The two have completed more than 5 million sf of deals during the past decade.

Before forming Commercial Colorado in 2000, they spent eight years at Cushman & Wakefield, where they handled the second largest office lease deal ever in the Denver area, the 600,000-sf build-to-suit for Lucent Technologies.

"One of the reasons we joined Insignia/ESG is because it allows Chris and I to spend 100% of our time on deals," Hart tells GlobeSt.com. "We're deal makers. That's what we thrive on. And a lot of our time was spend on accounting and maintaining an office."

Phenicie says Insignia/ESG also provides a wonderful opportunity for them to build the company into a large, local presence. While they will continue to do deals along the Northwest corridor between Boulder and Denver, they also plan to expand into Downtown and the southeast corridor.

"This is a really big opportunity," Phenicie tells GlobeSt.com. "We did our homework during the mating dance. And the cool thing is that we really believe that they are heading in the right direction. They are the shape of things to come in real estate. They really put together an All-Star team in every city."

Bob Shibuya, executive vice president for Insignia/ESG's western region, hand-picks the top brokers in areas where he wants to expand.

"I think Dave and Chris are going to raise the bar in terms of allowing Insignia/ESG to become a major player in commercial real estate services in Denver," he tells GlobeSt.com. "Historically, we have been viewed as having a more boutique presence in Denver. The Denver market is one we plan to become a major presence."

The company is expanding in Denver at a time when it is in the grips of its worst economic downturn in more than a decade.

"This is absolutely the best time to expand and build our presence in Denver," Shibuya tells GlobeSt.com. "We're in Denver for the long-term. I think Denver's long-term outlook is excellent.