BOULDER - One of Boulder's most established real estate development companies is entering the leasing and property management business for outside clients.

For 43 years, W.W. Reynolds has handled the leasing and management for its own properties and partnerships, and now it plans to offer the same services to others.

"Day in and day out, that's what this company does," said W.W. Reynolds President Jeff Wingert.

Founded in 1966 by Boulder native Bill Reynolds, The W.W. Reynolds Cos., owns or is partners in more than 3 million square feet of office, industrial, flex retail and residential space between Boulder and Fort Collins. What started as a development company has grown into a full-service real estate firm that takes care of those buildings.

"Part of our thinking was how we can be a sustainable company going forward - environmentally but also economically," Wingert said. "Development is challenging right now, so this is our opportunity to grow and remain a sustainable company."

W.W. Reynolds will tout its record of high tenant retention and relations to attract clients. On the leasing side, it will solely represent landlords - helping them find tenants to fill space. On the property management side, it will help landlords keep tenants, manage and maintain properties, and work with vendors.

Fees will vary based on the property and services. The company employs 35 people and will expand as needed.

Beyond the primary focus on leasing and property management, W.W. Reynolds also will offer clients financial, architectural, construction and green services through its in-house experts and sister companies.

"We aren't doing anything new that we haven't been doing for more than 40 years," said Chad Henry, director of leasing and marketing at W.W. Reynolds. "We're taking advantage of our brand and capabilities."

In down times, Henry said the most important thing a landlord or leasing agent can do is to stay informed about their tenants.

"We are in front of them, and we know their needs before they have to come to us - whether those needs are to expand or to downsize, we're ready to help them," Henry said. Fixing maintenance issues promptly is another theme for W.W. Reynolds that helps keep tenants happy, he said.

With its new services, W.W. Reynolds will compete against other established local commercial real estate brokerages such as The Colorado Group, Gibbons-White Inc. and Dean Callan & Co.

"In general, competition is good for everyone," said Becky Gamble, president of Dean Callan & Co. "It makes everyone more accountable and gives clients better service. Certainly W.W. Reynolds has a local knowledge base and infrastructure in place, so it's not just another outside competitor coming in from Denver."

Some in the business may question whether W.W. Reynolds can remain objective with outside clients as it seeks to lease and manage other space that competes with its own properties.

"That's a good question," Gamble said. "A lot of brokers also own commercial real estate, but not quite at the large scale of a W.W. Reynolds. I'm sure they'll set up a platform to balance that conflict of interest."

"We're going to put the right tenants in the right places," Wingert said. "We've worked hard to fill our spaces, and we'll work hard to fill their spaces. We'll manage properties with the same effort."

Contact writer David Clucas at 303-440-4950 or e-mail dclucas@bcbr.com.