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"THE BOOK"
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Available now: The FOURTH EDITION of
The Book: North Texas Commercial Real Estate

 

North Texas was built upon the shoulders of pioneering men and women with the desire to create community – from the settlers who staked their claim in Camp Worth to the raising of John Neely Bryan’s humble cabin, to the ambitious launches of the Fort Worth Union Stockyards, Union Station, and the Dallas State Fair and Exposition. The past century saw the construction of AT&T Stadium, Legacy West and Alliance Airport, to name a few, and the explosive growth of the suburbs throughout the region. 

 

Behind these historic developments were legendary figures whose extraordinary vision and real estate prowess shaped North Texas. Names such as Stemmons, Carpenter, Staubach, Perot, the Caroline Rose Hunt family, Jerry Jones, John Goff and other daring leaders – are captured in the comprehensive fourth edition of THE BOOK – North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, published by the North Texas Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame Executive Committee. 

 

Compiled into one volume, the four-color coffee-table tome is packed with rarely seen color photos and behind-the-scenes stories of 96 North Texas real estate icons and five North Texas families. Also recognized within the latest 341-page edition are the 16 recipients of the Michael F. McAuley Lifetime Achievement Award, the two recipients of the Industry Service Award, and the many Stemmons Service Award winners, each of whom made significant contributions to their industry and the community.

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THE BOOK – not intending to be a history book – also explores eight significant commercial real estate development projects and three future projects, including the AT&T Discovery District (Dallas), Cypress Waters (Coppell), Texas A&M-Fort Worth, The Star (Frisco), Fair Park (Dallas) and Panther Island (Fort Worth), among others. 

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Highlights of THE BOOK include the following:

 

  • Trammell Crow, showing modern-day management styles, never had his own office. He worked in a desk side-by-side in the same room as the rest of his employees. 

 

  • When asked if he’d run for Mayor, John M. Stemmons, Sr. stated, “I’d shoot somebody. Hell, that would drive me crazy.” Speaking of Judge Lew Sterrett, he said, “I thought he was a thief and a mongrel, and I told him so.” His brother, L. Storey Stemmons, was the quieter, scholarly sibling who used reverse psychology to seal the deal. The two brothers later donated the land that would be used to build Interstate 35.  

 

  • Angus Wynne, Jr. developed 820 acres in Oak Cliff and created Six Flags Over Texas, after visiting Disneyland with his family. 

 

  • Leo Corrigan, Sr. was the second of 10 children who began working fulltime at age 11. He spent thousands every month on phone bills (this was in the 1940s and 1950s) and invested in the Adolphus and Stoneleigh hotels. 

 

  • Robert S. Folsom, who eventually served as Dallas Mayor, was a serious-minded, introverted man who attended West Point and SMU. He accidentally poured concrete for a new building on his neighbor’s land. (The situation was remedied when the neighbor allowed Folsom to buy the land.) Folsom is credited with building Reunion Arena, bringing basketball to Dallas and spearheading the downtown Dallas Arts District. 

 

  • The story of Ben H. Carpenter is the story of Las Colinas. When the Urban Land Institute came to town to review his master plan for Hackberry Creek Ranch (as it was known then), they disliked his vision for an urban center with towers, hotels, shops and restaurants. He stuck by his plan, which became Las Colinas. Although he didn’t drink, he held liquor elections and eventually won approval to bring liquor to the area. 

 

  • David Fox of Fox & Jacobs opened Dallas’ first model homes – called Flair – that were so popular they had to have fences built around them. 

 

  • Family pride and involvement was at the center of Caroline Rose Hunt’s success in resurrecting The Mansion on Turtle Creek and building The Crescent, which became an anchor for Uptown Dallas. 

 

  • Roger Staubach, starting his years as a Dallas Cowboy at age 27 with a wife and three children, decided he didn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket. He began working on the side in real estate. Two years later the day after the Miami Super Bowl, a telegram came congratulating him on his win and stating, “by the way, you’ve been promoted to vice president.” He stuck with real estate.  


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