Best of Colorado 2015 Our readers weigh in Mike Taylor Each issue of ColoradoBiz, we re faced with deciding which businesses to highlight within our finite pages, based mostly on accomplishment, community significance and perceived reader interest. In this inaugural Best of Colorado Readers Choice supplement, we ve taken it out of editors hands and left it to readers to tell us their top places to do business, from banks to dry cleaners to coffee shops to fitness clubs. To help us identify these businesses, we enlisted DataJoe, a third-party research firm that set up an online voting process that ran several months to identify winners and runners-up in 62 categories. Participants were asked to vote for the companies they d trust to take care of their colleagues and friends and were required to vote in at least 10 categories. In another measure to minimize purely self-interested ballots, participants were allowed to vote for their own company once, but were also required to vote for at least two other companies in that category. The result of this peer-generated list is an interesting mix of usual-suspect national names and lesserknown local gems. (Who knew Continental Sausage was a go-to spot for team-building tours, or that Mike Wright Gallery in LoDo voted Best Gallery for Public Art is a happenin spot for browsers and buyers, with 15 percent off wine on Buy the Bottle Wednesdays?) We hope you find some new places to check out, or services that may help your own business pursuits, on following pages. And thanks to our readers who participated and made this special section happen. BEST ACCOUNTING FIRM EKS&H Denver-based EKS&H is the largest public accounting firm headquartered in the Rocky Mountain region. It helps companies with everything from audits and taxes to stock transactions and wage studies. The firm, founded in 1978, includes integrity and ethical values and commitment to clients among its core values. Client testimonials rave about the consultants technical knowledge, competence and customer service. Runners-up: Anton Collins Mitchell LLP, Dalby, Wendland & Co. P.C. BEST BANK Alpine Bank Employee-owned Alpine Bank opened on the Western Slope more than 40 years ago and is now based in Glenwood Springs. There are 38 locations, including one that opened near Union Station in Denver in 2014, and 130,000 customers. Since 2006, Alpine Bank has earned and maintains ISO 14001 certification, the universally recognized standard for environmental management. Runners-up: FirstBank of Colorado (1st Bank), Wells Fargo Bank
BEST CREDIT UNION Bellco Credit Union Employees of the Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company started Bellco Credit Union in 1936. Today anyone who lives in Denver or in one of a dozen cities or counties in Colorado can open accounts at Greenwood Village-based Bellco, whose tagline is Banking for everyone. Bellco has $2.9 billion in assets and more than 248,000 members. Green efforts include discontinuing the use of deposit envelopes in ATMs and sending 80,000 customers statements electronically. Runners-up: Elevations Credit Union, Public Service Credit Union BEST VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM Foundry Group Every story has a theme, and as it turns out, so does every investment. Boulder-based Foundry Group invests in early-stage information technology, Internet and software startups, and focuses on six themes. Those themes have names like Glue, Digital Life and Protocol, and refer to the various sectors. Investments start as small as $250,000.
Runners-up: Access Venture Partners, Colorado Impact Fund BEST WEALTH MANAGERS/FINANCIAL Planners Brown & Tedstrom Inc. It takes a team to design a client s financial future. Brown & Tedstrom in downtown Denver serves each client with a team of credentialed financial strategists including a firm partner, a client relationship manager, an investment specialist and skilled administrative and marketing professionals. The firm even has proprietary, trademarked tools such as the Retirement Shock Absorber and the Withdrawal Stress Test, to help individuals handle the ups and downs of retirement planning. Runners-up: Alpine Bank, Edward Jones BEST SBA LENDER Centennial Bank If anyone knows anything about 7a, 504, and Cap-Lines, it is Centennial Bank. The Denver-based lender won the 2014 Emerging Small Business Lender Award from Colorado Lending Source, a not-for-profit that works with lenders and small businesses. Centennial Bank has 14 locations, including Conifer, Evergreen, Golden, Idaho Springs and Nederland, five branches that parent company CIC Bancshares Inc. acquired from Mutual of Omaha Bank in 2014. Runners-up: Colorado Lending Source Ltd., Wells Fargo Bank BEST COMMERCIAL BUILDER Shaw Construction Even though Shaw Construction is based in Denver, much of its work is in mountain communities, starting with the Aspen hotel Little Nell in the 1960s. More recently the firm renovated the Vail Mountain Lodge in Vail and the St. Regis Hotel in Aspen. Also, in Boulder, Shaw construction recently renovated the University of Colorado Folsom Field Stadium and added 1,900 club seats, 41 luxury suites and a large club/banquet facility.
Runners-up: Roche Constructors Inc., Brinkman Partners BEST ARCHITECTURAL FIRM OZ Architecture The portfolio of Denver-based OZ architecture ranges from Fire Station No. 18 in the Lowry neighborhood to The Nickel restaurant at Hotel Teatro to the offices for the apparel company SmartWool in Steamboat Springs. This year OZ won an award in the Infill category for Aria Apartments, built on the site of a former convent and Catholic girls school. Current projects include 250 Columbine, a condominium project in Cherry Creek. Runners-up: EVstudio, Stream Design Landscape Architecture BEST ENGINEERING FIRM SSG MEP Inc. Anyone who walks across Denver s Millennium Bridge or drives on the Speer Boulevard bridge might appreciate one of SSG MEP Inc. s specialties: lighting design. The Aurora-based firm also specializes in mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering. SSG MEP s expertise includes health care, education, municipal, aviation, transportation and commercial design, and is currently working on the DIA STRP Westin Hotel, the CDOT I-70 peak period shoulder lane, and RTD North Metro Light Rail, among other projects.
Runners-up: CH2M Hill, EVstudio BEST GENERAL CONTRACTOR Shaw Construction Denver-based Shaw Construction has a mission to be a world-class construction company, and to create buildings and relationships that last. Among some of the recent buildings are 2020 Lawrence Residences, which is LEED GOLD Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, and One Observatory Park, a 213-unit building near the University of Denver. Client testimonials mention Shaw s ability to meet deadlines and budgets and its collaborative way of working. Runner-up: HITT Contracting BEST INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM Eheart Interior Solutions Eheart creates interior spaces for homes and businesses, and reassures customers that the process will give them peace of mind and the rooms of their dreams. Over the years Flooring America, which provides carpet, hardwood floors and other products, has awarded the Fort Collins-based Eheart with numerous National Service Awards, which recognize high levels of customer satisfaction. In 2005, the Northern Colorado Home Builders Association named Eheart Associate of the Year. Runners-up: Aneka Interiors, Slifer Designs BEST LANDSCAPER Designs by Sundown No yard is too small or too big for Englewood-based Designs by Sundown, which works on everything from apartment rooftops to multi-acre estates. Many of the customers have had work done at high-end properties, as most of the positive reviews mention Roxborough, Cherry Hills and other upscale neighborhoods. Designs by Sundown handles architecture and structures too, and builds patios, waterscapes, and outdoor kitchens. Sustainability efforts include using new technology to reduce water usage. Runners-up: Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care; American Design and Landscape. BEST MORTGAGE BROKER
(Tie) Alpine Bank and 8z Mortgage Many of Alpine Bank s locations are in resort communities, so the Glenwood Springs-based lender offers the Alpine Portfolio Mortgage. The specialized program is targeted to buyers of primary homes as well as people who want to buy large acreage, resort condominiums and condo-tels. The bank continued to support communities during the economic downturn, according to one testimonial, and other testimonials point to the bank s community-oriented service. Locally owned 8z Mortgage has five locations staffed by five loan officers who, according to one testimonial, are truly fixing real estate. The Boulder-based lender does all its underwriting and closing in-house, allowing it more control over the process and better communication with borrowers. There is also 8z Real Estate, but customers can use their own real estate professionals if they want. Runners-up: Coldwell Banker Mortgage, Cherry Creek Mortgage Denver West BEST PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY SummitCove Vacation Rentals The vacation property management company SummitCove began in 2001 in Summit Cove, a neighborhood two miles from Keystone Resort. The service matches condo owners with vacationers looking for lodging, without the parties having to meet to hand over keys. The SummitCove office is now located at Keystone. Online reviews mention helpful staff and a wide variety of accommodations to suit different price ranges. Runners-up: Mission Rock Residential, Real Property Management