Our Legacy
In 1925, Temple Hoyne Buell purchased 57 acres of land, originally a gravel pit, situated between University Boulevard, Steele Streets, and 1st Avenue in Denver. Mr. Buell envisioned and developed the first indoor shopping mall in Colorado, and one of the first in the world. Over time, this property was transformed into what is now the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, anchoring one of Denver’s finest neighborhoods.
Toward the end of Mr. Buell’s life, he transferred the ownership of the land of the shopping center to the Buell Foundation. While the Foundation owns the land, the management of the shopping center is conducted in partnership with the Taubman Company, one of the premier retail management organizations for high-end malls in the country. Under this partnership, the Cherry Creek Shopping Center has become an iconic part of the Denver landscape. This partnership underscores the Foundation’s longstanding commitment to responsible growth and development for the community, highlighting its focus on sustainability.
From 1995 to 2020, Dan Ritchie served as the Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. During Mr. Ritchie’s tenure, the Foundation’s investment assets grew exponentially, from less than $30 million to more than $300 million, reflecting both his effective leadership and financial sophistication. Working with Buell’s investment manager, Mr. Ritchie assessed promising investment opportunities that maximized returns to ensure that funds were effectively utilized and readily available for grants, leveraging his investment knowledge to drive the continued growth of the Foundation’s assets, which ultimately enabled the Foundation to increase its grant payouts, making a more substantial impact in communities across the state.
Since 1993, the Foundation has disbursed nearly $300 million in grants, while continually growing its asset base. Some of those projects have benefited the state generally, such as the Buell Theater at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Buell Media Center for Rocky Mountain PBS, and the Denver Stock Show; however, nearly $250 million has been focused on early childhood development and education, funding programs in every county in Colorado. In addition, unlike many foundations, Buell has been willing to consider sustained funding of high-performing programs year after year, believing that excellence has no shelf life. This balanced approach ensures that the Foundation can continue to fulfill its mission for years to come.
Our Future
Currently, the Foundation is collaborating with East West Partners and the Taubman Company to develop Cherry Creek West, a mixed-use neighborhood designed to create a world-class community on the west end of the Cherry Creek Shopping Center. The goal in this redevelopment is to continue our history of enhancing the neighborhood while creating sustainable cash flow to benefit the children of Colorado. Young children continue to be the immediate focus of the Foundation, but the ultimate beneficiaries of our commitment are all residents in the state because the children of today will build the Colorado of tomorrow.
Cherry Creek West aerial site rendering of the planned community, courtesy of East West Partners.