The Dealmakers: Bisnow's Houston 2014 Top Office and Industrial Brokers, Part 1
Meet Bisnow’s 2014 Top Dealmakers, the office and industrial brokers who closed the most deals at the biggest brokerages in town. Break out the champagne, industrial pros—at almost every firm, your teams led the way.
Transwestern
Top Industrial Broker: SVP Darryl Noon
Total 2014 Production: 84 transactions totaling 3.1M SF
Darryl says his most interesting deal of the year was Rockwell Automation’s renewal/expansion of 93k SF at Clay Crossing. It involved four separate spaces in three buildings all tied into one lease. The renewal was contingent on Rockwell’s ability to expand and take on more space in the project, and the Transwestern team had to terminate a lease and relocate another tenant to make it all work. It took several months to structure. Darryl enjoys just about anything outdoors, especially hunting, fishing, skiing, and chilling out in the country with his family.
Top Office Broker: EVP Eric Anderson
Total 2014 Production: 57 transactions totaling 680k SF
Eric’s been Transwestern’s top Houston producer for the last several years, and the top producer nationally in 2012 and 2013. (Fingers crossed for 2014, those numbers haven’t been released yet.) His biggest deal last year was signing General Electric for 242k SF at Westway Plaza. The prelease allowed Transwestern to develop the 312k SF building, which should deliver in the second in Q2. Eric coaches his sons in baseball, and also loves skiing, hunting, and fishing when he has some free time.
NAI Partners
Top Industrial Producer: partner/industrial division leader John Ferruzzo
Total 2014 Production: 53 transactions totaling 1.6M SF and $106M
John’s biggest transaction this year was a land sale, helping Patterson-UTI Drilling acquire 366 acres at Beltway 8 and Garrett Road. (Chris Kugle partnered with him on the deal.) His largest industrial investment sale was Stag Industrial Holdings’ acquisition of 1020 Rankin Rd, a 185k SF building on 17 acres. (Clay Pritchett was his partner on that one.) John coaches his sons and daughter’s Little League baseball/softball teams, and has become quite the hunter of late.
Top Office Producer: managing partner Jon Silberman
Total 2014 Production: 40 transactions totaling 424k SF and $62M
Jon, pictured with daughter Reese, says his biggest deal was Pacific Drilling Services’ expansion to 77k SF in 11700 Katy Fwy. The company doubled its footprint and relocated from the Galleria to the Energy Corridor, and Jon and partner Griff Bandy were able to secure better signage/visibility for their client. The licensed pilot and technology fiend enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters.
DTZ
Top Industrial Broker: senior managing director John Nicholson
Total 2014 Production: 28 transactions totaling $64M
John was named NAIOP's 2013 industrial broker of the year, and 2014 was a huge one for him, too. His biggest deal last year was repping Builders FirstSource in a 275k SF and a 234k SF lease. The father of three loves to play golf.
Top Office Broker: senior managing director Eric Siegrist
Total 2014 Production: 70 transactions totaling $3.6M
Eric’s most active listing last year was the Allen Center—he and teammates John Pruitt and Jessica Ochoa signed 360k SF of transactions at the 3.2M SF complex. (That’s the way to start off an assignment; Brookfield just named them the leasing agents in November 2013.) The biggest was to Memorial Resources Development, which took down 125k SF in One Allen Center. Eric says the energy in the CBD is invigorating, but he may be a little biased—DTZ offices in Three Allen Center, and he married wife Roxy (pictured) at the St. John's Chapel at the Sam Houston Park right next door to Allen Center.
Cushman & Wakefield
Top Office Broker: executive vice chairman Tim Relyea
Total 2014 Production: 49 transactions
Tim tends to be pretty tight-lipped about details of his deals, but is consistently one of the top producing brokers in the country. (He’s been Cushman & Wakefield’s top broker globally three times, and has averaged the most deals in the company for the last five years.) This year, he closed deals with Amegy Bank, BHP Billiton, Chevron, Motiva Enterprises, Nabors Industries, and Shell, just to name a few. Tim and his wife Miriam have been married over 30 years and have three daughters (two in real estate with Tim, and a dentist). He loves to play golf, and is pictured crossing Rae’s Creek at Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club during his most memorable round ever.
Top Industrial Team: Kelley Parker, John Littman, Coe Parker, and Tim Thomas
Total 2014 Production: 47 transactions
These gents always work as a team, and they knocked it out of the park this year with the 11,000-acre sale of Cedar Crossing to TGS. It’s the world’s fifth-largest industrial park and one of the largest land sales in Houston’s history. They all celebrated the deal with some time off—Kelly and Coe went to Colorado with their family, Tim visited Chicago, and John and his family went on a cruise.
