A family business with the muscles of a corporation
We are a dedicated family-owned business with several decades of experience in the fields of building, consulting, and developing a wide array of brands and developments. Our extensive background allows us to provide valuable insights and personalized services that cater to the unique needs of each client we work with.
Check out what we do
The beliefs that guide everything we do.
You could say we’re set in our ways. In the best ways possible. We are guided by principles aimed at being the best strategic, hands-on, full-service, trusted partners we can be for the clients who put their trust in us.
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By acting as an extension of your organization without the added overhead, we transfer our decades of industry knowledge, expertise, and relationships to you while treating every dollar like ours.
ALWAYS ADD VALUE.
We handle every detail, large and small, throughout the process. We are relentless in finding solutions, and thanks to our no-bull attitude, we never hesitate to pick up the phone and get the answers we need to get the job done.
AS HANDS-0N AS IT GETS.
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Unlike contractors and subs that bounce from job to job, our reputation is only as good as our last success. So, we give every job our full-blown attention, effort, and dedication as if we were the primary investors.
ONLY AS GOOD AS OUR LAST JOB.
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This isn’t our first, second, or even 200th rodeo. We anticipate challenges, know when and how to pivot and bring holistic oversight capable of outsmarting the inevitable bumps in the road, no matter how much time or effort is required.
WE’RE USED TO HEAVY LIFTS.
Trust and honesty are everything in this business. One misstep can have drastic consequences. By operating with 100% transparency, we build trust from the foundation up—and if we have to deliver bad news, we do it as soon as possible and come armed with a viable solution.
BE THE REASON OUR CLIENTS SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT.
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The torch burns on.
Led by Jim’s daughter, Leigh Sullivan, and her husband, Travis Plakke, The Sullivan Group brings unmatched expertise in commercial development, expansive industry knowledge, and, most importantly, the relationships Jim built to create lasting value for their clients.
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MANAGING PARTNER
Leigh has been an entrepreneur since she was 13, working alongside her father in various positions at SullivanHayes and his restaurants. Whatever her dad was doing, she was right there alongside him, facilitating, assisting, and learning the trade from one of the very best in the business.
In 2001, Leigh took a hiatus from real estate to pursue a restaurant career, opening her first restaurant in Cherry Creek with her dad and partners, Steve Farber and Charlie Huang. Following that success, Leigh and Jim founded Sullivan Restaurant Group, launching beloved Denver restaurant concepts like nine75, emogene, Oscar's Steakhouse, and Ocean in Cherry Creek. In 2009, Leigh co-founded the wildly popular TAG restaurant on Larimer Street, which she managed until 2011, when she left to start her restaurant consulting firm, Leigh Sullivan Enterprises. There, she met Travis, and together they helped over 100 clients achieve whatever they needed to be done: new builds, concepts, design, finding subs, remodels, branding, etc.
In early 2023, Jim asked Leigh to return to the family business to head up business development and client relationship management for Jim and Travis’s new commercial construction fee development company, The Sullivan Group. With Jim’s passing, she never got the chance to work alongside her father fully again like she had growing up, but she takes immense pride in carrying on his vision—in partnership with her husband Travis and their growing team.
Leigh is an avid lover of family, including the newest member, grandson James MacAlister Paranto, who is named after his great-grandpa. She’s also the proud mom of three really cool kids, Mackenzie, Weston, and Grace, and wife to a kick-ass guy. She also adores dogs (all of them) and helped co-found and grow Peppers Senior Dog Sanctuary, heading up their branding, social media strategy, and community outreach while assisting with the facility's design. Today, she sits on the Board of Pepper’s Senior Dog Sanctuary and Firefly Autism.
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MANAGING PARTNER & PRINCIPAL BROKER
Travis Plakke is an expert in commercial real estate development, sales, and leasing and the Principal Broker of The Sullivan Group, with 20 years of fee development and project management experience from restaurants to commercial spaces. From working with architects and designers to bring the vision to life in both form and function, he’s operated on multiple restaurant build-outs, managed GCs and trade partners, and executed back-of-house-systems from tech to accounting and storage to meet the end-product goals and implemented the highest levels of functionality to maximize efficiency.
Along with his restaurant development experience, he brings team leadership, overseeing executives and teams of up to 200. He’s skilled at negotiating with vendors and engineering value where others can’t, creating and integrating scalable and repeatable systems, and working with cities and counties to acquire planning permits and zoning. His work ethic hinges on honesty, transparency, integrity, and understanding his clients’ needs and goals to solve problems at the highest level of professionalism.
Travis is incredibly involved in his community, serving on Firefly Autism's Board of Directors for the last six years and even stepping in as Executive Director for a short time in 2022. Today you can find him heading up the Finance Committee and doing what he does best; looking at numbers and making sure his favorite charity is making money.
Travis is a proud father to three amazing kiddos, Mackenzie, Weston, and Grace, and a proud first-time grandfather to James.
If Travis isn't looking at spreadsheets, he is probably talking about his Rivian, skiing, or paddleboarding. Travis is a real Colorado guy who loves his family, his community, and spreadsheets. Mostly spreadsheets.
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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Mackenzie Paranto, a proud Denver native and fourth-generation Coloradoan, grew up enmeshed in her family's entrepreneurial ventures. Her early years were spent within the Sullivan Restaurant Group, a hospitality consulting company, and The Sullivan Group, a commercial construction and development company. Her passion for design, beauty, and retail was heavily influenced by her grandfather and Co-founder of the family’s businesses, Jim Sullivan.
Mackenzie earned her Bachelor of Science in Apparel and Merchandising from Colorado State University in 2018. She launched her career as an E-commerce Coordinator for a local Denver fashion company, playing a pivotal role in transforming the small business into a multi-million dollar enterprise during her tenure from 2018 to 2022.
After leaving fashion, Mackenzie joined the family business, obtaining her real estate license and working as an Associate Broker under her stepfather, Travis Plakke. In 2023, she took a year off to welcome her first son, James, named in honor of his great-grandfather, Jim. Later that year, Mackenzie, her mother, Leigh Sullivan, stepfather, Travis, and husband, Mac, co-founded Foray Farms. This innovative venture cultivates gourmet mushrooms for Colorado's restaurants and home chefs, reconnecting Mackenzie with the food industry she loves.
As 2024 unfolds, Mackenzie is preparing to rejoin The Sullivan Group in Denver, focusing on commercial real estate, property management, and expanding Foray Farms. A dedicated fan of Iron Chef, Mackenzie brings versatile skills, entrepreneurial spirit, and a deep commitment to her family's legacy, ensuring the Sulivan name thrives in Colorado.
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OFFICE MANAGER
Diane Rowledge grew up in Colorado but, in 1983, left to pursue opportunities elsewhere. She landed at CB Commercial in Kansas City where she handled all administrative functions. Despite her success here, it wasn’t long before she began to miss the mountains of her home state. Serendipitously, a colleague suggested that she reach out to Jim Sullivan back in Denver, and she jumped at the chance to not only return home but also work at a firm with such an excellent reputation.
After a short phone conversation, it was apparent that the fit was right, and Diane was hired on a trial basis. She was told that the job was hers if she could last a week. Thirty-four years later, she is an integral part of the Sullivan Group family and one of our most beloved employees.
Diane’s organizational skills defy the limitations of human capability. Her encyclopedic knowledge of every facet of the operations here at Sullivan Group means everyone around her works smarter and more efficiently, which translates to better service for our clients. We couldn’t do what we do without her.
Diane is married and has one son, Clay. When Diane isn't working, she is an avid reader of mystery novels. Diane loves motorcycle trips with her husband Bob, doing water aerobics, and playing online word games like Word Chums with her family.
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ASSOCIATE BROKER
Please welcome Porter Wharton IV, the newest member of our family. His parents Porter and Sheri Wharton are long-time Denver residents and contributors to our community. His father was instrumental in creating Denver’s landscape, working for over 30 years with our company’s founder, Jim Sullivan.
Porter attended Montana State University, was accepted into the MSU business school, and graduated with honors with a Finance degree. Porter started with The Sullivan Group in June and is proving to be a chip off the ol’ block. He’s a quick learner and has already become a valued member of the team with his affinity for numbers, attention to detail, and unparalleled work ethic.
When he’s not working hard at the office you can find him playing hard at the golf course, on the slopes, or cheering on the Nuggets and Broncos.
Associate Team
We’re in the business of treating every partner like family.
Over the last five decades, The Sullivan Group co-founder, Jim Sullivan, earned a reputation for excellence in business and commercial real estate, both in Colorado and beyond. He was a man whose life and career hinged on relationships—with his colleagues and partners, friends, but most of all his family. So it’s only fitting that the next generation steps in to carry on his legacy.