Brad Buchanan has been CEO of the National Western Center Authority for six and a half years and owns a ranch out in Strasburg, Colorado. (Courtesy of National Western Center Authority)
Brad Buchanan is back in the saddle at Denver’s planning department, but don’t expect him to stick around very long.
The CEO of the National Western Center Authority since 2018, Buchanan will continue serving in that role while stepping in as the interim director of Denver’s Community Planning and Development department.Â
He’ll replace previous department head Manish Kumar, who announced on Thursday that he would step down at the end of this week.Â
Buchanan previously served as CPD director from 2014 to 2018 under Mayor Michael Hancock.Â
“The city is a partner of the National Western Center, one of our three founding equity partners. So that relationship has always been strong there,” he said. “When there was a call from the mayor about jumping in to fill a gap, and after some conversations with our board of directors and making sure they were comfortable with that, there was just no hesitation.”
Buchanan, 64, estimates a successor will be chosen within six months, but it all rests on the mayor’s timeline. He would like it to be someone who has been on the other side of the permitting counter.
“I also think it’s really important that they have put money at risk and understand what it is like to sign on a construction loan, and what it’s like to sweat and wait for a building permit, to sweat and wait out inspections, to take a risk in a marketplace,” he said.
When Buchanan assumed the role as department head for the first time 11 years ago, Denver was in the midst of a massive building boom. Buchanan said that in 2014 his crew entitled roughly $1 billion in new construction, with 22% of the permits issued on time. In his final year, that figure had ballooned to $5 billion, but with a 93% on time approval rate.Â
This time around, though, Denver is in a development slump. The city is staring down steep budget deficits, shrinking revenue and a hiring freeze.
Buchanan plans to lean into the new Denver Permitting Office to help reinvigorate local development. Mayor Mike Johnston announced the new city agency in April, which pledges to review applications within 180 days, keep a staffed permitting counter and improve response times to customers.Â
“I love the mayor’s goal around 180-day reviews in city hands. That’s being a responsive partner. I’m super excited about helping to make that a reality, and to walk that talk. We’re going to do it, and that’s what will bring an interest, more investment, in our city,” he said.
Buchanan has been with the National Western Center for the past six-and-a-half years, working through a massive redevelopment of the campus in Elyria-Swansea. He said his experience being “immersed” in the project will help him better empathize with other developers.Â
Before his time at CPD, Buchanan worked as “an architect and a builder and sometimes developer,” serving on various committees and boards around town, from the Downtown Denver Partnership to the Denver Planning Board.Â
An Ohio native, Buchanan moved to Denver a week after graduating from college in 1982.
“I was always gonna move to Colorado,” he said. “We used to come out here for vacations, camping with my family, and I just said I was gonna live in Colorado.”
Brad Buchanan has been CEO of the National Western Center Authority for six and a half years and owns a ranch out in Strasburg, Colorado. (Courtesy of National Western Center Authority)
Brad Buchanan is back in the saddle at Denver’s planning department, but don’t expect him to stick around very long.
The CEO of the National Western Center Authority since 2018, Buchanan will continue serving in that role while stepping in as the interim director of Denver’s Community Planning and Development department.Â
He’ll replace previous department head Manish Kumar, who announced on Thursday that he would step down at the end of this week.Â
Buchanan previously served as CPD director from 2014 to 2018 under Mayor Michael Hancock.Â
“The city is a partner of the National Western Center, one of our three founding equity partners. So that relationship has always been strong there,” he said. “When there was a call from the mayor about jumping in to fill a gap, and after some conversations with our board of directors and making sure they were comfortable with that, there was just no hesitation.”
Buchanan, 64, estimates a successor will be chosen within six months, but it all rests on the mayor’s timeline. He would like it to be someone who has been on the other side of the permitting counter.
“I also think it’s really important that they have put money at risk and understand what it is like to sign on a construction loan, and what it’s like to sweat and wait for a building permit, to sweat and wait out inspections, to take a risk in a marketplace,” he said.
When Buchanan assumed the role as department head for the first time 11 years ago, Denver was in the midst of a massive building boom. Buchanan said that in 2014 his crew entitled roughly $1 billion in new construction, with 22% of the permits issued on time. In his final year, that figure had ballooned to $5 billion, but with a 93% on time approval rate.Â
This time around, though, Denver is in a development slump. The city is staring down steep budget deficits, shrinking revenue and a hiring freeze.
Buchanan plans to lean into the new Denver Permitting Office to help reinvigorate local development. Mayor Mike Johnston announced the new city agency in April, which pledges to review applications within 180 days, keep a staffed permitting counter and improve response times to customers.Â
“I love the mayor’s goal around 180-day reviews in city hands. That’s being a responsive partner. I’m super excited about helping to make that a reality, and to walk that talk. We’re going to do it, and that’s what will bring an interest, more investment, in our city,” he said.
Buchanan has been with the National Western Center for the past six-and-a-half years, working through a massive redevelopment of the campus in Elyria-Swansea. He said his experience being “immersed” in the project will help him better empathize with other developers.Â
Before his time at CPD, Buchanan worked as “an architect and a builder and sometimes developer,” serving on various committees and boards around town, from the Downtown Denver Partnership to the Denver Planning Board.Â
An Ohio native, Buchanan moved to Denver a week after graduating from college in 1982.
“I was always gonna move to Colorado,” he said. “We used to come out here for vacations, camping with my family, and I just said I was gonna live in Colorado.”
