The Future of Downtown Dallas

Mr. Luik initially joined Crescent in 2011 as part of the asset management effort for Crescent’s institutional client profile and wholly-owned office portfolios. His responsibilities included investor reporting, hold/sell analysis, oversight of leasing transactions, determination of asset strategy, value enhancement analysis, preparations of business plans, market analysis and quarterly valuations. He then served as project manager for the development team in Crescent’s Dallas office as well as acquisitions manager for both Crescent and Goff Capital Partners prior to the company’s conversion to Crescent Real Estate LLC. Prior to joining Crescent, Mr. Luik was a vice president in the Dallas office of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets group where he worked on multiple asset classes including office, retail, industrial, hotels, and loan dispositions ranging in value from $5 million to $300 million on both a single investment and portfolio basis. Mr. Luik is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a B.B.A. degree in Finance. He is an active member in TREC Young Guns, NAIOP Developing Leaders, and NTCAR and serves as Vice President of the West End Association and on numerous Downtown Dallas Inc committees for the betterment of downtown Dallas.

Will joined Granite in 2003 and is responsible for leading Granite’s day-to-day operations and growth in the Dallas market. Prior to joining Granite, Will was an investment sales broker in the Washington DC market for 5 years. His industry involvement includes ULI, NAIOP, and The Real Estate Council. He also serves as an Advisory Council member for the Real Estate Finance and Investment Center at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Will received his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Washington & Lee University and a Master’s degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University.

Wildcat president Tanya Ragan is an entrepreneur, activist, and leader of the movement to redevelop downtown Dallas. Her company, Wildcat Management, focuses on scaled, locally financed projects in up-and-coming urban areas. Ms. Ragan has led numerous efforts to revitalize downtown Dallas, including privatizing the city-owned Farmers Market, and relocating the Liberty State Bank building to a more business-friendly location. She is currently rehabilitating the Historic Purse Building; Dallas West End’s last undeveloped historic structure into a destination for retail, dining, and business. Ms. Ragan is committed to helping entrepreneurs achieve their full potential. Altogether, Ms. Ragan’s diversified experience, undeniable work ethic and disruptive energy has made her a go-to industry expert and a visionary leader in commercial real estate for the past 14 years. Ms. Ragan also takes great pains to practice responsible development and stewardship. A resident of Downtown Dallas herself, she is a tireless community activist and works to both understand and maintain the delicate balance between transforming and preserving the character of the city.

Amy Meadows is president and CEO of Parks for Downtown Dallas (PfDD), a private operating foundation focused on the development of the four priority parks identified in the City of Dallas Downtown Parks Master Plan Update (2013). Through a public-private partnership, PfDD’s goal is to complete Carpenter Park, Harwood Park, Pacific Plaza and West End Square by year- end 2022, adding 13+ acres of parkland to the urban core of Dallas. Prior to embarking on this effort, Ms. Meadows served for 11 years as vice president & executive director of The Belo Foundation, during which time the Foundation oversaw the design and construction of Belo Garden which was identified in the original Downtown Parks Master Plan (2004). In October 2015, The Belo Foundation was reconstituted as Parks for Downtown Dallas to focus all of its resources on the development of and advocacy for downtown parks. Before joining The Belo Foundation, Ms. Meadows served as executive director of Social Venture Partners Dallas and as director of communications for Fidelity Investments Southwest. She has been active in the Dallas nonprofit community for more than 25 years and is married with two children and a dog. She is a proud Texan, having earned her undergraduate degree from The University of Texas at Austin and master’s degree from University of North Texas.

Dustin Gabriel, is with Petros PACE Finance (an Apollo Company). Dustin is based in Dallas and focuses on building the PACE business in the Dallas area and in other select PACE markets throughout the country. He joined Petros from the Real Estate Specialties Group (“RESG”) for Bank OZK (formerly Bank of the Ozarks), where he oversaw the construction and operations of a national loan portfolio with over 7 million square feet valued at $2.4 billion in commercial real estate. Prior to RESG, he worked at a commercial real estate investment management firm where he was responsible for asset management, leasing, disposition, finance and operations. He worked alongside other partners at NGN Capital in sourcing deal opportunities and capital to co-sponsor the development of suburban class A offices, land acquisitions and value-add multifamily. He is also a former strategy and research consultant at Cicero Group. Mr. Gabriel is a graduate of Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and holds an MPA with an emphasis in finance from the Romney Institute. He is a former collegiate athlete and starting Strong Safety on a top 25 nationally ranked Cougar football team.

Anything uptown and urban in real estate is Jack Gosnell’s forte. Jack is an Executive Vice President with CBRE | UCR Urban in Dallas. His arrival prompted the development of our Urban division – formed to pursue urban redevelopment for mixed-use projects in the urban core. The principal focus of Jack’s energy has turned to adaptive re-use and redevelopment of urban cores. He is active in the redevelopment of Downtown Dallas. In 2016, Jack received the Stemmons Service Award, the highest award and honor given in the commercial real estate industry in Dallas by The North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors (NTCAR). Prior to CBRE | UCR, Jack began his real estate career in specialty retail leasing and commercial sales in 1972 with real estate legend Henry S. Miller, Jr. There he worked on leasing assignments with Turtle Creek Village and Old Town Village, which were prototypes of denser urban centers such as Mockingbird Station and West Village. He was Henry S. Miller, Jr.’s assistant during the acquisition of Highland Park Village in 1975. Gosnell began moving toward the urban core when he established his own business in 1978. He moved his focus from specialty retail to a multi-tiered approach to real estate. He assembled five major blocks in Uptown, which included the land for One McKinney Place, The Residence on McKinney and the Worthington. He was instrumental in assembling much of the land currently known as the State Thomas area in Uptown. During the 80’s and 90’s, Gosnell brokered over 200 building sales and over 300 leases south of Northwest Highway, 75 percent of the leases being restaurants. At one time in the 90’s, Gosnell had brokered 65 percent of Uptown/Downtown’s 145 restaurants. These include: 8.0 Bar, Meddlesome Moth, Taverna, The Common Table, Fedora, Asian Mint, The Knox Street Pub, The Idle Rich Pub, Iron Cactus, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, Palomino, Wild Salsa, Capital Grille, Dallas Chop House, Ocean Prime, Dee Lincoln’s Tasting Room, Pho Colonial, Stephan Pyles’ Stampede 66, FT 33, Ascension Coffee, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Katy Trail Ice House, the Rustic, Mutts Cantina, Mesero, Moxie, Shelby County Café, OAK, Mudhen, Adelmo’s and Shake Shack to name a few. Gosnell brought Forest City to Dallas to redevelop the notable Mercantile Bank building, the Continental building and the historic Wilson Building as a downtown mixed-use complex. CBRE | UCR Urban will lease the retail component and is active in the retail reemergence of the downtown Central Business District (CBD). He has chaired the Retail Recruitment Committee for Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI) and is working on a leasing plan for the Specialty Retail District in Downtown Dallas. Gosnell’s current projects include 1401 Elm in downtown, McKinney & Olive in Uptown, The Union, and The Farmers Market privatization. 1401 Elm is a landmark Skidmore tower with 120,000 square feet of retail to be redeveloped and delivered late in 2016. McKinney & Olive is a new César Pelli tower with 60,000 square feet of luxury retail and restaurant space in the heart of Uptown Dallas. The Union is 100,000 square feet of retail plus office and a residential tower. The Farmers Market represents a $90 million dollar redevelopment of a Dallas landmark. Originally from Arlington, Virginia, Jack received his Bachelor of Science degree from Vanderbilt University. He served in the Armed Forces and resigned from the Army with commendation as a Captain in the Corps of Engineers.

Mr. Bowen is Executive VP and Co-Chief Operating Officer of AMLI Residential and has been with AMLI since 1997. From 2000 to 2017, Mr. Bowen led AMLI's development activities in Texas. He received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1993 where he served on the SMU Board of Trustees. Mr. Bowen received an M.S. in Real Estate Development from Columbia in 1997. He previously served on the Dallas Citiplace TIF Board, the Downtown Austin Alliance Executive Board, and the Dallas Zoning and Ordinance Committee. He is a LEED Accredited Professional.

The Downtown Denver Partnership announced Kourtny Garrett as its President and CEO in January 2022. Garrett joined the Partnership from Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), where she served as President and CEO for nearly seven years. With 25 years of experience in developing livable communities, Garrett is fueled by her passion for cities. Her expertise is rooted in building social, cultural and economic vibrancy, creating places for people that provide access and opportunity for all. Garrett has expanded her work nationally and internationally through research and participation in the International Downtown Association, German Marshall Foundation, Brookings Institute and the International Business of Cities. She has published through many of these organizations, working toward the health and vitality of city centers across the globe. Garrett is proud to sit on the Board of Directors of VISIT DENVER and the CAP Advisory Board of the CU Denver College of Architecture and Planning.

Philip joined the firm in the Summer of 2017. Prior to joining Todd Interests, Philip was an associate at the $70B private equity firm: Lone Star Funds, where he worked for their credit lending platform "LStar Capital". Prior to joining Lone Star, Philip worked as an Analyst at Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ:OZRK), where he originated real estate lending transactions in aggregate of $1.2B across all property types. Philip is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he studied American Politics and Government, Real Estate, and Urban and Environmental Planning. Additionally, Philip was a member of the Cavaliers Varsity Track and Field team, where he competed in the mile and the 800 meters for three seasons. Philip is an active member of The Real Estate Council (TREC).

Andy Crosland joined Dunhill Partners in 2003. He serves as the Executive Vice President and Director of Acquisitions, Development, and Leasing. His expertise includes every aspect of real estate procurement of land, multi-tenant retail centers, and hospitality transactions. He is an integral component of the Dunhill investment team successfully brokering the leasing and sales transactions of Dunhill’s portfolio encompassing more than 6 million square feet and valued at over $1.6 billion dollars. He has built strong relationships in the brokerage and development community which enable him to successfully execute transactions on behalf of Dunhill Partners. In addition, Andy is a key player working side-by-side with Dunhill’s President, Bill Hutchinson, to make strategic financial decisions as well as managing future development projects. He has been instrumental in the ground-up development project of the new Virgin Hotel located in the Dallas Design District, and the renovation of Dunhill’s newest acquisition of the Marriott W Hotel in Victory Park. Andy received his B.B.A. from the University of Miami while dedicating any remaining free time to the football field. After graduation, he went on to play in the NFL before obtaining his real estate license. Andy and his wife, Adriane, along with their two children, reside in their hometown of Dallas and actively serve on the board of the Sapphire Foundation.

As the Founder of Basharkhah Engineering, Inc., Sam Basharkhah is involved, not only in the day to day operation of the company, but also in the design and production phases of nearly every project. Mr. Basharkhah is a registered Professional Engineer with over 40 years of experience in the fields of consulting engineering and mechanical contracting. His extensive hands-on experience gives BEI an edge; specifically in renovation projects requiring survey of existing conditions, in cost estimating, and in construction administration. A list of their recent projects includes the renovation of the historic Statler Hilton Hotel in Downtown Dallas and numerous other health care, residential, commercial office and retail, educational, correctional, municipal, high tech, and food service. Mr. Basharkhah is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Larry was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. At Ripon College (Wisconsin) he was president of the student body, and editor of the campus newspaper. Having majored in history, he had an interest in historic structures that would emerge later in professional life. In his military career, he directed a Czech-German border resident intelligence office during the cold war. In 1970 he joined the Colorado Governor’s Office to build a new downtown campus for the University of Colorado at Denver and two other colleges. The Auraria Campus was the largest capital construction project in state history and today has the State’s largest enrollment. He spared many of the historic buildings then slated for demolition – Tivoli Brewery, St. Cajetan’s Church, the Golda Meir house and a dozen historic structures on 9th Street that today give the Campus its architectural diversity and flavor. He left higher education for the private sector joining Gerri Von Frellick, the State’s largest retail developer. Larry became an equity investor in several of Von Frellick’s projects and formed Hamilton Properties Corporation in 1976. While his late campus development served as one of downtown’s building blocks, Von Frellick’s regional malls ironically had abetted the flight to suburbia. During the 1980’s Hamilton Properties focused on suburban office parks but Larry remained a downtown proponent and was appointed to the downtown master plan committee by Mayor Federico Pena in 1983. The Denver central business district was then plagued by commercial vacancy, dead after-hours life and lack of residential living. That would change and Larry’s belief in a nation-wide trend to urbanism would cause Hamilton Properties to focus on downtowns and preservation of historic buildings. Larry helped convince the Holtze organization to depart suburbia and develop a down-town hotel in Denver’s former First National Bank Building. The Magnolia chain was born and he later helped expand it to reconstructed historic buildings in central Dallas and Houston. In the mid-1990s Larry’s son Ted joined Hamilton Properties as a principal. In Dallas, the father son team has been the primary force behind the revitalization of a once dying downtown. Their dynamic mixed use developments, three occupying full city blocks, have preserved historic buildings and strengthened the City’s architectural legacy. His civic involvements have included leading two foundations and chairing two higher education governing boards, including the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges. He has served on the downtown planning committees for Mayors of both Denver and Dallas and has received various honors and awards for contributions to higher education, business leadership and historic preservation and development.

Mr. Woods is responsible for the development and execution of investment strategies. Prior to forming Woods Capital, Mr. Woods was President of Hillwood Capital, where he was focused on both direct and third-party joint venture investment opportunities. Mr. Woods joined Hillwood in 1994, and in a 13-year career at Hillwood held multiple executive positions including Vice President Finance, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and President. From 1999 through 2007, Mr. Woods led Hillwood Capital, Hillwood’s opportunistic investment group. During his tenure at Hillwood, Mr. Woods was responsible for underwriting, structuring and managing over $2 billion in real estate transactions in multiple markets, including Texas, California, Florida, Wyoming, Hawaii and Costa Rica. He also led the seed equity investment into Hawkeye Partners, a real estate private equity firm focused on identifying and investing with emerging investment managers on behalf of leading institutional investors. Mr. Woods was a principal in the acquisition and management of the Dallas Mavericks and led the team’s disposition to Mark Cuban. He also led the financing strategy for the construction of the American Airlines Center, the arena for the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars. Before Hillwood, Mr. Woods was an analyst in the Media and Communications Group at NationsBank (now Bank of America). While there, he assisted in underwriting and syndicating debt commitments in excess of $3 billion. Mr. Woods graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance.

"Patrick Todd serves as a Partner with Todd Interests, a commercial real estate investment and development firm established in 1990. Patrick currently focuses on deal structure, lease negotiations and urban design. Patrick joined Todd Interests in 2015 with a strong background in finance. He was previously a debt and equity analyst for Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) (NYSE: HF), the nation’s top real estate intermediary. While at HFF, Patrick developed capital relationships with public and corporate pension funds, foreign and domestic banks, Freddie Mac, insurance companies and their advisors and investment banks. He leveraged these relationships to execute joint ventures, preferred equity raises, construction loans, fixed-rate loans and bridge loans. Prior to joining HFF, Patrick managed office and industrial space along the east coast for Allegiancy in Richmond, Virginia. Patrick is a graduate of the University of Virginia and was an All-American member of the Wahoo’s Track and Field Team. During his collegiate career Patrick became the second athlete from Dallas-Ft. Worth to run a sub 4-minute mile. Patrick and his wife, Cori (also an NCAA All-American), are actively involved at Watermark Community Church where they serve in Merge, Watermark's premarital ministry. Patrick is an active member of The Real Estate Council and a member of TREC’s 2019 Associate Leadership Class."

Brent Del Toro has served as the Director of Commercial Sales for Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US LLC since 2015. Prior to joining the Mitsubishi Team he was employed by Lennox Industries, Inc. for 23 years. He has spent the majority of his 28 year career in Commercial HVAC sales. He has served in various leadership roles in the Southeast and Southwest US. Currently, Brent’s Business Unit is responsible for Mitsubishi VRF and Ductless sales and support in Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. He and his team work closely with the Trane Company and independent Commercial Rep’s to assist owners, architects, engineers and contractors to design energy efficient buildings with quality installations. Brent is a graduate of Texas State University and enjoys exercising and golf.