Those who have lived in Dallas all their lives and those who are new to town agree on one thing: The region’s greatest strength is its can-do attitude. It’s contagious and has helped pull North Texas through some of its toughest challenges.
So, it’s not surprising that once again this year, D CEO received a record number of nominations for our annual Commercial Real Estate Awards. It wasn’t just the volume of entries that made judging this year’s program so difficult; it was the caliber of the projects and deals and the impact they will have on our region for years to come.
In the end, after assessing and debating the merits of hundreds of nominations, editors selected winners in 22 categories, from Emerging Commercial Real Estate Professional to the new Industry Impact Award, created to honor late tenant rep broker Michael Wyatt. Read on to learn more.
Deal of the Year
Knox Street Development
In a collaborative effort between some of Dallas’ largest Industry players—including The Retail Connection, Trammell Crow Co., BDT & MSD Partners, Highland Park Village Associates, and Beal Bank—the new Knox Street development is upping the luxury in an already bustling Dallas neighborhood. The mixed-use project will be anchored by a 140-key Auberge Resorts Collection dubbed The Knox and the 48-unit, luxury Knox Residences. Nearby, a nine-story, 150,000-square-foot office building will be the district’s center of business, with ISN Software occupying the top four floors. On the south side of the development, a 27-story, 173-unit multifamily asset will offer luxurious living. And at the base of the three buildings, 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space will stretch from end to end. Just steps off the Katy Trail, the project will also feature an acre of green space.
Excellence in Construction and Engineering
The Beck Group, led by Fred Perpall
As a 12-year-old growing up in the Bahamas, Fred Perpall spent his summers working with his uncle, mixing cement and lifting blocks at construction sites. When the architect would stop by to check on things, then drive away in his air-conditioned Jaguar, Perpall says, “I’d think to myself, ‘I want that job.’ It led me down the path to where I am today.” He joined The Beck Group as an architect at 24 and today is its CEO. The firm is known for its design-build prowess and constructing some of the region’s most high-impact developments. Looking back at high points from 2023, Perpall points to Thomas Jefferson High School and Walnut Hill International Leadership Academy in Dallas. “My favorite part of my work is the opportunity to impact lives—from our employees to clients to the broader community,” he says. “We do more than build buildings; we build up communities and people, too.”
Finalists: Warren Andres, Andres Construction; Steve French, Pacific Builders
Developer of the Year
Trammell Crow Co., led by Scott Krikorian
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to keep your head down, chop wood, and leave your ego at the door. Development is a team sport; individual egos only slow down progress.”
Scott Krikorian, Trammell Crow Co.
Finalists: Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, Harwood International; Will Hendrickson, Granite Properties; Jessica Miller Essl and Susan Gruppi Miller, M2G Ventures; Joseph Pitchford, Crescent Real Estate; Katy Slade and Nick Venghaus, Mintwood Real Estate
Best Industrial Lease
DrinkPak
Santa Clarita-based beverage manufacturing giant DrinkPak spent $452 million on two massive industrial facilities in Fort Worth totaling 2.9 million square feet. Both facilities—Eagle Parkway, developed by Trammell Crow Co., and Carter Park East, developed by Rob Riner Cos., Clarion Partners, and Crow Holdings—are slated to be up and running by the first quarter of 2025 and create 1,000 local jobs with an average annual salary of $70,000. The Eagle Parkway facility will house manufacturing for energy drinks, teas, sodas, waters, hard seltzers, beer, wine, and spirits. The Carter Park East facility will be the company’s first venture into producing coffees, protein drinks, milk, and alt-milk products, including oat, almond, and soy beverages. DrinkPak expects the sites to more than double the brand’s manufacturing output to up to 5 billion cans per year. “Fort Worth was really our opportunity to build the crown jewel in North America of aluminum can facilities,” DrinkPak CEO Nate Patena says. Both facilities will be fully robotic and all vehicles on site will be autonomously guided. Newmark represented DrinkPak in the transaction—the largest deal completed in North America of any single occupier of space in all of 2023. This North Texas footprint will ultimately produce about 4 to 5 percent of all cans in North America.
Finalists: DSV; Hayes Co.; Southwire
Best Commercial Property Sale
CityLine
After a competitive bidding war of eight offers and national marketing efforts by Newmark, Robert Sarver, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, emerged as the buyer for Richardson’s CityLine. Anchored by State Farm, the $1.6 billion development constructed in 2016 is a more than 2 million-square-foot mixed-use property comprised of four office buildings, 120,000 square feet of retail, and a 42,000-square-foot medical office building. The transaction was the largest office sale by consideration and square footage in North America last year.
Finalists: NOVEL Turtle Creek, Qorvo Semiconductor, Stemmons Towers, Texas Osprey Portfolio
Best Retail Lease or Project
Target at Wynnewood Village
Within a historic, 75-year-old neighborhood shopping center in Oak Cliff, Target found a site to build its next Dallas retail location. At roughly 111,000 square feet—nearly 30,000 square feet smaller than a typical Target footprint—the Wynnewood Village store will provide retail goods for an often overlooked and underserved Dallas neighborhood. SRS’ Karla Smith likens it to fitting 10 pounds of sugar into a 5-pound bag. Despite the challenges, the store is scheduled to open in August 2025 and create roughly 200 jobs for the community.
Finalists: Cosm at Grandscape; Harwood Hospitality Group; Popstroke at Grandscape
Best New Multifamily Project
The Monarch HALL Park
In 2017, Craig Hall began to think about what his Frisco campus would be for generations to come. Soon after, HALL Group initiated a $7 billion masterplan to turn the area into a vibrant mixed-use development. Just a short drive from attractions such as Legacy West, PGA Frisco, and several sports venues, the first manifestation of that plan has come in the form of The Monarch Hall Park, a luxury 19-story apartment tower located on the future site of Kaleidoscope Park, a 5.8-acre green space set to open this summer. WDG served as the architect on the project. The 214-unit high-rise has an average unit size of 1,150 square feet and boasts resort-style amenities such as a club room, pet spa, 24-hour concierge team, and a 10,000-square-foot eatery with nine restaurant options and a full bar.
Finalists: The Bohéme, Depot on Main, Oakhouse, The Quinn
Commercial Real Estate Broker of the Year
Steve Trese
CBRE
“I get to be a salesman, a poor man’s architect, financial analyst, amateur engineer, small business owner, and adviser to some of the world’s largest institutions—all in one day.”
Steve Trese, CBRE
Finalists: Ryan Hoopes, Cushman & Wakefield; Seth Koschak, Stream Realty Partners; Andy Leatherman, JLL; Karla Smith, SRS Real Estate Partners; Chris Teesdale, Colliers
Best New Office Project
Wells Fargo
KDC, Corgan, and Austin Commercial began construction on Wells Fargo’s new $500 million Irving campus in April 2023. The 22-acre site, just minutes away from Toyota Music Factory and the Irving Convention Center, will boast an 850,000-square-foot facility that will house about 3,000 Wells Fargo employees when it opens at the end of 2025. At that time, the San Francisco bank, which has just under 7,000 DFW employees spread throughout 14 offices in the region, will consolidate its local office footprints. The campus will be the company’s first netpositive energy office space through the use of rooftop solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations, and native plantings to minimize water requirements. The design utilizes solar PV canopies on the buildings and parking garages and reclaims gray water from a nearby lake for the water-cooled HVAC system. Developers are implementing numerous amenities which include a coffee shop, a food hall with open-view cooking stations, a dining hall overlooking Lake Carolyn, a library with high-tech workshop space, multiple gyms, and well-being rooms. The campus, which has a 4,000-spot parking garage, is designed to eventually double in size with a second phase of construction. Wells Fargo stands to gain $36 million in state and local incentives for its campus, $5 million of which is from the state and $31 million from the City of Irving. It’s the largest incentives package the city has ever offered. JLL assisted Wells Fargo in its site selection.
Finalists: 6275 West Plano Parkway, Granite Park 6, Harwood No. 14, The Offices at Southstone Yards, The Quad, Thirteen Thirty-Three and River Edge
Commercial Real Estate Executive of the Year
Ran Holman
Newmark
Over the years, Ran Holman has built a reputation for developing winning business strategies and exceptional work cultures and recruiting top teams. That’s exactly what he has done at Newmark since joining the firm in 2020, adding superstars like Mark Masinter and Jack Fraker. “Last year we brought together pros from four different mergers along with some highly sought-after recruits, into one state-of-the-art office in Uptown,” Holman says. “The ethos that emerged has been incredible.”
Finalists: Chad Lavender, Newmark; Steven Levin, Centennial Real Estate Management; Terry Montesi, Trademark Property Co.; Tony Ramji, Victory Real Estate Group; Mimi Tran, KA Commercial Group
Best Hospitality Project
JW Marriott Arts District
Officially opened in July 2023, the JW Marriott Dallas Arts District is already proving to be an anchor in the district. Developed by the Sam Moon Group on top of land that used to be a 10-story parking garage, the hotel is a 267-key property with 13 suites. Its luxurious, yet approachable charm takes inspiration from the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Crow Museum of Asian Art, all part of the world’s largest contiguous arts district that surrounds it. The hotel boasts orchestral brass fixtures, diverse art pieces, and digital representations of vinyl albums in the guest rooms. It also commissioned 20 one-of-a-kind art pieces, including a monarch butterfly painting by Sam Moon Group’s VP and General Counsel Daniel Moon’s daughter. Dallas’ HKS served as the hotel’s architect and DPR Construction as the general contractor. Uptown-based Looney & Associates led interior design.
Finalists: American Airlines’ Skyview 6, The Knox Hotel, Miyako Hybrid Hotel Plano
Emerging Commercial Real Estate Professional of the Year
Allison Johnston Frizzo
Hart Commercial
Allison Johnston Frizzo likes to joke that she got her start in real estate as a 4-year-old in the 1980s, tagging along on an office tour with her mother. “According to her, I took the prospective tenant’s hand and walked him through the space, showing him each room,” she says. “So, I guess you could say I was a natural.” Along with her impressive brokerage achievements, the young leader is one of the region’s most dedicated industry and community volunteers. It all started in 2012, when she founded Ladies in CRE after not finding other networking groups that catered to young women in the business. What began with just 35 members has grown to more than 600 members today. In 2021, she launched Hart Commercial with her mentor, Tanya Hart Little. “It was a gamble, but we persevered,” she says. “We are committed to building a special firm for the next generation of commercial real estate leaders.”
Finalists: Tom Dosch, Dosch Marshall Real Estate; Garrison Efird, Newmark; Geoff Ficke, Colliers; Ali Greenwood, Cushman & Wakefield; Summitt Hogue, Growe; Bryce Jackson, Thirty-Four Commercial; Daniel Poku, SRS Real Estate Partners; Charles Rombold, MW Builders; Andrew Shaw, Edge Realty Partners
Excellence in Architecture and Design
HKS, led by Dan Noble
“I’m excited about the potential that technology can bring to innovation and invention to the entire building design and construction industry. It’s overdue for reinvention.”
Dan Noble, HKS
Finalists: Milton Anderson, Merriman Anderson Architects; Scott Ruch, Corgan; Deeg Snyder and Steven Upchurch, Gensler
Best Land Deal
Preston Harbor
The $6 billion Preston Harbor development on Lake Texoma was one of the largest land purchases in Grayson County’s history. It’s projected to nearly double the size of Denison. According to Mayor Janet Gott, the city expects the project to attract 20,000 new residents. A driving force behind the massive development is Sherman’s construction of billions of dollars worth of semiconductor plants that are slated to add thousands of new jobs to the northern sector. Spread out over more than 3,000 acres, Preston Harbor will include 7,500 homes, multifamily units, retail, restaurants, a town center with a park overlooking Lake Texoma, and an upscale marina with up to 600 boating slips. But the anchor of the mixed-use development will be a 200-key, $100 million Margaritaville resort, an escape that celebrates the coastal vacation culture immortalized in the music of the late entertainer Jimmy Buffett. Preston Harbor, one of the largest undeveloped tracts on Lake Texoma, will include more than nine miles of lakefront and feature an extensive trail system interconnecting interior lakes, parks, marinas, Lake Texoma, and the resort. David Craig, the developer behid the 2,200 acre Craig Ranch in McKinney, is leading the project as its developer and general partner. The Choctaw Nation is also part of the investment.
Finalists: Anna Ranch, Fifield Residential, Turtle Creek, Green Meadows, The Vickery
Best Industrial Project
Tradepoint 45 West
Developers broke ground on the 1.35 million-square-foot Tradepoint 45 West in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the project, fully leased by solar provider giant Trina Solar, will open in late 2024. Built by Champion Partners and Cresset Partners, the Wilmer property is the largest speculative industrial building constructed in the history of Texas. Additionally, the lease is the largest deal to sign prior to a speculative building’s shell delivery. Once operational, Trina Solar will invest $200 million into the facility and create 1,500 DFW jobs.
Finalists: Live Oak Logistics, McLaren, Mesquite Airport Logistics Center, Southport Logistics Center
Best Redevelopment or Renovation
The Sinclair
Constructed from the bones of the former Energy Plaza, The Sinclair is a premier mixed-use high-rise in downtown featuring 450,000 square feet of office space and nearly 300 multifamily units. Developed by Todd Interests, Shawn Todd and his team completely gutted the building and repurposed it into luxury living and Class A office space that boasts green amenities and an abundance of natural light. As one of the country’s largest adaptive re-use projects last year, The Sinclair touts apartments that top out at $14,000 a month. HKS served as the architect on the project.
Finalists: Crown Block, Dallas County Records Building, GoodSurf, Sylvania Industrial Park
Excellence in Community Service
Venture Commercial
“I am changed—better—through the people I have met along the way, especially those who devote their lives to causes they believe in.”
Mike Geisler, Venture Commercial
Finalists: Charles “Chuck” Dannis, National Valuation Consultants; Karyn Martin, Interprise Design; Frank Mihalopoulos, Corinth Properties
Community Impact
The Kessler School
The redevelopment of Calvary Baptist Church into The Kessler School’s new campus is not just about a school needing more space for its students. It’s a story about revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood and saving a historical structure in an Oak Cliff community where teardowns and gentrification are a frequent occurrence for unused buildings. The Kessler School, a private, pre-kindergarten through seventh grade institution, was formerly leasing a 12,000-square-foot space in the Kessler Park United Methodist Church Now, its space is nearly six times larger. Despite receiving slightly higher offers for its former space that could have been repurposed into commercial space or trendy lofts, Calvary Baptist—now congregating in Duncanville—voted unanimously to sell the property to The Kessler School. For years, the old church, which touts 100-year-old neoclassical architecture, was largely abandoned, attracting break-ins and loitering, but now the space is an educational environment filled with the laughter and curiosity of children. Main enhancements include the replacement of bleak asphalt landscape with green, lively spaces conducive to learning and community engagement. Additionally, after its reimagination, the community has been sparked by innovation. Other redevelopment and reuse projects in the Sunset Hill neighborhood are launching thanks to The Kessler School. A notable example is Cenzo’s Pizza & Deli, which recently opened in a repurposed old gas station, replacing a rundown laundromat.
Finalists: 1632 MLK Boulevard Retail, Harwood Park, The Loop Dallas, The Place at Honey Springs, South Dallas Cloud Kitchen
Best New Mixed-Use Project
The Crescent Fort Worth
Capitalizing on underutilized acreage, Crescent Real Estate developed Crescent Fort Worth, a mixed-use project in the heart of Fort Worth’s Cultural District. Five years in the making, the new development features 170 luxury residential units, a 160,000-square-foot Class A office building, a 26,000-square-foot Canyon Ranch Wellness Club, and a 200-key Crescent Hotel. The hotel has opened to rave reviews and has already set a new benchmark for rate and occupancy in the Fort Worth market. The office component was 90 percent leased upon ribbon cutting, and plans are already in motion for an adjoining office space to be built in 2026. Additionally, Duro Hospitality will open its first Fort Worth restaurant in late 2024 at the site.
Finalists: EpicCentral, Lincoln Property Co. headquarters, Presidium Cotton Mill
Best Office Lease
Bank of America at Parkside
The 72-story Bank of America Plaza has long been home base for the company’s employees in downtown Dallas. But the bank is entering a new era. And last year, it announced plans to move to Parkside, a 500,000-square-foot tower that’s being developed by KDC and Pacific Elm Properties. The new building will sit adjacent to the popular urban greenspace Klyde Warren Park on land owned by Miyama USA. At 30 stories, it will be the tallest tower in Uptown. The bank will occupy more than 238,000 square feet in the facility, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, with Corgan and OJB Landscape Architecture also contributing. In recognition of its anchor tenant, the skyscraper will be known as Bank of America Tower at Parkside. The financial institution will relocate about 1,000 workers to the new digs in 2027. Putting the deal together were Andy Leatherman of JLL, Aarica Mims of KDC, and Sara Terry of Pacific Elm Properties.
Finalists: Gearbox, HF Sinclair, ISN Software Corp., JBB Advanced Technologies, Meriton/Texas Air
Industry Impact Award
Michael Wyatt
Cushman & Wakefield
Mike Wyatt was one of the region’s top tenant rep brokers before his tragic passing last September, but his impact on the community far and away surpassed his achievements as a local dealmaker for Cushman & Wakefield—the firm he served since 1988. A cancer survivor, Wyatt founded Team Nuts and became a leading advocate for male cancer awareness. He helped bring Klyde Warren Park to fruition, as a nature and outdoors enthusiast he served the Trinity Park Conservancy for two decades, and founded Urban Armadillos, which created an app for a self-guided tour of downtown Dallas. D CEO is proud to honor his legacy with its first Industry Impact Award.
Authors
Christine Perez
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