Denver Mayor Mike Johnston tapped urban development heavyweight Bill Mosher to serve as Denver’s next chief projects officer, following Josh Laipply’s departure to join AtkinsRealis as U.S. Senior Director of Regional Partnerships and Programs.

“Pursuing projects that align with Denver’s goals are what push the city forward to reach our shared vision,” Johnston said in a news release. “We are grateful for Josh Laipply’s many contributions to bring transformative projects to life across our city and could not be more excited to welcome Bill Mosher to the team.”

The chief projects officer has a role in all major public and private work, as well as working with city partners and advising the mayor and City Council.

“I want to help the mayor, help the city, and help downtown,” Mosher told The Denver Gazette.

A longtime principal and area director for almost 19 years at Trammell Crow Co., Mosher has covered all areas of development: industrial, office, retail, and residential, including projects at Civic Center Park, The Denver Newspaper Agency corporate headquarters, Bank of Denver office building, the Hyatt Regency Convention Center, the Ralph Carr Courthouse and the Wellington Webb Municipal Office Building.

He led the Downtown Denver Partnership in the 1990s, overseeing the downtown business improvement district. A key figure in Lower Downtown (LoDo), he began planning the transformation of Union Station into its current form as a transit and community hub in 2009.

Insiders say Mosher is well-suited for the position, given his experience working with the city on many of its signature, multi-disciplinary developments.

“Bill has been at the forefront of many endeavors close to the hearts of Denverites, such as developing mixed-use projects, including housing, renovating the 16th Street Mall, and reviving Union Station,” Johnston said. “He is a visionary and diligent leader with a known track record of incorporating inclusivity and belonging within projects that are vital to the city.”

Though it’s unfortunate that the 16th Street Mall renovations had to happen on the heels of the COVID-19 shutdown orders — clearing out downtown of employees and shoppers — Mosher said: “It needed to be done.”

“The first couple of blocks that are finished are looking fabulous,” he said. “Hopefully, construction will finish by the end of” 2025.

Mosher’s initial focus will be helping to successfully launch in early 2025 the Downtown Denver Development Authority, which will spur economic growth and revitalization in the heart of the city.

DDDA, Johnston’s first major initiative toward reviving downtown from its pandemic slump, received strong support from eligible voters in November.

More than 81% of voters chose to expand the Downtown Development Authority — created to fund Union Station’s 2014 restoration using tax-increment financing — to cover the rest of downtown Denver and generate nearly half a billion dollars for funding projects across the city core.

“We need people back downtown now — residents, visitors, and employees,” Mosher said. “We’ve got a robust hotel business, but we must get housing back now and reuse vacant office buildings. We need to stay focused on helping retail.”

The renewed and expanded DDDA is expected to drive revitalization, fueling transformative investments in housing, mixed-use development, neighborhood amenities, parks and public spaces, arts and culture, and improved connectivity.

Mosher holds bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science from Willamette University and a master’s degree from the University of Arizona in Urban and Regional Planning.

He has served as Chairman of the 2006 Bond Committee for Denver Public Schools, the Winter Park Recreation Association, the Denver Housing Authority, the Colorado Chapter of the Urban Land Institute, the Downtown Denver Partnership, and the Colorado State University Board of Governors.

He has been a self-employed consultant for the last year at his MAM Development LLC.

Mosher said he is hopeful he can help some of the city’s larger and more complicated projects work through city policy and strategy.

Denver Gazette City Editor Dennis Huspeni contributed to this story.