At the age of 26, Walter A. Koelbel founded Koelbel and Company as a residential brokerage firm in 1952, just as America’s love affair with the automobile was bursting into full bloom. Coinciding with a massive expansion of highways across the nation, a new era was born with more and more people making their escapes beyond city limits.
The young Koelbel had both patience and vision, and he began acquiring properties, many of which were barren plains, along a highway that would eventually become Denver’s I-25 corridor. It wasn’t long before he’d nurtured his business into a full-service land development company, which launched what would become a rich history of real estate excellence.
The company continued to gain prominence with the planning of Pinehurst Country Club and Pinehurst Estates, its flagship property, several miles southwest of the city. The development laid the foundation for Koelbel’s enduring philosophy of respecting the land by designing communities that honor distinguishing natural land features. Future developments did the same: In 1990, Koelbel created The Preserve at Greenwood Village, an award-winning community with public trails that lead to a central 60-acre nature preserve.
Now in its seventh decade, Koelbel and Company is the longest operating family-owned real estate development firm in the region, with a slate of developments stretching from Vail and Winter Park to Louisville and Boulder, as well all across metropolitan Denver.
Now led by Walter A. “Buz” Koelbel, Walter’s son, who took the company reins in 1985, Koelbel continues to put its indelible mark on the Colorado landscape, marrying classic values and innovative design. “Koelbel and Company was founded on an overriding goal best expressed in the words of my dad and our founder,” Koelbel says. “‘Never forget, under all lies the land — we must protect it and use it wisely.’” The company has not wavered from this guiding value; they have, in fact, continuously added new dimension to refine technologies and innovation that honor the land while promoting healthy and improved lifestyles.
“We are committed to fulfilling Coloradans’ real estate needs through in-touch, futuristic and caring land development concepts,” Koelbel says.
