The Urban Land Institute’s North Texas chapter hosted it annual Impact Awards at the Renaissance Hotel the other night. Now its fourth year, the program honors real estate visionaries and projects pushing the envelope in North Texas.
This year’s Vision Award went to Roger Staubach, the Super Bowl-winning former quarterback, founder of The Staubach Co., and executive chairman of the Americas for JLL.
As part of the ceremony, Staubach’s longtime friend Ron Terwilliger, chairman of the ULI Terwilliger Center for Housing, interviewed him about his time as a Midshipman, his tenure as Dallas Cowboy, and his storied career in commercial real estate.
Staubach recounted memories from a colorful life in front of an audience of about 500 industry professionals. He told the story of how he threw the first-ever “Hail Mary” pass to pull off an upset win against the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings in the 1975 NFL playoffs, and described how he kickstarted his fledgling real estate career in the off seasons at Henry S. Miller.
Staubach is best known for his against-the-grain decision to put the tenant first in the face of opposition from the biggest developers in the world. The pioneering move helped his company become a national force that ultimately was acquired by JLL. Less widely known, Staubach said, is the central role women leaders like Ka Cotter, Susan Arledge, and Elysia Holt Ragusa played in his success.
Through every endeavor, integrity and perseverance have been Staubach’s North Star. “I think that’s the most important you could possibly do as a leader is to make sure that, even in hard times, you do the right things to fight through to get back on track,” he said.
In addition to Staubach’s Vision Award, ULINTX honored projects across the region in four categories: innovation, public place, influence, and jury’s special award.
The Innovation Award went to Labora Group’s 400 Record; the Public Place award went to A Tasteful Place at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens; the Influence Award went to Legacy West; and the Jury’s Special Award went to Toyota Motor North America’s headquarters.
At the end of the evening, attendees voted for the Next Big Idea Award, choosing The Trust for Public Land’s Smart Growth for Dallas as the winner.
