When Robert Tait talks about success, he rarely starts with real estate; although he could. The Castle Pines resident launched Downing Street Group, a subsidiary of Engel & Völkers and has grown it into the company’s top-performing Denver team since 2020. Robert consistently ranks among the top 1% of Colorado agents in both sales volume and number of homes sold, was named to Colorado’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2019 and currently serves on the board of the University Club of Denver.

But ask Robert what matters most to him and he will talk about his young son, Declan. Robert said much of that perspective came from his own father, Tim. Growing up in the Montbello neighborhood of Denver, Robert experienced instability early on. After two drive-by shootings near their home, his parents moved the family to Aurora and eventually Franktown, where Tim pursued a cabinet business and a safer life for his family.

That move changed everything for Robert. In Franktown, he discovered the Boy Scouts of America, eventually earning the Eagle Scout rank at age 17. For his Eagle Scout service project, Robert raised money for bulletproof vests for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit and helped build storage for the dog kennels. Key lessons Robert learned in the Scouts still shape his mindset today. “Leave things better than you found them. Leave people better than you found them,” he said.

Robert credits much of who he is to his father, who passed away last year. “My dad is still my hero,” Robert said. Now, as a father himself, preserving that legacy feels deeply personal. “One of the hardest things is knowing Declan won’t get that relationship with my dad. So I’ve been creating videos and documenting stories so he can still know who his grandfather was.”

Before his real estate career, Robert worked in education and saw firsthand how food insecurity affected children. “You can’t expect kids to learn when they’re hungry,” he said.

That experience eventually sparked a larger mission. Alongside friend Ben Gonzalez, Robert co-founded the Making an Impact Foundation to address food insecurity in Colorado. The nonprofit powers two major initiatives: The Denver Winter Ball and Hunger Free 303. Entering its fifth year, the Denver Winter Ball benefits Food Bank of the Rockies and has helped provide more than 100,000 meals to Colorado families. Hunger Free 303 is a community concert series that brings local artists together while directing every dollar raised toward hunger relief efforts.

Despite his professional success, Robert said to achieve balance, you have to be incredibly intentional. For him, after 6:30 p.m. means work stops and Sundays are reserved for family.

Robert’s advice to young people, entrepreneurs and parents is simple: “Find ways to bring value—to your family, your community, your church, your business,” he said. “When you focus on serving others, things tend to work themselves out.”

For Robert, the legacy he hopes to build is not measured in sales numbers or awards, but in the kind of father his son will remember.

 

By Nicole Stark, photos courtesy of the Tait family