North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors and Real Estate Professionals has named this year’s hall-of-famers and the recipient of its Michael F. McAuley Lifetime Achievement Award.
The organization will induct Fehmi Karahan, president and CEO of The Karahan Cos., and Holt Lunsford, founder and CEO of Holt Lunsford Commercial, into its prestigious Hall of Fame.
Karahan launched Karahan Cos. in 1984. He is known for his pioneering work at Legacy Town Center and, more recently, at Legacy West. He also is involved in the forthcoming Frisco mixed-use development that will be anchored by PGA of America in Frisco and a massive 2,500-acre Headquarters Ranch project with Hunt Realty.
“Fehmi Karahan has left a massive imprint on Collin County and has forever changed the North Texas region—and he’s not finished yet,” said Lynn Dowdle, president of Dowdle Real Estate and 2019 NTCAR Hall of Fame event committee member. “He is a brilliant leader who surrounds himself with talented people to create high-energy, signature developments embraced by the community.”
Lunsford’s firm oversees a real estate portfolio of 70 million square feet between Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston; its investment arm, Frontier Equity, has more than 10 million square feet of development and acquisition activity. He is also founder and chairman of Liberty Capital Bank, Global Fulfillment Solutions, and City Park Construction.
He has a stellar reputation in the industry, said Greg Cannon, senior vice president of Colliers International and a NTCAR Hall of Fame committee member. “He’s known as a great leader who has strong values, a passion for the work and a deep commitment to excellence,” Cannon said. “That’s why his clients are loyal to him, and his powerhouse firm has grown into one of the region’s largest. He’s also a creative, big thinker looking to do things in a new way. How many other real estate developers have founded their own banks, logistics firms and construction companies?”
NTCAR also will present Chuck Dannis, senior managing director of National Valuation Consultants and adjunct professor of practice in real estate and urban land economics at Southern Methodist University, with its Michael F. McAuley Lifetime Achievement Award. It recognizes his leadership in the industry and his work as an educator and servant of the city and its real estate community.
“Chuck is a rare personality—a dynamic, knowledgeable leader who cares enough to share his expertise and talents with others,” said Younger Partners’ Robert Grunnah, a longtime Hall of Fame committee member. “His passion is demonstrated by his record of giving back to his industry through his teachings, his inspirational lessons to college students, his service to his city, and the monies raised to support children’s health and educational programs,”
Now in its 31st year, NTCAR’s Hall of Fame has honored industry luminaries like Trammell Crow, Henry S. Miller Jr., John M. Stemmons Sr., L. Storey Stemmons, Angus G. Wynne, and, more recently Toby Grove and Jerry Jones, who were the 2018 inductees. The 2019 awards ceremony will take place at 5:30 p.m. on April 30 in the Dallas Country Club.
