There’s no time like the present, then, to take a look at the up-and-coming thirtysomethings working locally in the industry. In a few years, after all, they’ll be the ones responsible for making the mega-budget deals that will keep Dallas going and growing.
With that in mind—and in collaboration with The Real Estate Council and its Associate Leadership Council program—the editors of D CEO have compiled a list of commercial real estate movers and shakers in their 30s who have distinguished themselves from the pack.
In this feature, we’ve asked each of them to tell us a little about their personal lives, which business leaders have influenced them the most, and which areas are likely to be the next commercial real estate hot spots, among other things.
With expertise ranging from brokerage and development to investment, commercial real estate’s thirtysomethings show here why they—along with the local market—have such promising futures. We’ve listed them alphabetically.
Age: 36
Company: Stream Realty Partners
Job Title: Partner
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? I’m surprised that more owners don’t demand their buildings lease for the rate a tenant is “willing to pay” rather than “market.” There are too many trophy buildings around town where the building owner just isn’t realizing the asset’s full revenue potential. Pushing rental rates and feeling the market are not second nature; either you have the professional DNA to do it or you don’t.
What has been your most satisfying transaction? Stipulating that hiring a person is technically a transaction, I’d say that hiring Preston Young has been most satisfying. At the time, I was 32 and an unproven business leader. He was a 24-year old investment sales analyst at a public company. Preston now runs our wildly successful Houston office, and Stream’s “family tree” revolves heavily around his hiring. I’m now highly confident in my ability to identify, recruit, and develop outstanding real estate talent.
Roman Bogoslavsky
Age: 35
Company: Cambridge Holdings Inc.
Job Title: Vice President, Acquisitions & Capital Markets
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? My mother always instilled in me discipline and balance in life. And emigrating from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, she showed me there’s no hardship or challenge that can’t be overcome. In her day, she was a highly accomplished concert pianist, and the qualities needed to succeed translate quite well, including drive and creativity.
How do you see the local economy faring over the next year or two? Dallas-Fort Worth is highly entrepreneurial and very resilient with numerous strong sectors. We have been rather fortunate in the latest cycle and haven’t seen the overbuilding of speculative projects as in the past. Capital has been smarter and hopefully this trend will ensue.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? Dallas continues to grow in all directions, but as it grows, the inner core will be in even more demand. East Dallas, Oak Cliff, and the Parkland/Southwestern Medical Center area are ripe for more redevelopment and gentrification.
Bill Brokaw
Age: 38
Company: Hillwood-Victory Park
Job Title: Vice President
What has been your most satisfying transaction? The transactions of Haynes & Boone, Ernst & Young, and PlainsCapital Bank at One Victory Park were both memorable and satisfying. They were complex transactions and highly competitive. Each transaction reinforced the office component of Victory Park, and those companies were leaders that understood the advantages of locating in the most dramatic new urban development in Dallas.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? What is most interesting is the pace of the trends that affect the industry and directly impact the client’s changing needs. As an example, several years ago the word LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) was not in our vocabulary. Now, a majority of prospective clients demand it for their office needs.
Age: 36
Company: CityView
Job Title: Partner and Senior Vice President, National Development
On weekends, where would people find you? When most real estate professionals are out playing golf, boating, or engaging in some leisure activity, I assume my other full-time role as senior pastor of Union Cathedral. I founded the church six years ago. With my travel schedule, I have gained a reputation of being elusive, but I tell people that you can always find me preaching Sunday mornings at Union.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? In other industries, there isn’t always a willingness to share information. There can be a code of silence. However, I have found it refreshing that many real estate professionals are willing to share best practices with each other. There are many instances when I have called other real estate professionals and they have freely shared their thoughts and data with me.
Charlie Eubanks
Age: 37
Company: JPI Partners LLC
Job Title: Managing Partner, Acquisitions
What has been your most satisfying transaction? The first transaction where I was ultimately accountable for the outcome will always be most satisfying to me. It wasn’t the biggest and certainly not the most profitable deal done at JPI, but I’ll always remember being scared to death of screwing up my first deal and then the satisfaction of getting it done.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? We try to identify locations that will benefit from an investment catalyst over a long period of time. I think the Trinity River Corridor project is a good example of that. The Dallas Arts District is another. When the billions of dollars being invested in projects and infrastructure in those two areas comes on line, the people of Dallas will be blown away. That should allow them to outperform the market by a wide margin.
Mike Evans
Age: 36
Company: Guaranty Bank
Job Title: Senior Vice President-Lending
What has been your most satisfying transaction? I always remember my first really big deal that had many moving parts and required me to syndicate the loan to other banks. It was the Center at Preston Ridge, a $100 million Target-anchored shopping center on the north side of Stonebriar Mall in Frisco. Having been in the real estate lending business for only a couple of years, this was a challenging deal due to its size and the complexities of dealing with so many tenants. When we originated this deal, the mall was just under construction and there was very little other commercial development in the area.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? All of us would like to know the answer to that question. While not new, I see many of the current trends continuing. Uptown should continue to be very strong with new residential and office developments on the drawing boards. While there are certain high-growth areas in many suburbs around Dallas, traffic problems will always be an issue. The redevelopment of older projects inside of Interstate 635 should continue to occur as population and employment in the city grows.
Age: 32
Company: Winstead PC
Job Title: Associate Attorney
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? Mike Alessio has had the most significant impact, by serving as a mentor and positive role model. The way he approaches problems and manages people has been very influential on my practice. Outside of my firm, Michele Wheeler has played an important role in my development—every female in commercial real estate should meet her.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? While I expected the business to be competitive, I had no idea the industry would constitute such a close community. Even with contentious transactions, when the deal is complete the individuals involved have often developed lasting relationships. I consistently see this closeness in my experiences with Associate Leadership Council and Commercial Real Estate Women.
Cris Jordan
Age: 38
Company: Transwestern Commercial Services
Job Title: Vice President
What has been your most satisfying transaction? My most satisfying transaction has been repositioning Republic Center, a once-derelict office building, which today is a 1.1 million square-foot mixed-use development including office, retail, and luxury residential space.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? So many things are surprising about our business: Commercial real estate is a common thread woven throughout the fabric of our community. So many national and global real estate companies were seeded from the development roots in the region. This industry sustains a fun and creative environment, which is the best surprise of all.
L. Suzan Kedron
Age: 37
Company: Jackson Walker LLP
Job Title: Partner
What has been your most satisfying transaction? The most recent zoning approval for the St. Regis Hotel.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? How incestuous it is.
How do you see the local economy faring over the next year or two? It may get a little rocky, but the DFW area—and Dallas in particular—is a fighter. The innovative, creative projects will rise to the top.
Jason Mattox
Age: 32
Company: Behringer Harvard
Job Title: Executive Vice President
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? Robert M. Behringer has guided me to the opportunities and experiences in my professional career that have most shaped my business acumen. As both my longtime manager and mentor, he has provided ample flexibility and freedom, allowing me to benefit from in-depth exposure to the varied aspects of a successful commercial real estate investment business.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? If the number of actual deliveries is less than those planned, new mixed-use centers sprouting up have the opportunity to really transform Dallas real estate. Whether Victory, Park Lane, or Frisco Square, these developments stand to create real 24-hour centers. Concentrations of multifamily, retail, office, and other lifestyle properties form tremendous demand drivers that have been missing from these pockets of Dallas.
Josh McArtor
Age: 32
Company: CB Richard Ellis
Job Title: Vice President
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? I would have to say my father. He taught me not to be greedy in business deals and that you should always take your profits and move on to the next deal.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? The east-west corridor along Highway 380 is the next frontier that will explode during the next real estate development cycle. There is huge demand for more retail, industrial, and office amenities in north Collin County.
Age: 33
Company: Corgan Associates Inc.
Job Title: Vice President
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? My late father taught me that the two most important things in my career were my integrity and the ability to use my position to help make a positive impact on my community. I feel my attempt to follow that advice has opened more doors for me than any long hours spent grinding at the office.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? The willingness of the successful and established leaders in our business to accept and even reach out to the younger generation trying to build on the great momentum they have already put into place.
Maria Schindel
Age: 34
Company: Stewart Title
Job Title: Vice President/Commercial Escrow Officer
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? Joyce Beal—an icon in Dallas commercial real estate. She hired me right out of law school and has been the best mentor I could have asked for. She has over 50 years in the title insurance industry and has more knowledge and energy than several “thirtysomethings” put together.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? I see Uptown and downtown remaining hot. Skyrocketing energy prices will push people to the city core more and more. In addition, the momentum created by Victory, the Arts District, and the Mercantile project will continue to make Uptown and downtown the places to be.
Aryn Self
Age: 32
Company: Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr PC
Job Title: Associate Attorney
What has been your most satisfying transaction? The most satisfying transactions I’ve worked on are for a client involving the Trinity River Project. It has been very exciting to work on deals that utilize one of Dallas’ most important natural resources and also will have such a huge impact on the city. I’ve worked on transactions all over the country, but it is especially enjoyable to work on transactions in your own “backyard” and watch them grow.
How do you see the local economy faring over the next year or two? I think the local economy over the next year or so will hold up better than the rest of the country. North Texas is still experiencing growth with an influx of people to the area, and I think unemployment rates and residential real estate prices will remain stable. After about a year, when everyone else is emerging from economic problems, our local economy will not have been hit as hard as everyone else and will have an easier time recovering.
Ryan Thornton
Age: 34
Company: Thackeray Partners
Job Title: Principal
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? Even though I repeatedly heard it before entering the industry, I was initially surprised over the important role that personal relationships would play in the business and the high level of connectivity within the industry.
How do you see the local economy faring over the next year or two? I see a continuation of a market slowdown over the next few years; however, given the market’s basic fundamentals, I believe we will fare better than many other areas of the country and will be poised for a faster recovery.
Michael Watts
Age: 37
Company: Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Job Title: Vice President, Real Estate Principal Investment Area
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? That Dallas has an outstanding network of real estate professionals with a tremendous passion for helping the community.
What is the next “hot spot” in Dallas real estate? My hope is South Dallas, as a result of the collective attention, desire, commitment, and incredible efforts of the community.
On weekends, where would people find you? At home with my wife, chasing around our four children.
Age: 31
Company: Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
Job Title: Associate Director
Who has had the greatest impact on your development as a businessperson? Fortunately, I have benefited from fantastic guidance throughout my career. My wife and family have shared their wisdom and taught me patience, while my business partner, Greg Biggs, has served as an excellent mentor during the first stages of my real estate career.
What, if anything, has surprised you about the commercial real estate business? The resiliency of the industry and its top professionals. No matter the circumstances, the best professionals within the commercial real estate industry always seem to find their way back to the top.
On weekends, where would people find you? If I have a choice: the golf course.
