Walter Koelbel
Walter A. Koelbel, was Chairman of the Board of Koelbel and Company, and was one of our community’s most respected and dedicated real estate developers and civic leaders.
Born and raised in Muskegon, Michigan, Koelbel began his life of service to the community early on. Immediately following high school, and as World War II seemed far from over, he enlisted in the Navy. At the time, the Navy desperately needed additional officers so more than 130 colleges and universities were selected as training sights for nearly 70,000 trainees. As he describes it, by some unknown stroke of fate he was assigned to the University of Colorado where he was commissioned as an Ensign in 1945. Fortunately, fate was in his favor and the war came to an end before he was sent overseas. Koelbel was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a business degree in 1947.
Committed to stay in Colorado, Koelbel went out in search of a job. In the post-war economy, jobs were scarce and opportunities hard to come by. But again, luck would prevail. Without much career planning and purely by chance he went to work for Moore Realty. Koelbel began his career on February 12, 1949, armed with only a USGS map, a slide rule and his business degree. Three short years later, he founded his own company – and the rest is history.
Koelbel and Company, a real estate development, investment, construction and insurance company, is one of Denver’s most respected development firms. Koelbel has built a tremendous portfolio of mixed use developments—Pinehurst Country Club and Pinehurst Estates with over 1,000 variations of residential living; six communities in Cherry Hills Village; 560 acre acclaimed residential community – The Preserve in Greenwood Village; The Breakers, the largest luxury apartment project in the Rocky Mountain Region; involved in the development of a million square feet of office space; Centennial Promenade - the largest open air shopping center in the Metro area; Cascade Village in Vail together with numerous smaller successful commercial and residential projects. Currently Koelbel and Company is involved in the completion of 175-acre Centennial Valley, a mixed-use project in Louisville; a 1,000-acre open space oriented residential development in Douglas County and Rendezvous, a 1,200-acre mixed-use resort development close to Winter Park in Fraser, Colorado.
In addition to Koelbel’s vision to create major real estate projects throughout the region, he is genuinely committed to a number of civic programs. He has served on the board of directors of Great Outdoors Colorado, the American Cancer Society, Sewall Rehabilitation Center Foundation, State Historical Society, Colorado Women’s College, University of Colorado Foundation and Goodwill Industries of Colorado.
His tremendous dedication earned him the University of Colorado Medal, recognition as the University of Colorado’s Distinguished Business Alumni and as a former CU football player, he has been inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Honor. Most notably, Goodwill Industries recognized Koelbel for his “sincere concern and commitment to society,” by awarding him the Lifetime Service Award, he has also received the CU Real Estate Center’s – Man of the Year Award and NAIOP’s President’s Award for Community Service and together with his wife, received the Henry M. Porter Award in recognition of their outstanding philanthropic contributions to the state.
For more than 50 years, Koelbel served his business and community well. He respected the land that has been so important in his success, saying, “We have to protect the land and use it wisely. What we do literally affects everybody in how they live, work, shop, study, worship, recreate and travel.”
Walter Koelbel’s life work made a significant impact on our community. Together with his wife, Gene E. Norgren and their five children and 12 grandchildren, he shaped the success of our city.
Born and raised in Muskegon, Michigan, Koelbel began his life of service to the community early on. Immediately following high school, and as World War II seemed far from over, he enlisted in the Navy. At the time, the Navy desperately needed additional officers so more than 130 colleges and universities were selected as training sights for nearly 70,000 trainees. As he describes it, by some unknown stroke of fate he was assigned to the University of Colorado where he was commissioned as an Ensign in 1945. Fortunately, fate was in his favor and the war came to an end before he was sent overseas. Koelbel was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946. He graduated from the University of Colorado with a business degree in 1947.
Committed to stay in Colorado, Koelbel went out in search of a job. In the post-war economy, jobs were scarce and opportunities hard to come by. But again, luck would prevail. Without much career planning and purely by chance he went to work for Moore Realty. Koelbel began his career on February 12, 1949, armed with only a USGS map, a slide rule and his business degree. Three short years later, he founded his own company – and the rest is history.
Koelbel and Company, a real estate development, investment, construction and insurance company, is one of Denver’s most respected development firms. Koelbel has built a tremendous portfolio of mixed use developments—Pinehurst Country Club and Pinehurst Estates with over 1,000 variations of residential living; six communities in Cherry Hills Village; 560 acre acclaimed residential community – The Preserve in Greenwood Village; The Breakers, the largest luxury apartment project in the Rocky Mountain Region; involved in the development of a million square feet of office space; Centennial Promenade - the largest open air shopping center in the Metro area; Cascade Village in Vail together with numerous smaller successful commercial and residential projects. Currently Koelbel and Company is involved in the completion of 175-acre Centennial Valley, a mixed-use project in Louisville; a 1,000-acre open space oriented residential development in Douglas County and Rendezvous, a 1,200-acre mixed-use resort development close to Winter Park in Fraser, Colorado.
In addition to Koelbel’s vision to create major real estate projects throughout the region, he is genuinely committed to a number of civic programs. He has served on the board of directors of Great Outdoors Colorado, the American Cancer Society, Sewall Rehabilitation Center Foundation, State Historical Society, Colorado Women’s College, University of Colorado Foundation and Goodwill Industries of Colorado.
His tremendous dedication earned him the University of Colorado Medal, recognition as the University of Colorado’s Distinguished Business Alumni and as a former CU football player, he has been inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Honor. Most notably, Goodwill Industries recognized Koelbel for his “sincere concern and commitment to society,” by awarding him the Lifetime Service Award, he has also received the CU Real Estate Center’s – Man of the Year Award and NAIOP’s President’s Award for Community Service and together with his wife, received the Henry M. Porter Award in recognition of their outstanding philanthropic contributions to the state.
For more than 50 years, Koelbel served his business and community well. He respected the land that has been so important in his success, saying, “We have to protect the land and use it wisely. What we do literally affects everybody in how they live, work, shop, study, worship, recreate and travel.”
Walter Koelbel’s life work made a significant impact on our community. Together with his wife, Gene E. Norgren and their five children and 12 grandchildren, he shaped the success of our city.
