EVAN MAKOVSKY
Evan Makovsky first co-founded the Shames Makovsky Realty Company in 1971 with his partner and uncle, Motty Shames, known for his ethics, integrity, and preference for face-to-face interactions. They later founded the Shames Makovsky Mortgage Company, catapulting the company into the full-service commercial realty industry.
One of Makovsky’s major accomplishments was saving the historic Colorado Business Bank from the wrecking ball in the late 1990s. In the 2000s, Makovsky became an urban hero of downtown Denver when he announced that he had achieved what others had failed to do: he purchased the array of vacant and decrepit properties on the block from California to Welton streets and 15th to 16th streets to revitalize the area that bordered the new Convention Center. He transformed this important gateway to downtown Denver into a modern and vibrant conglomeration of properties Denverites can be proud of.
Makovsky grew up in Pueblo, CO, and worked in his father’s furniture business every day after school. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Denver. In 2007, he was named Honorary Dean of Real Estate and Construction Management of the Franklin G. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver. He was also given an honorary Doctorate in business administration from Johnson & Wales University in 2008.
Makovsky and his wife Evi believe in supporting the community by assisting with its growth and development. They are involved with many community organizations and nonprofit boards, such as the Downtown Denver Partnership, Denver Academy of Torah, Denver Health Foundation, Denver’s Road Home, Denver Scholarship Foundation, M.B., and Shana Glassman Foundation, Rocky Mountain Historical Jewish Society, Rose Community Foundation, and Shalom Park.
One of Makovsky’s major accomplishments was saving the historic Colorado Business Bank from the wrecking ball in the late 1990s. In the 2000s, Makovsky became an urban hero of downtown Denver when he announced that he had achieved what others had failed to do: he purchased the array of vacant and decrepit properties on the block from California to Welton streets and 15th to 16th streets to revitalize the area that bordered the new Convention Center. He transformed this important gateway to downtown Denver into a modern and vibrant conglomeration of properties Denverites can be proud of.
Makovsky grew up in Pueblo, CO, and worked in his father’s furniture business every day after school. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Denver. In 2007, he was named Honorary Dean of Real Estate and Construction Management of the Franklin G. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver. He was also given an honorary Doctorate in business administration from Johnson & Wales University in 2008.
Makovsky and his wife Evi believe in supporting the community by assisting with its growth and development. They are involved with many community organizations and nonprofit boards, such as the Downtown Denver Partnership, Denver Academy of Torah, Denver Health Foundation, Denver’s Road Home, Denver Scholarship Foundation, M.B., and Shana Glassman Foundation, Rocky Mountain Historical Jewish Society, Rose Community Foundation, and Shalom Park.