Chad McWhinney has been building in Colorado for more than three decades. As co-founder and CEO of Realberry, formerly McWhinney, Chad has helped shape some of the state’s most recognizable places. In fact, his portfolio includes Denver Union Station, Dairy Block, the Crawford Hotel, and Centerra in Northern Colorado. In this conversation with Chris Lopez, Chad walks through his origin story, the philosophy behind the firm, and the vision guiding Realberry’s next chapter.
Chad and his brother Troy co-founded what is now Realberry after Chad moved from Southern California to Loveland at age 19. From there, the conversation traces the story behind Centerra. Specifically, it covers putting options on Loveland farmland in the early 1990s and closing on 3,300 acres through Farm Credit Services in 1997. Next, it moves through the eleventh-hour partnership that brought the McWhinney family into Denver Union Station. Along the way, Chad also explains how the firm thinks about asset allocation and why long-hold, aligned capital produces better real estate outcomes than short-term institutional capital.
Today, Realberry is one of Colorado’s most established privately-held real estate platforms. For example, the firm has earned ULI Awards of Excellence at both Denver Union Station and Dairy Block, and Michelin Keys recognition at the Crawford. In addition, the firm is backed by roughly 300 long-term investors, many of whom have been with the firm for over 30 years. Notably, Realberry also locked approximately $1.7 billion in long-duration debt at near-zero rates before COVID, protecting investor capital through the current rate cycle.
Overall, the recent rebrand from McWhinney to Realberry reflects the firm’s move to broaden investor access. Beyond that, Chad shares his read on Colorado’s evolving legislative environment. Ultimately, he closes with his view that tokenization will eventually give individual investors direct access to institutional-grade real estate.
In This Episode We Cover:
- The origin story behind Realberry and how Chad ended up in Colorado
- Assembling 3,300 acres in Loveland through a patient land-option strategy
- The public-private partnership behind Centerra
- How Realberry became part of the Denver Union Station and Dairy Block redevelopments
- Chad’s read on Colorado’s multifamily supply cycle and the current market
- Where growth is concentrated in Northern Colorado
- The Realberry rebrand and the firm’s long-view capital thesis
- Why family capital builds better real estate than institutional capital
Stay tuned for upcoming episodes featuring Realberry’s leadership team and behind-the-scenes property walks through some of Denver’s most recognizable developments.
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Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction
01:10 From Southern California to Colorado
05:21 Assembling 3,300 Acres in Loveland
09:50 Building Centerra
14:12 The Denver Union Station Partnership
25:54 Portfolio Approach Across Asset Classes
27:50 Colorado Multifamily Outlook
32:03 Colorado Legislative Environment and Capital Sentiment
36:11 Northern Colorado Growth
38:50 The Realberry Rebrand
41:41 Tokenization and Investor Access
47:12 Long-Hold Capital and Placemaking
51:49 Closing and Upcoming Episodes
Links in Podcast
Realberry
- Website: https://www.realberry.com
- Portfolio: https://www.realberry.com/portfolio
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/realberryinvest
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realberryinvest
- Investor inquiries: [email protected]
Chad McWhinney
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcwhinneychad/
Books referenced in the episode
- The Warren Buffett Way by Robert G. Hagstrom
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Who is Realberry?
Realberry, formerly McWhinney, is a Denver-based real estate investment, development, and management firm founded in 1991 by brothers Chad and Troy McWhinney. For nearly 35 years, the firm has focused on creating places people love, with a portfolio spanning master-planned communities, multifamily, hospitality, industrial, and mixed-use developments. Its work includes Denver Union Station, Dairy Block, the Crawford Hotel, and Centerra, and has earned ULI Awards of Excellence, Michelin Keys, and U.S. News Best Hotels recognition. Realberry is family-founded, community-centered, and future-focused.
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