Real Estate: Three lives that left a mark on Northern Colorado

A recent column in this space (June 25: Melody Homes shows faith in future of Rigden Farm) reported on the milestone deal that Bill Neal and Scott Nelson helped to swing to sell 232 housing lots to Melody Homes.
Neal and Nelson were principals with Wheeler Commercial, and the sale was for the trend-setting Rigden Farm development in east Fort Collins.
Of course, the biggest news in real estate this month has nothing to do with land deals or would-be construction projects. Neal, Nelson and Leo Schuster, owner of Progressive Living Structures in Loveland, lost their lives on July 24 in a plane crash.
All three were examples of full-force living, and business was only part of what they were about.
Rather than expound on the accomplishments of the three men, or try and describe the immense hole left behind by their passing, we asked various members of the real estate, business, academic and political communities to share their own reflections on the trio.
Here?s a sampling of those comments:

Larry Kendall, The Group Inc.
On Bill Neal:
?There was such a diverse group (at his funeral). On one side I saw Bob Everitt, and on the other side I saw Kelly Ohlson. There aren?t very many people who can be so important to such a diverse group ? He was a developer and yet he was an environmentalist. He was a businessperson and yet, at times, I don?t think he did much of anything because of the money. He was always playing at a higher level. He left quite a legacy. He left quite a vacuum as well.?

Joe Zahn, Construction Lending Services
On Leo Schuster:
?To spend a day with Leo was to live The Iliad and The Odyssey, with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn thrown in for good measure in the waning hours of the day.?

David Shands, Wheeler Commercial
On Scott Nelson:
?Undoubtedly he was one the sharpest young men I have ever known. When I went into his office and asked him a question he would drop what he was doing and always help me get an answer.?

Mark Driscoll, Colorado State University
On Leo Schuster:
?I think about how he started in business as a framer. He epitomizes the success of an entrepreneur ? a bright guy who could see the big picture ? I bet he never had a class in his life on team building, yet he put together a fabulous team at PLS (Progressive Living Structures).?

Kelly Ohlson, former Fort Collins Mayor
On Bill Neal:
?Somebody said ? and it?s perfect ? that he was the blocking back on open space issues. He got people to either support it, or not oppose it, or to understand it more.?

Don Marostica, Loveland Commercial LLC
On Leo Schuster:
?I met Leo in 1991 when I moved back from California. At that time he was going through a name change (to Progressive Living Structures). I asked Leo, ?What?s that mean?? Leo said that he woke up one morning about two o?clock thinking about what a name for the company should be. He said he wanted to be progressive in the community and wanted to do something different.?

Ray Pigg, The Neenan Co.
On Scott Nelson:
?I remember he had a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and he was getting ready to go in for surgery. And yet he went out mountain biking with us just before that.?

Dave Pietenpol, co-manager, Rigden Farm
On Bill Neal:
?At Wheeler’s Poudre Valley Plaza office, Bill built what he called the “tower bar,” which we would periodically visit. To get there, we would go through the men’s’ room and access the roof. We had a great view of the city. It seemed pretty appropriate to be sharing a beer with Bill and him looking over Fort Collins.?

Brett Kemp, FiberLok Inc. sales director
On Scott Nelson:
?On our bike rides he?d ride up the hill ahead of me, but he would never get to the point where I?d lose sight of him. Then he would come down and check on me and make me feel like I was about to win the Tour de France. He?d ride up and down a hill sometimes three or four times to just make sure I was OK.?

Deni LaRue, Larimer County information manager
On Bill Neal:
?Back in 1995, before I worked for Larimer County, I was a volunteer spokesperson for the Help Preserve Open Spaces tax initiative. Bill Neal was one of the first ‘business’ people I can remember stepping up and supporting this concept. In my opinion it was very important to the Help Preserve Open Spaces initiative that Bill shared his name, face, and support to this idea, and he is remembered for that, too.?

Dave Pierce, former business partner
On Leo Schuster:
?I met Leo 30 years ago. When I met him, basically he had almost nothing. We were in college and he lived next door to me ? He really had just that one year of college ? He essentially taught himself everything about business and really most of what he knew about construction. He was just so intelligent. He could read a few books and he could figure things out. It was just amazing how he could do that.?

Shelley Kerr, The Group Inc.
On Bill Neal:
?Most people think of Bill Neal as a real estate developer, but I knew him as a visionary and an artist. He wanted to share and create sustained art, whether designing his homes and projects with a sensitivity to Feng Shui, bringing Russian art exhibitions to Northern Colorado, commissioning art for public places or sharing his own voice and song writing talent. He cherished beauty and in a very openhearted way wanted to share this beauty with anyone willing to open their own heart.

Troy McWhinney, McWhinney Enterprises
On Leo Schuster:
?We sold some land to Leo a couple of months ago ? so I met with him quite a bit over a couple of months? period. I remember when I went home one day and told my wife, ?I want to have a lifestyle when I get older like Leo?s.? He was one of those guys who enjoyed life and had work-life balance that was successful.?

Mari Strombom, Colorado State University
On Bill Neal:
?Bill was a founding trustee of the President?s Leadership Program at Colorado State University. He not only provided financial sponsorship of this program, but was always readily available to mentor students, to come in an talk to our classes and to assist our program in any way that he could. He was one of our strongest program supporters and he really meant a great deal to those of working with the program and to the students with whom he interacted over the years.?

State Sen. Peggy Reeves, D-Fort Collins
On Bill Neal:
?A number of years ago when we had the opportunity to have a (state) transportation commissioner from our region, I had contacted Bill and he said he really couldn?t do it and didn?t have the time. I?m usually not a person who, when somebody says that, goes back to him again. I did ask him again, and I had other people also contact him. And he did agree to serve our region in that capacity ? He did an excellent job.?

Stuart MacMillan, Everitt Commercial Partners
On Scott Nelson:
?I think Scott was an up-and-comer in Fort Collins. He was a real straightforward guy. I think he was real bright. I think he?d have made some ripples in our business.?

Ed Stoner, Old Town Square Properties
On Bill Neal:
?He was a registered Democrat. Being a developer, that was always kind of odd. Most people in that business aren?t Democrats. John R.P. Wheeler was his mentor at Wheeler Realty over in Greeley. He learned from Wheeler that being a Democrat and a developer is not contradictory.?

Larry Melton, Realtec Commercial
On Leo Schuster:
?Not only could he run several companies at once, but he still had time to be involved with the entire community. He made sure he spent time to make the city that he was building product in a better place. He wasn?t just taking from the city of Loveland. He was giving back just as much.?

Fae Hicks, Realtec Commercial
On Scott Nelson:
?I met him shortly after he moved out here from Chicago. The story he tells me is that he came out here on a motorcycle trip. He was in real estate in Chicago. He liked it, so he packed up his motorcycle again, rode out here and stayed ? We had worked together for a number of years over a number of different locations. He was just a fine human being. Kind, generous, loyal and a man of integrity.?

Dave Veldman, Veldman Morgan Commercial
On Bill Neal:
?It didn?t matter if you worked in his office or outside of his office as a peer and a competitor. Bill was always willing to extend an ear and offer counsel or advice and trade stories with you, no matter your position.?

Don Churchwell, Home State Bank
On Leo Schuster:
?What was interesting were the varied friendships Leo was able to make over the 30-some years I knew him. He never ran into a stranger. People basically just really liked him as soon as they met him. They felt comfortable with him.?

Joe Zahn, Construction Lending Services
On Bill Neal:
?Bill and I especially enjoyed sharing our somewhat arcane sense of spirituality. The recipe went something like this: Add one part Zen to three parts all the really cool stuff Jesus said, mix with two parts Rocky Mountains majesty, add Hopi Kachina medicine to taste, shake, don?t stir, add just a hint of Carlos Castaneda and simmer over Moab Slickrock. Best enjoyed with a toast of John Denver and sprinkled generously with the laughter of genuine friends.?

Chad McWhinney, McWhinney Enterprises
On Leo Schuster:
?Leo was instrumental in helping convince us to develop Centerra and kicking off the project with the outlet mall. He was president of the Loveland Economic Development Council in 1990 or ?91. He convinced us to annex our land into Loveland.?v

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