We are a real estate company with purpose. We believe in possibility, potential, and the transformative power of bringing value and opportunity to our communities. Our approach to real estate development, investment, and management encourages our team to create great places. Places with meaning and places built to last. We don’t want people to just live or work in our communities; we want them to feel like they truly belong. We prioritize intentional community development.
The ethos that guides how we operate is called The McWhinney Way. It is a purpose-driven, values-led, and commitment-forward approach to creating places people love. And it’s built upon our mission, vision, and values.
We use the McWhinney Way as our internal compass for employees and as a visible standard for partners, clients, and communities. We want people to know what we stand for, and we want them to see us living out.
Our mission is crisp, clean, and simple, and acts as a guide for everything we build, manage, and invest in — creating places people love. Every day, when our employees come to work and our partners come to support us, they live that mission. Value, lasting builds, safety, high-quality design; these are all important aspects of our job, but at the end of the day, it’s always the goal to ensure our residents love where they live, that consumers enjoy their retail and dining experiences, and that hardworking employees are excited to come to their office spaces. We infuse this mission into our work at the very first steps, and weave it into the heart of each community. It’s in the details of planning, the beauty in the design, and the careful financial decision-making.
So what do we hope for in the long term? What are we after? We aspire to be the most innovative and sought-after private real estate investment company, distinguished by our creative passion and unwavering financial discipline. By achieving this goal, we’ll continue to live out our mission of creating places people love.
Still, it’s important to have more specific guidelines to help us move toward our goals and realize our mission – we call those guidelines our core values.
The first is respect. We understand that recognizing the hard work and success of another person will motivate them in return. What goes around comes around, so what we hope to see in the world, we give to the world. We care about people, we care about our organization, and we care about the communities where we operate.
The second is integrity. We do what we say we are going to do. For over 30 years, we’ve remained committed to making a mark on our community. Through our work in each project, we’ve exuded this intent. We like to say ‘start with the why, end with the wow.’
The third is perseverance. We’ve put all this time and effort into our mission and goals because we believe in our business model wholeheartedly. We see the future, we understand our part in getting there, and we have the determination to make the journey worthwhile. We work toward a win-win. It’s the mark of a great organization when it can press forward when faced with obstacles, and we certainly have had to overcome our fair share.
And finally, legacy. Whether an employee is making an individual decision at their desk or leadership and partners are making corporate decisions with long-term implications, we’re looking at the future. We see our vision so clearly, it is integral to our operations that we consider how each decision will affect that vision of the future.
Defining our mission, vision, and values is only the first step in the McWhinney Way. We need to actually live out these ideas every day. Each and every employee and partner should be aligned with the way we run this business, so we have a rule of thumb. When we make decisions and move our business forward, everything must have a resounding ‘yes’ to at least two out of the four following guidelines and never a ‘no’ to any of them. These aren’t ‘rules’ per se, they are a decision-making metric for our teams to ensure we are integrating our mission, vision, and values into everything we do.
Our success isn’t just built on great investments; it’s built on a clear, intentional approach to how we operate. Let’s take a look at our metric guidelines, The Core 4:
The Customer Experience: Every touchpoint matters; creating experiences that engage all five senses.
Not only do we create places people love, but we should also be prioritizing the customer at every touch point. Developing a community, designing a hospitality experience, creating a mixed-use environment — it should all exceed our customers’ expectations. We encourage our employees to see opportunities for customer touchpoints and suggest ways to make them better.
Associate Experience: Empowering people to do their best work by fostering belonging and pride.
Our people are at the core of everything we do. We believe that by supporting and valuing our employees, they are going to do their best work. We uplift, we prioritize, and we inspire them so they can be the best versions of themselves.
Community Impact: Development with intention, ensuring places uplift the community.
We’re rooted in community. Building places people love and building in communities near our homes means putting a bit of our heart into what we do. We’re mindful of our impact in every sense of the word and make decisions with people and community at the forefront.
Financial Performance: Sustaining long-term growth and stability with disciplined investment.
We need excellent financial performance to thrive — it’s the reality of what we do. This piece of the puzzle requires us to balance our vision, discipline, and strategic execution for sustainable success. Every decision we make starts with the philosophical and emotional implications, but is grounded by the financial. Everything is a balance.
The Core 4 is our long-term strategy. When our employees are performing their duties, participating in committees, and making decisions, we ask that they consider how their actions will impact the Core 4.
The McWhinney Way is how we bring our vision of creating places people love to life. Every project reflects our commitment to values-based real estate development, where long-term community benefit and operational excellence go hand in hand. By focusing on details, avoiding “death by a thousand cuts,” and keeping everything on brand, we ensure our properties deliver meaningful, lasting experiences.
Our projects are designed with a focus on our development pillars as well. We stick to these pillars through the lens of the Core 4 to ensure a cohesive and goal-oriented project finish.
To learn more about the pillars, check out our website.
Take a look at how intentional community development and sustainable placemaking practices come together to create destinations where people truly belong:
At Centerra, people are at the heart of every experience. The community blends homes, businesses, dining, and gathering spaces with trails, parks, and cultural amenities so residents can live, work, and play in one place. Families come together for annual events like the Wild Wonderful Weekend and the Halloween Hullabaloo, while music lovers gather for the long-running Sounds of Centerra concert series. Local partnerships with schools, arts organizations, and nonprofits deepen those connections, making Centerra more than a neighborhood; it’s a hub of culture, tradition, and shared experiences.
Baseline represents the next generation of community building, designed to foster connections across people, place, and purpose. Its central hub and neighborhoods are designed with walkability, gathering spaces, and vibrant streetscapes that encourage daily interaction. Neighbors can participate in events, arts programs, and cultural activities that shape the community. More than a place to live, Baseline is envisioned as a “next great Colorado community” where residents, businesses, and visitors create lasting memories and meaningful relationships.
Together, Centerra and Baseline illustrate the McWhinney Way in action.
The McWhinney Way is the culmination of all of the above. It is the guide that we follow to stay committed to creating great places.
For our employees, it’s a clear compass. Every person at McWhinney knows the ‘why’ behind their work and how their decisions and actions contribute to something larger. It instills pride, belonging, and a sense of ownership in shaping communities that endure. We ensure our teams abide by the Core 4 while still upholding the original thought behind the development (through the lens of the development pillars).
For our partners and clients, it offers assurance. When you collaborate with McWhinney, you know what you’re going to get — a real estate company with purpose. A business that blends creativity with financial discipline and aims to make decisions through the lens of long-term value. Our clients and partners can rest assured that we’re approaching every project with thoughtfulness, rigor, and unwavering commitment.
For our communities, it means intentional impact. We create experiences, gathering places, and cultural hubs that enrich daily life. We’re focused on values-based real estate development that fosters connection, supports local economies, and creates environments where people can thrive.
Ultimately, The McWhinney Way matters because everything we do is rooted in purpose and designed for lasting impact.
The McWhinney Way isn’t just a slogan; it’s a lived practice. It ensures every project is aligned with long-term impact, creating places that inspire, ensure, and serve. At the end of the day, we’re trying to become the most innovative and sought after real estate company, so every investment we develop or acquire must transform places into meaningful experiences. It’s all connected.
The McWhinney Way is how we operate; think of it as the energy we bring to our work every day.
Join us in building, partnering, or in community to create places people love.
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