Close Up With Mike Wyatt

Core Real Estate managing director Mike Wyatt loves the art behind creating something out of nothing in development (in the Middle Ages, they would've called him a wizard), and he’s working on a lovely canvas now—master-planning 32 acres in the Energy Corridor.

Mike’s first job in real estate was at Transwestern—he had just abandoned law school in favor of investments, and he joined his friend Ric Pipkin. (At the time, Transwestern was a tiny firm of young guys.) In 1997, he and Ric formed Core, and through the years have enjoyed developing spec properties like 8 West Centre, which delivered last summer and is 100% leased. (If a spec building is fully leased, was it ever truly spec? That's a philosophy question.) But the most complicated deal Mike’s ever done was a BTS—Core just launched construction on a campus for Dow in Lake Jackson that came with new challenges, like building outside of a major metro and creating multi-use facilities with complicated building requirements.

Mike’s really excited about his next development, CORE Park West. He’s wrapping up the master plan and putting a bow on the capital, and the team is working on construction drawings for the first building. That 320k SF spec facility (far right in this sneak-peek rendering) will break ground in September. Mike tells us the campus will be forward-looking, with all the elements companies want: A neat environment, efficient floorplates, lots of water features (if you're looking to cool off during the work day), fun places to walk (including adjacent Bear Creek Park), and great access/visibility.

On Mike’s bucket list are a few golf courses he’d love to play (including Augusta, Pine Valley, and Cypress), but he says his life has exceeded every possible expectation, and he’s transitioned from a search for success to a search for significance. That includes plenty of time with his three kids: a junior at Texas, a sophomore at A&M, and a high schooler at Memorial. They do mission trips every summer as a family—above, they’re pictured volunteering at an AIDS orphanage in Zambia. They’re going back this year and then spending a week in South Africa. Fun fact: Mike saw the Beatles live in August 1965 in the old Sam Houston Coliseum.