Land-use experts praise Metro Denver

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) hosted its largest meeting in history last week bringing in over 6,000 of the nation's most influential land-use experts. The convention kicked off its forum of special interest tours, information sessions, and prominent guest speakers on a snowy Tuesday morning.

Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation - which contributed $100,000 to the ULI convention, making it the largest single sponsor - said he was a bit worried about conventioneers' reaction to the snow that hit the city Oct. 17, the first day of the convention.

Clark's worries were quelled when he came upon a group of top executives who "had their noses pressed on the glass overlooking the mountains and were commenting on how beautiful it looked."

By Thursday, he said he was being stopped by big-time money managers and developers from New York, Chicago and California who wanted to know whom to contact about investing in Denver.

"The question I get the most is, 'How do you do it?'" he said. "By the end of the day, a lot of people at the conference were talking like they worked for our chamber of commerce."