Christian Kurtz, director of business development for the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation (PCDC) in Pflugerville, Texas, recently earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD).

Kurtz joins over 1,100 people worldwide who have been recognized for their skills in economic development by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Of the six candidates who successfully passed the examinations this month, Kurtz was the only Texan and is one of 141 active statewide designations in the state.

“To achieve certification in economic development from the International Economic Development Council, professionals must remain dedicated and committed to education and training over several years,” said Amy Madison, PCDC Executive Director. “Christian’s commitment to advancing his skills in the economic development profession to serve our community is exemplary, and we are proud to celebrate this accomplishment with him.” 

At least four years of full-time, consecutive, paid economic development experience are required to qualify to sit for the exam. In addition, all candidates must complete an economic development basic course, along with six of the eleven courses currently offered through IEDC’s professional training program. Once eligible, candidates must pass a rigorous and comprehensive two-day examination which includes a multiple choice short answer, essay, and interview process.

“Learning is a constant in life and an important part of the journey is celebrating milestones that measure successes personally and professionally,” said Kurtz.

Since joining the PCDC in August 2012, Kurtz has served in several capacities for the organization but has spent the last five years in his current role in the recruitment and retention of domestic and international prospects. He is a member of the IEDC, the Texas Economic Development Council, and the TeamTexas marketing group.

Historic structures are being demolished every day across the country to make way for modern, new developments and buildings. While often a challenging endeavor, sometimes all it takes is a good brick, an experienced specialty contractor and a dedicated preservationist to save these important relics from the bulldozer.

In Houston, Texas, efforts are being made by Preservation Houston to save many of the city’s historic structures. Western Specialty Contractors – Houston Branch was recently honored by the association with a pair of Good Brick Awards in the Institutional Category for its exceptional efforts to restore the facades of Houston’s oldest fire station and a 1940s Gothic-style church in Woodland Heights.

Preservation Houston has presented the Good Brick Awards since 1979 to recognize outstanding contributions to the preservation, restoration and enhancement of Houston’s architectural and cultural heritage.

Award recipients are selected annually by a jury of community leaders, preservation and design professionals and previous award winners. The 2024 recipients, including Western’s Houston Branch for restoration of Fire House Station No. 7 and St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, were honored at a March 8 dinner at River Oaks Country Club.

“We are so honored to have received a pair of Good Brick awards from Preservation Houston for our efforts to restore these historic and important structures of the community,” said Western’s Houston Branch Manager Brian Dolezal. “It’s nice to be recognized for our historic restoration skills and expertise.”

Restoring Fire Station No. 7 (The Houston Fire Museum)

Western was tasked with restoring the exterior of downtown Houston’s Romanesque-style Fire Station No. 7 opened in 1899 at 2403 Milam Street. The fire station remained active until 1969 when a replacement was built. It currently houses the Houston Fire Museum.

Western’s scope of work on the project included:

• Demo/removal of exterior stucco to expose the original brick façade
• Replacing 10,000 broken bricks with salvaged bricks from the early 1900s
• Tuckpointing all exterior brick joints at exterior masonry
• Rebuilding brick window heads and installing stainless steel rods for strength
• Installing 4,000 stainless steel helical rods to strengthen the brick parapet wall
• Repairing brick and tuckpointing brick joints at interior masonry
• Cleaning the exterior brick with low pressure water and mild detergents

Project team: REPRACTICE, Tellepsen Builders, BMP Group.

Restoring St. Mark’s United Methodist Church

Completed in 1940 at 600 Pecore Street, the gothic-style St. Mark’s United Methodist Church is located in the historic Woodland Heights neighborhood. Western was tasked with restoring the historic sanctuary’s cast stone masonry and limestone exterior.

Western’s scope of work included:

• Cleaning exterior cast stone masonry and limestone with low pressure water and mild detergents
• Repairing spalled/damaged cast stone and limestone
• Tuckpointing exterior cast stone and limestone joints where needed
• Rebuilding two limestone columns and the sanctuary entrance
• Replacing the damaged original cross with a new cast stone cross
• Applying a clear water repellent to all exterior masonry

Project team: Merriman Holt Powell Architects, W.S. Bellows Construction, CJG Engineers, W.W. Bartlett, Inc.

DALLAS – Dallas-based Carleton Companies, a fully integrated owner, developer and builder of high-quality multifamily assets across the South and Southwest United States, hired Tasha Krawiec as the President and CEO of Carleton’s Property management company, Carleton Management Services, where she will oversee all aspects of the property management company.

In this role, Krawiec plans to cultivate a best-in-class property management company for the Carleton Companies stakeholders by enhancing the management platform, concentrating on innovation and operational efficiencies. Most importantly, she strives to nurture a strong company culture that focuses on performance, exceptional service, and spotlighting the people whose contributions drive the company’s vision.

“Tasha brings a wealth of experience and expertise that will undoubtedly contribute to our company’s continued success,” said Holland P. Gary, Carleton Companies CFO. “With a robust background in property management and a proven track record of consistent achievements, we are confident she will lead us to new heights. We anticipate being better positioned to achieve our goals as we continue to expand our property management services with Tasha leading our property management company.”

“Her experience spans across 20+ states and multiple product types, including conventional multifamily, value-add, new construction, student, and affordable properties. She brings deep industry knowledge and strong business acumen in strategic planning, comprehensive financial management, and performance analytics. Additionally, she is recognized for building both engaged and high-performing teams,” Gary added.

“The Carleton Companies’ commitment to excellence, its leadership caliber, and its overall reputation easily convinced me this is where I want to be,” Krawiec said. “Throughout the firm, the leadership and team members have an unwavering reputation and provide their partners with great value. I am excited  to bring that same level of commitment and value to an expanded client base with our property management services.”

Krawiec previously worked as Senior Vice President at Indio Management where she was responsible for all aspects of the property management operations including operations, facilities, marketing, training, support, revenue management and new business development. Before that role, she served as Vice President of Property Operations at BH Management Services for six years. She was responsible for daily operations in a high-growth period with a portfolio that grew from 45,000 units to over 90,000 apartment homes across the nation. Krawiec was integral in the development of the firm’s base management platform to position the company for growth, scalability, and sustainability to increase new third-party business, conveying the firm’s consistent vision while enhancing its capabilities.

She also previously held senior roles at Landmark Apartment Trust of America, Bernard Allison Management and Colonial Properties Trust, where she was responsible for portfolio management, throughout the Southern U.S.

“Since 1991 Carleton Companies has established itself as one of the most respected real estate investment, development and construction firms. I am privileged to become a part of this exceptional team of professionals and contribute to its continued growth and enhanced accomplishments and see a realm of opportunity to make this already illustrious company even stronger,” she added. “Together, we are committed to ensuring the highest standards of service and satisfaction are upheld for our residents, investors, and business partners.”

Krawiec attended Texas Tech University and is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) and Chief, a network of senior executive women. She is also an advocate for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

DALLAS – Cushman & Wakefield announced today that Ann Jaggars has joined the firm as Director in the Global Data Center Advisory Group.

Based in Dallas, Jaggars joins the Dallas-Fort Worth Data Centers team lead by Executive Managing Directors Bo Bond and Ali Greenwood, which represents clients in burgeoning data center markets around the world. The Data Center Advisory Group provides services such as data center strategy development and execution, site and provider selection, transaction negotiations, TCO analysis, portfolio and asset valuation, acquisitions and dispositions, greenfield projects, colocation leases, DR and hybrid IT/cloud deployments and master services agreements. In 2023, the Bond/Greenwood Data Center Advisory Team closed transactions valued at more than $320 million and that totaled more than 345 megawatts of IT load capacity, or the equivalent power usage of 200,000 homes. 

“This an incredible opportunity to not only join the sector’s top-performing team but also engage commercial real estate’s most dynamic asset class,” Jaggars said. “Data centers’ phenomenal trajectory will continue with advancements in AI/ML and cloud computing, not to mention every-day consumer functions like e-commerce and smart-phone usage. Collaborating with Bo and Ali and our partners across Cushman & Wakefield’s platform positions us to offer clients industry-leading advice and support amidst exponential growth.”

Dallas-Fort Worth data center demand has basically doubled each year for the past three years. With vacancy at an all-time low of 3.73%, colocation rents and data center land prices continue to rise in the region. Despite a robust construction pipeline, the vast majority of the market’s new data center supply for 2024 and 2025 has been pre-leased. Cloud providers securing large campuses through pre-leasing and AI/ML companies leasing the market’s few remaining pockets of available space are the primary drivers of DFW’s record demand.

“Ann’s drive, experience and intellect are a perfect fit for our team as we help clients navigate the fastest growing sector of commercial real estate and one of the stalwarts of the global economy,” said Greenwood. “Corporate end-users, institutional investors and private capital all have targeted hundreds of billions of dollars toward new data center investment, and with current and projected demand, we can’t build data centers fast enough. Having someone of Ann’s caliber makes our formidable team even stronger as we create and tailor solutions for clients’ unique and complex requirements.”

Jaggars joins Cushman & Wakefield from KBC Advisors where she specialized in industrial leasing, development and acquisitions, as well as land sales, in Dallas-Fort Worth. She began her commercial real estate career at Cushman & Wakefield and is a graduate of Texas A&M.

Strong relationships have been the key to Cliff Booth’s success, allowing him to overcome numerous challenges for more than four decades. His career in commercial real estate has been defined by a passion for the industry, creative project pursuits and a commitment to cultivating lasting connections that has yielded acquisitions of over 47 million square feet for the firm he founded, Westmount Realty Capital, LLC.

Booth’s journey in commercial real estate began in 1979 when he founded Westmount. Over the years, he has immersed him-self in the creative and design aspects of projects, business growth, investor collaboration and shaping environments where Westmount’s projects are based. He has led and closed numerous creative acquisitions, securing advantageous financing, enhancing Westmount’s properties through physical improvements and efficient management, and attracting creditworthy tenants. The result has been strong returns for both Westmount and its investors, and significant neighborhood and civic impact in Dallas and beyond.

Booth takes pride in creating a culture where people want to work and fostering a flexible investment and capital structure to meet market demands. Since Westmount’s inception, Booth, alongside an experienced team, has built a dynamic company with national real estate investments in the value-add multifamily, industrial and office space sectors.

Under Booth’s leadership, Westmount has grown its national and international investor base to investors from 12 countries, specializing in value-add and opportunistic investments. Many of Westmount’s active investors have been partners with the firm for more than 35 years, a testament to the enduring relationships Booth has cultivated.

Booth attributes his success to his unwavering belief that relationships matter. Throughout his career, Booth has emphasized the importance of integrity and maintaining strong relationships. This philosophy has not only earned Westmount the trust of numerous U.S. and foreign institutional and private capital investors but has also shaped the firm’s slogan, “Time-Tested,” reflecting its successful track record to commercial real estate investing.

Booth has navigated Westmount through numerous cycles of market highs and lows, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he led Westmount to a year of rebounding opportunities in 2021. Under his leadership, the company expanded its forces to meet the challenges, adding personnel in key areas and closing acquisitions totaling $1 billion in Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa and Houston.

As of 2023, Westmount has returned to its roots, strengthening its growing portfolio and focusing on the industrial market through the restoration of its development initiative, focusing first on the Dallas Fort Worth area with plans to progress and broaden further development into a national footprint.

In addition to his role at Westmount, Booth actively contributes to the greater real estate industry, serving as a governor on the Urban Land Institute Board and participating in the Industrial and Office Parks Council. In 2022, Booth was recognized as “Executive of the Year” by D CEO, solidifying his standing as an innovative and leading-edge investor.
Beyond the world of real estate, Booth enjoys an active lifestyle filled with cycling, yoga, live music, playing the drums, traveling, reading and watching movies – an example of his well-rounded approach to life.

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has promoted Wendy Hatchell to Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for McCarthy’s Southern Region. Wendy, who led human resources in the region for the last 10 years, will now lead the newly formed strategic planning and change management efforts. Her role includes overseeing business planning, organizational design, and oversight of the communication and marketing departments for the region.