John Breeding is retiring from his role as president of the Uptown Houston District after 37 years with the organization that leads economic development for the central Houston district.
Breeding also leads the Uptown TIRZ and Uptown Development Authority.
Michael Moore, former chief of staff to Mayor Bill White, will take over as leader of those organizations starting Dec. 1.
He spearheaded initiatives that left a lasting impact on Uptown, better known as the Galleria area. Those include funding the development of Post Oak Boulevard, $265 million in contributions to Houston’s Affordable Housing Program and the $200-million overhaul of Memorial Park through a redevelopment master plan approved in 2015.
About 9 miles from downtown Houston, Uptown has grown into the nation’s 15th-largest business district, behind the downtowns of Denver and Pittsburgh, outpacing major metro downtowns like Atlanta and Cleveland, according to real estate service firm Grubb & Ellis. With over 28 million square feet of office space, it accounts for 16 percent of Greater Houston’s Class A office supply. Hines, iHeart Media, Hines, Univision, CBRE and Clear Channel Communications all have offices in the business district.
Here’s what else is shaking in Texas real estate.
Allie Beth Allman & Associates, a luxury real estate brokerage in Dallas, is moving its headquarters. The brokerage, led by president Keith Conlon and its namesake founder, has had its offices at 5015 Tracy Street in the Turtle Creek area for 33 years, and it plans to move about 2 miles away to 3838 Oak Lawn Avenue in Turtle Creek Village, the Dallas Morning News reported. The firm leased 10,000 square feet on the fifth floor of the 18-story building. The firm was purchased by HomeServices of America, an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway in 2015, and it has about 400 real estate agents across three offices. It did about $3.4 billion in sales last year, Conlon told the outlet.
Partners Real Estate has hired Matthew Steitz as its chief financial officer. Steitz is the first CFO of the Houston-based firm, formerly known as NAI Partners, which rebranded a year ago. Steitz was previously vice president of finance for Conquest Completion Services.
Tommy Erwin has joined Stream Realty Partners’ industrial real estate brokerage team in Houston, specializing in heavy manufacturing. Erwin has a background in mineral acquisition and divestiture, according to a news release from Stream. He joins the firm from Moody Rambin, where he spent four years on the industrial and investment services team.
Mark Hayes is rejoining Stream to expand the firm’s Industrial Development Services platform in Dallas-Fort Worth. Hayes is a former Navy SEAL who worked for Stream’s office leasing team from 2014 to 2018. In between, he worked for HPI Real Estate Services and Investments, where he gained industrial expertise, and Bandera Ventures.
Nick Askew has joined JLL’s Value and Risk Advisory platform in Dallas, along with Tom Jeffries in Denver. They will focus on office and mixed-use value and risk advisory in their respective markets. Askew joins the firm from BBG, where he worked in a similar capacity.
—Brandon Sams and Rachel Stone