The Dallas real estate community has lost one of its brightest stars. JLL Managing Director Steve Thelen and his wife, Gina, were among those tragically killed when a plane they were on crashed into a hangar at Addison Airport early Sunday morning.
The firm shared the news with employees earlier today and issued this statement:
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic accident that took place yesterday. Our deepest and most heartfelt sympathies go out to Steve and Gina’s family and friends during this difficult time. Steve was a valued friend and colleague to all of us, personally and professionally. They will both be deeply missed.”
Thelen was nominated earlier this year for a D CEO Power Brokers Award. The tenant rep closed 21 transactions totaling more than 1 million square feet in 2018, securing as many as 500 jobs for North Texas in the process. Over the years, his clients have ranged from Pizza Hut and Stryker Corp. to Matador Resources, Samsung, and Enlink Midstream.
In May, Thelen was named among the top contributing editors to D CEO’s Commercial Real Estate news site. An opinion column he wrote about market fundamentals ranked No. 6 among all blog posts published in the past year.
Thelen earned a degree in computing science from Texas A&M University. He began his commercial real estate career in 1990 at Cushman & Wakefield. In 2001, he left to join The Staubach Co., which later was merged into JLL.
A dedicated family man, Thelen and his wife are survived by their daughter, Christy, a leasing associate at Cushman & Wakefield, and son Kyle.
Dallas developer Bill Cawley said Thelen was widely admired in the Dallas commercial real estate industry. “He was not only best in class as a tenant rep broker, he was a quality friend, husband, and father,” Cawley said. “Dallas is a better city because of people like Steve. He will be missed. It’s a huge loss for our industry.”
