Real estate legends gathered at Dallas Country Club last night for a private reception to commemorate the release of the second edition of The Book, a nearly 300-page tribute to the pioneers and leaders who have built North Texas. The coffee table publication features profiles of all NTCAR’s Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame inductees—three families and 76 individuals, including John M. Stemmons Sr., Roger Staubach, and Ross Perot Jr.
“These great men and women shaped a critical part of our local history,” said Robert Grunnah, NTCAR Hall of Fame co-founder and part of the four-member team that led production of the book. “Because of their bold courage, sheer perseverance, wisdom and out-and-out guts, the Dallas-Fort Worth region is now the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.”
The expanded second edition includes profiles of leaders who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since the first book came out in 2008: Mike Berry, the Caroline Rose Hunt Family, Gerald and Jeff Hines, Michael Dardick, Steve Van Amburgh, Leo Corrigan, Jr., Jim Sowell, Ross Perot Jr., Jesse Pruitt, and Lucy Billingsley. It also features a detailed list of more than 250 significant real estate milestones that date back to 1848, and a fascinating “Commercial Real Estate Tree,” which traces the impact that Henry S. Miller, Hank Dickerson, and Tramell Crow have had on the industry. (A remarkable number of today’s industry leaders once worked for the firms led by these three men.)
Written by Elizabeth Perkins, The Book was conceived by Grunnah, president of the investments division at Henry S. Miller Brokerage; Darrell Hurmis, executive vice president at Miller; and Chris Teesdale, executive vice president of Colliers International. They first began working on the project 11 years ago, handling everything from raising funds to paper-stock selection. Greg Cannon, executive vice president of industrial sales and leasing at Colliers, joined the team in 2009 to work on the second edition.
“Our initial goal was to preserve the incredibly colorful stories of the past 100-plus years before they were forgotten,” Hurmis said. “Based on the responses we got, I think we delivered on that promise.”
Through individual profiles, the book also showcases major commercial real estate developments, including high-impact projects like Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Alliance Texas, Trinity River Corridor Project and Fort Worth Trinity River Vision, Klyde Warren Park, and Legacy Business Park.
“The real estate community—and anyone who loves learning about the history of our region—really soaked up the stories, because they painted a picture of the early days,” Teesdale said. “It has taken literally thousands of hours of interviews, meetings, writing, editing and selling sponsorships, but it has been worth it.”
Cannon said a third edition is planned for 2018.
“We will be adding the new Hall of Famers every five years, as well as the new major real estate projects,” he said. “Our hope is that this becomes a go-to reference book for anyone looking for information.”
A limited number of books are available for purchase, priced at $150. Contact NTCAR at 214-638-5525 or email [email protected].
Courtesy of NTCAR’s Hall of Fame, here are a few nuggets from the 2013 edition:
• Trammell Crow, showing modern-day management styles, never had his own office. He worked in a desk side-by-side in the same room as the rest of his employees.
• Angus Wynne Jr. developed 820 acres in Oak Cliff and created Six Flags Over Texas, after visiting Disneyland with his family.
• Leo Corrigan Sr. was the second of 10 children who began working full-time at age 11.
• Robert S. Folsom, who eventually served as Dallas Mayor, was a serious-minded, introverted man who graduated from West Point and SMU. He accidentally poured concrete for a new building on his neighbor’s land; the situation was remedied when the neighbor allowed Folsom to buy the land).
• When the Urban Land Institute came to town to review Ben H. Carpenter’s master plan for Hackberry Creek Ranch, they disliked his vision for an urban center with office towers, hotels, shops, and restaurants. He stuck by his plan, which became Las Colinas.
