W. Dean Weidner, the founder and chairman of Weidner Apartment Homes and the owner of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, died Tuesday. He was 83.

Weidner Apartment Homes shared the news on its social media and website Wednesday night. The cause of his death has not been announced.

“Dean was deeply committed to people, supporting communities, advancing our industry and empowering associates,” the company said in part in a Facebook post. “While we mourn this loss, we remain grounded in our vision, mission and values, which will continue to guide us forward.”

Weidner was born Aug. 5, 1942, and grew up in Colorado Springs. He was a member of Wasson High School’s first graduating class in 1960.

He founded Weidner Property Management in 1977, a real estate investment and management company that does business as Weidner Apartment Homes.

The Kirkland, Washington-based company has grown steadily in the decades since. The National Multifamily Housing Council ranked it 12^th among the top 50 apartment companies nationwide in 2025. Weidner owns 74,667 apartments across 323 communities, according to a Wednesday news release on the company’s website. Weidner owns apartments in 13 states, including Colorado, and across Canada.

“The responsibility of providing shelter, one of life’s most essential needs, ignited a lifelong passion to improve the multifamily landscape, becoming one of the greatest honors of his life,” the release said in part.

Weidner became a sponsor of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks soccer team in 2016. The next year, Weidner bought the naming rights for the team’s former facility on the city’s northeast side.

In 2018, city officials and civic leaders in Colorado Springs announced an 8,000-seat outdoor stadium to be built in southwest downtown, part of the City for Champions projects that were designed to bring more tourists to Colorado.

Weidner Apartment Homes helped fund the facility, the new home of the Colorado Springs Switchbacks and a venue for concerts, graduations and other events, at the southeast corner of West Cimarron and South Sierra Madre streets. It opened in late April 2021 and bears the name Weidner Field.

As part of the stadium concept, Weidner Apartment Homes developed a $40 million, 408-unit, three-building mixed-use project on the field’s south side. The company opened its first apartments at Experience at Epicenter in September 2024.

El Paso County land records show the company has purchased nine additional properties surrounding Weidner Field downtown, totaling roughly $30.8 million.

Weidner expects to begin construction on a second phase of development this summer, Greg Cerbana, vice president of government affairs for Weidner Apartment Homes and a member of the Switchbacks FC board of directors, announced at the Pikes Peak Housing Network’s second annual State of Housing event in late February.

Epicenter II is a seven-story, 410-unit mixed-use development on a 5-acre site located northwest of the intersection of South Sierra Madre and West Rio Grande streets, according to planning documents filed with the city.

In February 2025, Weidner Apartment Homes, which had been a minority partner in the Switchbacks since 2020, took full ownership of the club.

“A true pillar of the Colorado Springs community, Dean leaves behind a legacy rooted in passion, vision and an unwavering love for the city and the team,” the Switchbacks said in a Thursday morning post on social media website X.

“His impact will be felt for generations, both within the Colorado Springs community and throughout the Switchbacks organization. He often referred to Weidner Field as a love note to the city and personally designed the concept of the Epicenter sculpture in the stadium. These sentiments perfectly captured his dedication and pride for the Springs,” the post finished.

In the news release posted to its website, Weidner Apartment Homes honored Weidner’s commitment to philanthropy and his investments in education. He contributed to the neighborhoods where Weidner provides housing through “targeted philanthropy,” created a program that dedicated funds to care for residents living in Weidner properties, and partnered with several universities and trade schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Weidner also recently established the Weidner Purpose Trust, which gifted ownership of Weidner Apartment Homes and a real estate portfolio to preserve and advance his company’s vision, mission and values, according to the release.