jON W. Dwight
Partner/President
Jon’s diverse residential and commercial real estate background includes land and real estate development, financial modeling and structures, construction, sales, leasing, and management across the west. He began his real estate career in 1989 in California and he has extensive experience with completing land acquisitions; leading the land entitlement, land development and architectural and engineering design processes; securing project financing; managing the construction process and creating and implementing marketing, sales & leasing programs. Jon and Michael Badger have worked together on various real estate developments since 1998.
Jon has had the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of real estate developments in Colorado, Utah, North Dakota and California. This has included the land development of Sunnyside Ranch at Telluride, Mandalay Bay Tram automated people mover system in Las Vegas connecting Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur hotels, the 164-acre residential land development known as Harvest Hills Village in North Dakota, The Confluence Apartments in North Dakota and the Backyard Residences in the RiNo District of Denver. Jon has assembled over 140,000 square feet of land for new development in RiNo. He is an owner of Telluride Real Estate Corp. (TREC), Telluride’s leading real estate firm with over 35 agents.
Jon, his wife Martha and five children split time between Telluride, Colorado and Albuquerque, New Mexico where he is an avid mountain biker, skier and enjoys hiking and biking in the mountains and the desert. Jon is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Telluride Regional Airport Authority. He completed a four-year stint as a member of the Board of Directors of the Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association Board with the last two years of the term as Chairman of the Board. Jon enjoys spending time with his family skiing, mountain & road biking and hiking. He is an instrument-rated pilot and loves flying airplanes. He claims to be the Chief Pilot for Invent.
Michael Badger
Partner
Michael brings a lifetime of real estate development experience to the team. He began his career in real estate development in the 1970’s in the Bear Valley/Mt. Reba ski resort in Northern California. He has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate development including land development, real estate development, construction and sales. His projects have included residential, mixed-use and resort developments in resort, suburban and urban markets. The projects he has been involved in have geographically ranged from California to Boston and many states in between.
Michael has identified development opportunities, secured the land, completed the entitlement process, led the design phase, overseen construction and ensured the completion of the sales or leasing of the project. His experience includes involvement in the Village at Avon, Sunnyside Ranch at Telluride, Harvest Hills Village & Confluence Apartments in Williston, North Dakota, the redevelopment of a 150-acre PUD known as Marina Bay, Swallow Hills Condominiums in Denver, Colorado, and The Gonzo Inn in Moab, Utah. Michael has had the opportunity to work with Benton Resources (Trammell Crow Family entity), Real Estate Capital Partners, Aoki Corporation and many others throughout his career. He also led the site selection and development process for senior living communities for Carematrix Corp. in the states of Maryland and Virginia.
Michael lives in Denver, CO with his wife Jane. He has three children and 7 grandchildren who all spend time hiking, biking and skiing with him in Denver, Moab and Telluride. Michael graduated from the University of Maryland and was an All-American Lacrosse player. He spent 5 years as a Naval Special Warfare officer. Michael is an avid road-bike rider completing a 3,400 mile trip from San Diego, California to Ft. Pierce, Florida in 2010 and most recently rode 2,700 miles from British Columbia, Canada to Tecate, Mexico through the Cascade and Sierra mountain ranges. Not bad for 75 and no training wheels!
W. Lehr Jackson
Partner
Lehr was a co-founder of Williams Jackson Ewing, Inc. and a principal of the company from 1978 to 2006. Under his leadership Williams Jackson Ewing became widely considered to be America’s foremost authority on the integration of retail and entertainment venues within the framework of urban planning and revitalization. Lehr directed Williams Jackson Ewing’s efforts on such notable projects as Suburban Square in Philadelphia, Queen’s Quay Terminal in Toronto, the epic revitalization of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station and Belvedere Square in Baltimore. In a heated national competition, it was the resounding recovery of Union Station that led to Lehr’s selection for directing the $175,000,000 renovation and re-merchandising of the New York City landmark, Grand Central Terminal. Lehr is also recognized for breathing new life into our nation’s most prestigious universities, with renowned projects such as Sansom Common at the University of Pennsylvania, Palmer Square at Princeton, and Charles Square at Harvard. Prior to 1978, Lehr was a senior executive with The Rouse Company where he is credited with the creation of America’s first food court in Paramus Park Mall, New Jersey, as well as the development of the renowned Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston.
Considered by industry insiders to be an “urbaneer”, Lehr has cut against the grain by forging ahead with his focus and belief in the ability to recapture urban life and dreams by creating a continuous sense of arrival, place, purpose and energy for areas that have long been abandoned by conventional thought and wisdom. As an example, Lehr was a frontline contributor to the radical retail development for Times Square in New York City. Believed impossible, Times Square is now recognized as a remarkable resurgence by government and real estate influentials.
Lehr has authored, or co-authored, a number of leading edge strategic plans for urban development districts including Bunker Hill in Los Angeles, Playhouse Square in Cleveland, Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Marmilla Street in Jerusalem, Tempozan in Osaka, MM21 in Yokohama, Japan and Pier Village in Long Beach, NJ. More recently Lehr advised the City of Cincinnati on the redevelopment of their Central Business District. Lehr also co-founded in Washington, D.C., the Major’s Interactive Downtown Task Force that led to the development of the D.C. Convention Center, Gallery Place.
Caleb Hebel
chief Financial Officer
Caleb joined Invent Development Partners as the Chief Financial Officer. Before Invent, Caleb was at Renewable Energy Systems Americas (“RES”) for 11 years, a leading global developer, contractor, and operator of wind, solar, transmission, and energy storage assets as the Financial Controller. He also had key roles in Construction, Strategy, and Project Finance and M&A. During his tenure, RES closed or built over 10,000MW of construction and development projects and grew from 150 to 1,500 people at its peak. Caleb gained extensive experience in the energy and finance markets, multiple countries, expansive growth, evolving systems, and new technologies and business units in a fast-changing industry and company.
Caleb also has an entrepreneurial spirit, having started an advertising company for seven years and was nominated by BusinessWeek for Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25. He successfully added over 7,000 locations in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles before selling the business to the largest operator in North America. Caleb began his career with KPMG in the audit practice, focusing on construction, real estate, and financial services clients. He obtained a degree in Accounting at the University of Denver and is a CPA.
In his spare time, Caleb enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids, traveling, golfing, and playing ice hockey.
BRETT BLANK
Chief Operating Officer
Brett’s 30+ year development experience includes residential, commercial and industrial projects creating over $4B of assets delivered. From sourcing and acquisition of raw ground to close-out of 4 star residential towers, Brett has participated in every facet of development. Recently designing, constructing and delivering 84 condominiums in a 12-story tower on Daytona Beach FL as well as redevelopment of downtown Sarasota in The Quay Sarasota including an 18-story Ritz Carlton Residences, 4 Season residences and restoration of the Belle Haven a 1926 Dwight James Baum historic apartment building. Other projects include an apartment development in Diyarbakir Turkey, an R&D mirror facility on Mt Haleakala Maui HI and the Vallagio TOD mixed-use development Denver CO. Brett graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering for the United States Air Force Academy.
Brett enjoys spending time with his wife and four kids and spouses, hiking, traveling and Avs games.