[IN PERSON] Foothills Branch (Jan 2027): Blood, Sweat, Tears & Years: Building the Mighty Argo

How do you turn an ambitious idea—connecting a historic Colorado mining town to the mountains above it—into a $71 million destination?

Join PMI Mile-Hi Foothills Branch for a behind-the-scenes conversation with Bryan McFarland, General Partner on the Mighty Argo Cable Car project in Idaho Springs.

The Mighty Argo Cable Car opened in May 2026 after years of development, planning, stakeholder coordination and construction. The 1.25-mile cable car rises more than 1,000 feet from the historic Argo Mill & Tunnel to Miners Point, connecting Idaho Springs’ mining heritage with a new era of outdoor recreation and tourism.

Bryan has described bringing the project to life as requiring “blood, sweat, tears, and years.”

He’ll take us inside that journey: the vision, the obstacles, the relationships and the realities of delivering a complex project involving private investment, municipal partnership, historic assets, tourism, recreation and significant new infrastructure.

We’ll explore questions familiar to anyone leading complex programs and projects:

• How does a bold idea become an executable project?
• What happens when a project has years—not months—of uncertainty?
• How do you align investors, municipalities, designers, contractors and community stakeholders?
• What does leadership look like when the path forward isn’t straightforward?
• And what does it take to stay committed long enough to see an audacious vision become real?

About Bryan McFarland

Bryan Cole McFarland is a commercial real estate development executive with more than four decades of experience leading complex projects across the western United States.

Over his career, Bryan has led the development, design and construction of more than 14.8 million square feet of projects representing approximately $2.3 billion in investment. His experience spans development, capital planning, construction management, public-private partnerships and strategic leadership.

His career includes senior leadership roles on major developments including Colorado Mills, Southlands, Southglenn and Foothills. He founded Denali Development Group in 2018 following 16 years with Alberta Development Partners and six years with The Mills Corporation.

Most recently, Bryan served as a General Partner on the Mighty Argo Cable Car project in Idaho Springs.

Today, Bryan also provides fractional executive leadership as an Owner’s Representative, Development Executive, Development Partner and Strategic Advisor, helping organizations navigate entitlement, financing, design, construction, stakeholder coordination and project delivery.

Throughout his career, Bryan has maintained that successful projects ultimately come down to people—and that the relationships built while doing difficult work are among a leader’s most valuable assets.

Come hear the story behind one of Colorado’s most distinctive new developments—and what it can teach us about leading projects that take vision, persistence and years to bring to life.

PMI credential holders: This 1.5-hour event qualifies for PDUs across all three sides of the PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working, Power Skills and Business Acumen.

• Ways of Working — 0.50 PDU: project delivery, development process, financing/entitlement, construction, risk, governance and execution.
• Power Skills — 0.50 PDU: stakeholder coordination, leadership, negotiation, relationship-building and navigating competing interests.
• Business Acumen — 0.50 PDU: the $71M investment, public-private partnership, tourism/economic development, strategic vision and community value.

Schedule:

• Networking/Appetizers: 6:00
• Announcements: 6:15
• Presentation: 6:30-8:00
• Networking continues downstairs.

Refund and Cancellation Policy

Review and accept the PMI Mile-Hi Chapter Refund and Cancellation Policy as part of your registration. Please review it here.

For questions about the Foothills Branch events, contact Somer Walker, Director of Foothills Branch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..