Big Brokerage Deals Going Down in Dallas

High-profile global commercial real estate firm Newmark has another feather in its cap. The New York firm, which has offices on four continents, expanded its base in Texas with the acquisition of Dallas-based Open Realty Advisors and Open Realty Properties. The deal closed Tuesday.

Open Realty will join Newmark’s retail services business line. The Dallas company provides retail tenant services and project development across North America. Its clients have included Apple, Restoration Hardware and Lulemon — a lineup that fits with Newmark’s range of popular and luxury retail clients.

It was also on the development team of upscale retail projects in the South and Southwest including Music Lane in Austin (where an Hermés store opened recently), River Oaks District in Houston and Buckhead Atlanta.

The Dallas company’s founders and executives — Mark Masinter, Johnny Siegel and Steve Merkle — will join Newman in leadership positions. “We couldn’t be more bullish on the future of retail,” said Masinter.

Newmark characterized the purchase as a demonstration of its continued faith in the retail real estate sector, pointing to its 2018 takeover of RKF as evidence of its understanding of the market and integral to its rise in industry rankings.

It’s also part of Newmark’s larger expansion strategy, according to the company. It’s made inroads in global markets including France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Hong Kong, Dubai and London and recently acquired Boston-based McCall & Almy.

Newmark chairman Howard Lutnick got a $20 million bonus in February after the brokerage logged its best year on record in 2021. The company reported net income of $744.5 million last year.

Esrp announces Cresa merger

It’s been a busy couple of days on the commercial and retail broker front in Texas, with Cresa and esrp announcing a merger. Tenant-focused commercial real estate firm Cresa acquired Dallas-Fort Worth based company esrp. Cresa, which moved its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Chicago in April, closed the deal on May 2.

Texas-based commercial real estate advisory firm esrp was founded in 2013. Its client list includes TT DATA Services, Riddell, Mattress Firm, 7-Eleven and Neiman Marcus.

Cresa will add about 50 esrp employees to its platform. Current esrp CEO Sharon Morrison will join Cresa’s board of directors, and esrp’s five additional partners will become managing principals of Cresa and will continue to lead the Texas operations with Morrison.

And because it seems no one can resist the Star (and esrp is already there), Presa’s main Dallas-Fort Worth office will be at the Dallas Cowboys headquarters complex in Frisco.

Cresa will also continue to operate out of esrp’s Dallas Arts District and Cresa’s Houston Galleria offices, with esrp lead Cresa’s existing teams. Cresa also plans to build a presence in Austin.