Kathy Permenter On New Product Lines, This Cycle And Younger Partners' 2016
Kathy Permenter and Younger Partners, the company she co-founded with Moody Younger in 2012, have racked up a few awards in the last four years. Now Kathy's a 2016 Stemmons Service Award finalist for NTCAR. Kathy's extensive involvement in NTCAR, which she calls one of the best brokerage networking organizations in the area, has been one of the great professional enjoyments of her career. We caught up with her to talk about YP's busy year and what changes will come in 2017.
Bisnow: It’s been a big year for you.
Kathy: It’s been a very good year with the amount of deals and new clients. We recently started leasing three buildings at DFW Airport and just leased up one of them called 3200 East Airfield Drive. We also recently leased part of the top floor of 4 Park Central with essentially no windows. We’re adding patios and skylights for Holmes Murphy's expansion there. I especially enjoy finding opportunities where others see none.
Bisnow: Younger Partners is pretty team-oriented. Why is that?
Kathy: We pretty much team on everything. I team up every person in my office for different properties and deals. I’m surrounded by great people. (Here she is with NTCAR’s Brian Jetty and Younger Partners’ Lacey Queen at the NTCAR annual golf tournament in June.) You’ll see us launch more product lines as we get into next year. The people have caused us to grow—we haven’t gone after a specific product line. It’s very entrepreneurial.
Bisnow: Tell me more about these new product lines.
Kathy: We hope we’ll be launching more next year, largely driven by what our brokers want to get into. We had one [broker] who we thought would be more inclined to industrial, but she’s become engaged in several retail deals. We encourage that. Additional brokers joining us would also dictate more product lines.
Bisnow: Do you think we’re near the end of the cycle?
Kathy: The timing of the cycle does feel like it should be close to an end, but the dynamics seem like it will last a couple more years. We have too many positive factors for us to be at the end of our cycle. We’ve been in discussion about what could stop this cycle, and it comes down to job growth. For the first time in my career, Dallas is a star and major player across the country.
Bisnow: How does this cycle compare to the last?
Kathy: I think what has helped this cycle is the control on the new construction. In Texas, you always have land to build or the next new building next door. That has not been the case this time. We’ve seen lots of renovations of existing buildings. We’re at a very stable level for DFW for moving forward.
Bisnow: You’re one of NTCAR’s four 2016 Stemmons Service Award finalists. What causes are near and dear to you?
Kathy: I have a strong interest in helping mentally disabled adults. My sister and her husband passed away in 2005 and their youngest two girls came to live with me after. Their youngest daughter has special needs. That was an entirely new world to me as a mom with twin boys. My niece is now 22 and still lives with me. I’m on the board of MyPossibilities (a nonprofit that enables adults with cognitive challenges through vocational education). Understanding this world and system that creates opportunities for these adults so that they can be productive members of the community—it’s a personal interest. My boys are also Eagle Scouts and I’m involved in the American Heart Association.
Bisnow: What keeps you up at night?
Kathy: Closing the next deal. And next year—we’ve leased a lot of our space, so we need more space to lease!
Here's Kathy with YP's Sean Dalton, Trae Anderson, Claudia McLeod and Britnai Stegall having a Thanksgiving meal at Benihana.
