Advertising industry executives Bill Milkereit and Todd Tucker have formally launched a new branding agency, Poke The Bear in Dallas. Milkereit and Tucker are both former TRG (formerly The Richards Group) leaders and have worked on deliverables for clients inlcuding Chick-fil-A, The Home Depot, Fruit of the Loom, The Atlanta Falcons, and the Southeastern Conference.
“As we like to say, every brand faces a bear of a challenge. It could be a lack of awareness, or a misperception, or a crowded shelf, or at the mercy of a big, slow creative partner that’s neither all that creative nor much of a partner. We encourage any brand to think and act as a challenger brand—and we are committed to owning the challenge with them,” says Tucker.
The two are betting on the agency’s name making a powerful impression. “Poke The Bear is exactly what we’ve made a successful career doing. We poke. We prod. We provoke, and brands prevail,” says Milkereit. “This name and logo are impossible to ignore. Poke The Bear not only reflects our style but also, to any potential partner, it’s our agency’s big differentiator.”
Nature Nate’s Honey Co., Darden Restaurant Group’s Yard House, Eddie V’s and Capital Burger, and Johnsonville through lead agency Hold
Fast & Co, are among Poke The Bear’s first clients.
Poke the Bear will operate as an independently owned partnership and recently hired a director of operations.
Cadillac Fairview Acquires Lincoln Property Co.’s Residential Division
Former ownership company for The Village in North Dallas Lincoln Property Co. has sold its residential division, Lincoln Residential, to Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview. Cadillac Fairview first acquired a 49 percent interest in Lincoln Residential to support and grow multifamily property operations and investments across the United States in 2019. Now, it has gained majority ownership.
Mack Pogue, who founded Lincoln Property Co, in 1965, and Tim Byrne, Lincoln Residential’s retiring CEO, have retained a 5 percent interest in the business. Lincoln Residential is no longer affiliated with Lincoln Property Co.’s commercial division and operates as a separate, independent company.
“For the past five years Cadillac Fairview has been actively focused on growing and diversifying its global real estate portfolio with best-in-class partners, and since collaborating with Lincoln Residential in 2019, we’ve had tremendous success, which speaks to the strong collaboration between our leadership teams,” said John Sullivan, president and CEO of Cadillac Fairview.
Under Mack Pogue and Tim Byrne’s leadership, Lincoln Residential has grown to be one of the largest multifamily operators in the United States with more than 4500 employees. In 2019 Lincoln and Cadillac Fairview co-sponsored a long-term investment program focused on the development and acquisition of high-quality multifamily assets in top U.S. markets. To date, Lincoln Residential has completed over $1.5 billion of acquisitions and has another $2 billion under development, with significant planned expansion of this program.
As part of the acquisition, Duncan Osborne will succeed Tim Byrne as CEO, who has held the position since 1984. Osborne joins Lincoln Residential with more than 25 years of experience in real estate, investments, and commercial transactions. He most recently served as executive vice president, investments with Cadillac Fairview, where he led the firm’s international business and spearheaded the partnership with Lincoln Residential. Additionally, Jeff Courtwright will assume the new role of president, national development, and Chris Stallsworth has joined Lincoln Residential as executive vice president, investments and asset management to build out the company’s asset management and investment capabilities.
Landsea Homes Moves Corporate HQ to Dallas
NASDAQ-traded residential homebuilder Landsea Homes has announced plans to move its Newport Beach headquarters from California to Dallas. The new headquarters office will be located at 1717 E. McKinney Avenue in Uptown and totals 7,716 square feet. Landsea Homes will occupy Suite 1000 on the 10th floor of the building.
“In addition to the logistical advantages Dallas offers, we believe this relocation is beneficial from a number of standpoints, including a lower cost of living and access to a highly educated workforce, which will be critical as we continue to build our corporate team,” said John Ho, chief executive officer and director of Landsea Homes.
Landsea Homes is building homes and communities in Arizona, Florida, Texas and throughout California in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Orange County. “This is a strategic move in the best interests of our shareholders,” Ho says. ““In addition to our overall coast-to-coast growth strategy, we are very focused on growing our homebuilding footprint in Texas, and this move demonstrates our strong commitment to the state.”
Stillwater Capital Signs 900,000+ Square-Foot Lease in Forney
Real estate investors and developers Stillwater Capital and Grandview Partners signed a 904,495 square-foot lease at Forney Logistics Crossing, a Class A distribution facility built in 2022. Located at 11333 County Road 212, this lease adds to Forney’s fast-growing industrial submarket, which has facilities for Amazon, Goodyear, and Walmart. In the transaction, Nathan Lawrence and Krista Raymond at KBC Advisors represented GVSW Forney Property Owners. Greg Nelson of Paladin Partners represented tenant Hayes Co., a Wichita-based firm.
Stillwater Capital, a fully integrated real estate investment and development company founded in 2006, is known for transforming innovative ideas into unique environments. PGA’s new headquarters in Frisco is among its current projects.
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