Shaw said. “It’s allowed Marshall to come back to Denver to work with Opus, and it’s allowed me to try a new page in my career.”
Burton joined Opus in 1996 after serving as associate director of the Downtown Denver Partnership Inc., where he was responsible for business development initiatives. Also, he co-founded Denver Capital Corp., a multibank community lending organization.
Chad McWhinney, co-founder and chief executive of the company that bears his name, started talking to Shaw about consulting on the development of North Park, a 935-acre property in Broomfield it purchased from Pulte Homes last year.
“There are some incredible opportunities out there, not only with real estate but also with talent, and John was one of those opportunities,” McWhinney said.
In the end, Shaw agreed to sign on with McWhinney as president, overseeing the company’s development and acquisition business.
Shaw said he has been involved in McWhinney’s projects, but his real focus has been molding the team of people to ensure the company has the skills needed to compete in a tougher financial market.
Shaw, a player in commercial real estate for more than three decades, also is helping McWhinney expand its geographical influence beyond northern Colorado. Over the years, he has been involved in developing more than 20 million square feet of commercial property throughout the western United States. He oversaw Opus Northwest’s offices in Denver, Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis.
He serves on the boards of the University of Colorado Real Estate Foundation, the member management committee of Downtown Denver Inc., and the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority. Also, he is the chairman of Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver and a member of Colorado Forum.
“One of the things I bring is a lot of relationships in the metro area,” Shaw said, “and we’re going to try to do more work in the metro community.”
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
Marshall Burton
Vice president and general manager
Opus Northwest
Career highlights: Opus East, Opus Northwest, Downtown Denver Partnership Inc. and Denver Capital Corp.
Professional affiliations: National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, Urban Land Institute, and International Council of Shopping Centers
John Shaw
President, McWhinney
Career highlights: Opus Northwest, Rancon Financial Corp. and Denver Technological Center
Community and professional activities: Colorado Real Estate Foundation, National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, Downtown Denver Inc., Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority and Colorado Forum
About McWhinney
Since 1991, Loveland-based McWhinney has developed more than 6,000 acres in several master-planned communities and more than 3.6 million square feet of commercial and mixed-use properties in Colorado and on the West Coast.
A sampling of McWhinney projects
The Marketplace at Centerra: Nearly 500,000 square feet of retail space with a half-mile of frontage along the U.S. 34 corridor. Tenants include Target, Pier 1, PetSmart, Chili’s, Johnny Carino’s, Noodles and Panera Bread.
North Park: McWhinney is in the early stages of planning and design for a mixed-use development on 935 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 25 and Northwest Parkway.
Motorplex at Centerra: An automotive lifestyle center on Interstate 25 designed to host 16 dealers. Those that have opened include King Buick Pontiac GMC, Co’s BMW, Davidson Chevrolet, Subaru of Loveland and L2 Auto.
About Opus Northwest
Opus Northwest LLC, a member of The Opus Group, is a full-service design-build development firm serving the northwestern United States. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company has offices in Denver, Kansas City, Mo., Portland, Ore., Seattle and St. Louis. Since 1953, Opus Northwest has developed more than 84.8 million square feet of space, including office, industrial, retail, multifamily, government and institutional projects.
A sampling of Opus Northwest’s Denver projects
1400 Wewatta and 1401 Wynkoop, pictured at right: New offices and residences located adjacent to Cherry Creek at the gateway to Lower Downtown between Wewatta and Wynkoop streets.
Environmental Protection Agency regional headquarters: A 292,000- square-foot office building with street-level retail space at the corner of 16th and Wynkoop streets in LoDo.
The Pinnacle at City Park South: The 27-story Phase I has 142 luxury one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums and 18 two-story parkhome residences. The 22-story Phase II tower features 111 one-, two- and three-bedroom residences.
Pulte Mortgage headquarters: A three-story, 95,000- square-foot office building at Inverness Business Park.
