On July 1, Chris Achenbach, principal and director of construction at Zocalo Community Development, became the new chair of the executive committee for the Colorado District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI Colorado). He succeeded Bill Mosher, senior managing director of Trammell Crow Co. Upon completing his two-year term on June 30, Mosher stepped down from the presidency but will remain involved with preparations for the international ULI Fall Meeting to be held in Denver in October 2012.

A licensed architect as well as a Class A General Contractor, Achenbach oversees Zocalo’s design and construction. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Colorado. He co-founded ULI’s Sustainable Communities Committee and has served on the Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver Sustainable Building Task Force and the Denver Mayor’s Development Advisory Committee.

Committed to sharing his green-building knowledge, Achenbach is an instructor for the ULI Real Estate Diversity Initiative and a frequent presenter at universities. Recent Zocalo projects include the LEED-certified Solera apartments at 1956 Lawrence St. in downtown Denver and the recently started 2020 Lawrence, a 231-apartment building just to the north.

“With expertise in architecture, green building, affordable housing and infill, Chris represents the best of ULI’s core values of responsible development,” Mosher said. “Better yet, he’s a practical, working developer who knows how to get things done. He has demonstrated this by building successful projects in a tough market. We look forward to sharing Chris’s insights, energy and enthusiasm with our community.”

Ismael Guerrero became ULI Colorado’s vice chair on July 1. Since June 2007, Guerrero has served as executive director of the Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver (DHA), ranked in the top five commercial developers by the Denver Business Journal. DHA has a portfolio of 4,500 public housing, Section 8, and workforce rental units and a budget exceeding $150 million.

Under Guerrero’s leadership, DHA has undertaken an ambitious plan to transform public housing in Denver, creating vibrant, sustainable, mixed-income communities. DHA has three major public housing redevelopments underway, including Benedict Park Place at Park Avenue, Westwood Homes, and the South Lincoln Homes Redevelopment, a nationally recognized transit-oriented development model along the West Corridor light rail line.  
In 2009 South Lincoln was awarded a $10-million federal stimulus grant for its 1099 Osage apartment building from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.  In May, DHA received a $22-million HOPE VI Grant for phase two of the South Lincoln Redevelopment master plan.