Jerry Jones Has Formed A Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
UPDATE, JAN. 25, 12 P.M. ET: This article has been updated to include a statement from the Dallas Cowboys.
Jerry Jones is entering a whole new ballgame in commercial real estate.
Jones, who owns commercial investment development firm Blue Star Land in addition to the Dallas Cowboys, quietly founded brokerage firm Blue Star Commercial Real Estate in June, Bisnow has learned. He brought in multiple executives from Dallas-based Swearingen Realty Group, installing its senior vice president, Rob Wolfle, as president of Blue Star CRE.
After the publication of this article, a spokesperson for the Dallas Cowboys sent a statement to Bisnow denying Jones' involvement: "Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, is not involved with the ownership or operation of this company. Jerry Jones Jr. is an investor in this venture."
Publicly available information about Blue Star CRE is sparse, with its LinkedIn page listing its location simply as Frisco, Texas. Jones owns over 500 acres of real estate in Frisco, most notably The Star in Frisco mixed-use complex, the location of the Cowboys' headquarters and a good deal more office space.
Blue Star's initial focus is on representing investors in capital markets deals, Executive Vice President Tom Brosseau, who joined the company after leading Swearingen's health care practice, told Bisnow. Though he would not comment on any of its current or potential clients, Brosseau said Blue Star has been looking into medical office properties in Florida and Ohio, as well as industrial properties in the Northeast.
"Our brokerage company has been tasked with looking for opportunities across the nation," Brosseau said.
One of those opportunities that piqued Blue Star's interest is the portfolio of 13 office buildings AT&T is looking to offload in a sale-leaseback deal. After a Jan. 8 article about AT&T putting what it has dubbed the Central Office Portfolio up for sale, Brosseau emailed Bisnow expressing interest in making a bid.
In a subsequent phone call, Brosseau confirmed that Blue Star CRE is owned by Jerry Jones but is a separate entity from Blue Star Land. He said the new company's interest would be bidding for the 3.6M SF portfolio, of which AT&T seeks to lease back 43%, on behalf of prospective clients. Wolfle declined to comment.
The Central Office Portfolio includes one property in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, an 89K SF building at 2400 South Westmoreland Road in Dallas. AT&T's continued involvement as a tenant at its properties was part of its appeal to Blue Star CRE, Brosseau said.
“The credit of the tenant and the diversity of the properties [are appealing], because you’re geographically taking much less of a risk," Brosseau said. "And depending on the rate of the return, the [size of the portfolio] is a high barrier to entry."
Jones' real estate strategy has become notably more diverse in recent years, luring Keurig Dr Pepper to move its own headquarters to a new building at The Star in Frisco as well as the first Texas location for Wahlburgers, the burger chain co-owned by actor Mark Wahlberg and his brothers. The complex also features some of the increasingly varied slate of businesses under the Cowboys umbrella, including Formation, an 18K SF coworking facility run by the Cowboys organization; and the Blue Star Accelerator for sports, tech and entertainment startups.
Blue Star is in the planning phase for at least two more multi-building developments in Frisco: an industrial complex that will house the Cowboys' merchandising operation and a 100-acre mixed-use project adjacent to the industrial park that could include apartments, hotels, entertainment and retail, Community Impact Newspaper reports.
