Close Up With John Dailey
PMRG has been emphasizing office acquisitions lately, with local buys like Sugar Creek on the Lake, 2603 Augusta, and 2900 Weslayan. Leading the charge is managing director of investments John Dailey, a man who’s dabbled in a little bit of everything real estate.
John (a cigar aficionado) graduated from Harvard in 1984—this month is his 30th anniversary in the biz—and came back home to Houston looking for a job where he could control his own destiny. It was very difficult timing to enter real estate, but he started as a landlord rep for Tom McKenzie and later transitioned into investment sales, selling every property type. John says there were so many problems in the industry that no one knew how to handle, so working hard for two to three years made you an expert. He still says the hardest transaction of his career is “any deal I did in the '80s.”
Here’s John with his team—Michael Dewey, Barbara Gibson (she’s been with him 16 years), Ben Bittner, and Carlos Chacon—whom he credits for doing all the work in buying properties. John tells us his favorite deals were brokering the land acquisitions for Methodist Hospital in the '90s that became major hospitals like its Sugar Land facility. Lately, he’s been busy preparing the extensive renovations at 2900 Weslayan: It’s in the final stages of design, and John expects to start construction in 30 to 60 days. He tells us 2900 Weslayan is a rare true live/work/play experience in Houston, and is typical of the type of opportunity he wants.
Some things you don’t know about John: He loves cities (forget the beach, he’ll take a London or Boston vacation any day), and is excited that his two kids are getting old enough for international travel. Above, they’re at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. On his bucket list is a trip to Paris. He’s also a real golf lover (he hopes to one day play Augusta National) and an avid moviegoer (the best films he’s seen lately are Wolf of Wall Street and Boyhood). And last but not least, the former Harvard football player collects sports memorabilia.
