John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... 
Michelle Kaufmann, Susan Powers and John Hickenlooper survey the first phase of Casa Chiara.
Casa Chiara, the new green development at the Marycrest Convent in northwest Denver, is just starting to take shape.
But the California-based architect, Michelle Kaufmann, and the developer, Susan Powers, of Urban Ventures, have been looking for the perfect project to do together for years.
“Sue and I have been friends for years,” Kaufmann said at the site along 52nd Avenue, just west of Federal Boulevard. ”She had read about me somewhere, and she was visiting a friend in California, whose house I designed. recalled. “Her friend was telling her that, and Sue said: “Wait a minute. I’ve been trying to get in touch with her. You have to introduce us.”
They met.
“We hit it off right away,” Kaufmann said. “We looked at a few other places in Denver, before Sue selected this one and did this deal. The other properties were of a similar scale. I couldn’t be happier. This has been a great first phase.”
