Denver, CO
Buz Koelbel, family development firm’s second generation, dies at 72
Buz Koelbel, who led his father’s Denver-area real estate firm for nearly 40 years before stepping down from the top job earlier this year, has died.
Koelbel, 72, died Thursday from blood cancer, according to his family.
Koelbel’s father, Walter A. Koelbel Sr., was a Michigan native who moved to Colorado for military training in World War II, then stayed to attend the University of Colorado Boulder. He founded Koelbel and Co. at age 26 in 1952 as a residential brokerage and found early success buying land to the south of Denver in the path of the region’s growth.
“Early on, my dad realized that dealing with the real-estate agents and the brokers wasn’t as much fun as looking for good land and figuring out what to do with it,” Buz Koelbel told Avid Lifestyle, a publication that covers Denver’s southern suburbs, in 2021.
Koelbel, born the same year his father founded the company, was his father’s junior. But he acquired his nickname early on, thanks to his toddler older sister’s mispronunciation of “baby brother.”
“My sister couldn’t say Walter and she called me her little baby buzzer — and it just stuck,” he told the Villager newspaper in 2017. “When I was learning cursive in first or second grade, I looked at it and thought it sounds the same with one ‘z’ as two.”
Koelbel and his father’s company grew up together.
“To get us kids out of the house, he’d take us on property tours,” he told the Villager. “But probably the most significant memory is when they started converting my grandparents’ Hereford cattle farm into what is now Pinehurst Country Club and community. We used to play in the cornfields out there as a kid. That was our first big flagship community.”
Koelbel graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School and, like his father, UC Boulder, where his family became a major donor. The university’s Leeds School of Business is located in the Koelbel Building.
After graduating in 1974, Koelbel worked in property management in San Francisco for two years before joining Koelbel and Co. in 1976. He was named president in 1985. His father died in December 2011.
Koelbel and Co.’s development activity has been varied. The firm has developed single-family home communities in the Denver area, including The Preserve in Greenwood Village, as well as Rendezvous in Grand County. It also developed the region’s largest apartment complex — The Breakers Resort, now TAVA Waters, in southeast Denver, which set a record when it sold in 2016. The company also developed 10 income-restricted housing projects during his tenure.
The firm, however, isn’t just residential. Commercial projects have included retail space in Parker, a business park in Louisville and RiNo’s Catalyst office building. Another office building is underway in Aurora geared at defense contractors. In recent months, Koelbel has been the buyer as sellers have unloaded Denver Tech Center office buildings at big losses.
The firm didn’t stray outside Colorado for decades. But last year, Koelbel and Co. broke ground on a Catalyst office building in Omaha.
Koelbel stepped down from day-to-day responsibilities at the company in the spring, handing the title of president and CEO to son Carl Koelbel and taking on the title of chairman. His other sons, Walt and Dean, are also executives at the firm. Koelbel and Co. calls itself “the longest operating family-owned real estate development firm in the region.”
“We’ve all got what my dad calls the dinner-table DNA,” Carl Koelbel told the Villager in 2017. “It was growing up and hearing my dad talk about real estate. It just got embedded within us.”
Koelbel was a co-founder of the Denver South Economic Development Partnership, the Common Sense Institute and the High Line Canal Conservancy, according to his family. He served as a board member for a variety of organizations including the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and CU Real Estate Center.
Koelbel is survived by Sherri, his wife of 41 years, as well as his four children — Carl (Fallon), Walt (Laura), Dean (Kristin), and Bethany Mihalcin (Justin) — and four siblings: Lynn Stambaugh (Jim), Bob (Deb), Leslie Webb (Tom) and Laurie Chahbandour (John). He is also survived by 11 grandchildren who, according to his family, gave him a new nickname: “Bop.”
A memorial service will take place on Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hills Village. A reception will follow at Cherry Hills Country Club. In lieu of flowers, his family asks that donations be made to Junior Achievement or the High Line Canal Conservancy.
Read more at our partner, BusinessDen.
Get more business news by signing up for our Economy Now newsletter.
Originally Published:
DENVER — It was another record-breaking day in Denver Tuesday as the high temperature topped 80 degrees, crushing the previous record of 76 degrees set in 1896. It’s going to be even hotter Wednesday!
As this ridge of high pressure moves closer into Colorado, temperatures will climb about 30 degrees above normal. It’ll be the hottest day of the week with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s across the plains.
Denver will easily break the current record of 75 degrees, set in 2012. And the city could even challenge its all-time March record high of 86 degrees on Wednesday. It will likely be the fifth record breaking day of the month so far.
Gusty winds, hot temperatures and low humidity values will lead to high fire danger in south central Colorado Wednesday. A Fire Weather Watch and Red Flag Warning are posted for much of that area.
Temperatures will cool a bit on Thursday as a cold front moves into the state bringing a slight chance of showers, mainly to the mountains. Highs will still stay in the upper 70s to low 80s, with some gusty winds around the Denver metro.
Cooler air will settle in behind the front on Friday. Temperatures will dip into the 50s. It seems chilly compared to what we’ve seen, but it’s very seasonal for late March. Enjoy the brief break from the heat while it’s here. Warmer air and possibly more record-breaking heat return just in time for the weekend.
More record breaking temperatures across the Denver metro area
DENVER WEATHER LINKS: Hourly forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather Page | 24/7 Weather Stream
Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.
Denver, CO
Keeler: Why did 2026 Broncos trade for Jaylen Waddle? Because they learned a lesson from 2025 Chiefs
Even Snakes roll snake eyes. As a Broncos quarterback, Jake Plummer went 3-3 in one-score games during the 2004 regular season. In 2005, Jake The Snake improved to 5-2 in those tilts. Plummer followed that up with a 3-5 record in one-score games during 2006.
Down. Up. Down. Close wins in the NFL, year-to-year, are about as consistently reliable as New Jersey Transit.
“You can’t coach clutch,” Plummer texted me Tuesday. “It’s either in your blood, or it isn’t.”
The Bo-lief is strong enough in Broncos Country right now to bench press a F-450 Super Duty. Bo Nix is 24-10 as a Broncos QB1 in regular-season tussles, 25-11 overall. He’s 13-8 in games decided by eight points or fewer as an NFL starter, and went 12-2 last fall.
The Broncos put up a mark of 11-2 in one-score games in 2025, tying an NFL record for one-score victories (11) in a season. Nix replaced Patrick Mahomes as the NFL’s Comeback King. Before the madness of Sean Payton’s fourth-down call in the AFC Championship, Denver had a method.
“The ones that have it, you can see it in their eyes,” Plummer continued. “It permeates the whole situation and something akin to faith!”
Faith is contagious.
Fortune is fickle.
Why did Denver trade for Jaylen Waddle?
Why are fans clamoring for another hammer at tailback to pair with J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey?
Why do they want more speed at inside linebacker, someone who can run with tight ends up the seam?
Because history doesn’t say 11 one-score victories is hard to repeat.
History says it’s nearly impossible.
Over the last five decades, only five NFL teams have won 10 or more one-score games in a season — the Broncos became the newest member of that club last December.
But get a load of how those other four teams fared the very next year:
• 2024 Chiefs: 11 one-score wins, 15 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 1-9 in one-score games, six wins overall.
• 2022 Vikings: 11 one-score wins, 13 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 6-8 in one-score games, seven wins overall.
• 2019 Seahawks: 10 one-score wins, 11 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 8-3 in one-score games, 12 wins overall.
• 1978 Oilers: 10 one-score wins, 10 wins overall. The following fall? A record of 6-3 in one-score games, 11-5 overall.
Summing up? Two of the four teams that’d racked up double-digit close wins regressed badly, while the other two improved slightly.
But none of them won more than eight games by eight points or less the following season.
In fact, their combined winning percentage in one-score games that next year was 45.6% (21-25). And the average relapse was a 3.25-win falloff compared to the prior season.
With a tougher schedule, a new offensive coordinator and the usual spate of wacky, unpredictable NFL gremlins lurking, would it shock you if the Broncos finished 11-6? Or 12-5? In this division, you’d take either one of those records in a so-called “regression” year. Take it and run with it.
The Broncos’ floor is as high as it’s been since Sheriff Manning hung up his spurs. The ceiling is fluid. You swap draft picks for a proven, win-now talent such as Waddle because the football gods are going to demand that you make your own luck from here on out.
“Each season is different,” Plummer said. “When there is unfettered belief in each other, it’s contagious and those wins can happen naturally. On the contrary, when there is unrealistic expectations from the outside, pressure to perform can impede the natural flow of what’s happening on the field. That’s why believing is paramount to achieving!”
While the Snake’s Dove Valley chapter was coming to a close, the New Orleans Saints won four games by eight points or less in 2006, en route to a 10-6 mark.
The Saints were 2-3 in those close contests the next season and slipped to 7-9 overall. The year after that? A 3-6 record in one-score games and an 8-8 mark overall. Payton knows. And if he doesn’t, he’s sure as heck about to find out.
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.
Two more days of record-breaking heat are forecast for northern Colorado this week, including in the Denver area, according to the National Weather Service.
Earlier forecasts from the weather service projected 90-degree temperatures in Denver on Wednesday, which would have marked the city’s first of the year and earliest on record. The expected temperature high has since dropped to 88 degrees, which would still break daily and monthly heat records, according to the weather service.
NWS Tuesday forecasts:
- 64 degrees in Dillion, breaking the 63-degree record for March 24.
- 75 degrees in Evergreen, breaking the 71-degree daily record.
- 81 degrees in Denver, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 83 degrees at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 83 degrees in Boulder, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 84 degrees at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, breaking the 80-degree daily record.
NWS Wednesday forecasts:
- 69 degrees in Dillion, breaking the 62-degree record for March 24.
- 80 degrees in Evergreen, breaking the 75-degree daily record.
- 88 degrees in Denver, breaking the 75-degree daily record and the 86-degree March heat record. Denver has broken or tied the March heat record three times so far this month, according to the weather service.
- 89 degrees at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, breaking the 76-degree daily record.
- 87 degrees in Boulder, breaking the 78-degree daily record.
- 89 degrees at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, breaking the 79-degree daily record.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
TSA wait times hit
More record breaking temperatures across the Denver metro area
NBA to explore expansion opportunities in Seattle and Las Vegas after Board of Governors votes in favor of move
The Streamline: Concerns raised over future of Tecolote Canyon Golf Course
Musical ‘The Wiz’ eases on down to Milwaukee’s Water Street
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
LaGuardia Crash Timeline: Moments Before Air Canada Plane Collided With Fire Truck
Chicago alderwoman apologizes for ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ comment on slain student
Fake Euronews website targets Hungary election with false claims
An air traffic controller was juggling extra roles during the LaGuardia plane crash
Iran War: Pentagon set to send thousands of elite 82nd Airborne troops to region | BBC News
-
Detroit, MI7 days agoDrummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
-
Georgia1 week agoHow ICE plans for a detention warehouse pushed a Georgia town to fight back | CNN Politics
-
Movie Reviews6 days ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Turning Point USA Clubs Expand to High Schools Across America
-
Sports4 days agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
Science1 week agoIndustrial chemicals have reached the middle of the oceans, new study shows
-
Science1 week agoHow a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
-
Culture1 week agoTest Your Memory of Great Lines From Classic Irish Poems