Commercial brokers look ahead with caution

The annual holiday party for the Northern Colorado Commercial Association of Realtors, the networking and education group that brings together commercial brokers from throughout the region, usually provides a bellwether for the year ahead.

At this season’s gathering on Dec. 4, much of the buzz was about the trillion-dollar hemorrhage of global capital markets in the prior two months. But oddly, the financial meltdown didn’t smother optimism among members of this perennially optimistic group.

“We’re in a rough spot, for sure,´ said Kevin Brinkman, principal of the fast-growing Brinkman Partners integrated commercial development, construction and brokerage firm in Fort Collins. “But we’ve…