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Windy Hill Development welcomes Alexander Ryan as Development Manager. He brings expertise in real estate acquisition, development, and financial analysis. Previously, Alexander held roles at Venterra Realty, Vero Sade, CBRE, and InterLinc Mortgage Services. Alexander served in the U.S. Army as an airborne ranger infantryman. He holds a master’s degree in real estate from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Houston.
Zarin joins the commercial real estate transaction team with twenty-plus years of legal experience specializing in the full lifecycle of ground-up development. Zarin previously served as senior underwriting counsel at First American Title. Her deep knowledge of the title industry and insight into underwriting decisions enhance the value we deliver to our clients.
Zarin received her B.S. degree in architecture from M.I.T in 1998 and her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2002.
Organizations are facing unprecedented and complex challenges surrounding rising costs, their real estate portfolios, sustainability, attracting and retaining talent, and more. To address these challenges head on, JLL has combined facilities management, technical services, energy and sustainability, and experience and occupancy under its new dedicated Workplace Management (WPM) sub-business line in Real Estate Management Services (REMS).
Led by Paul Morgan, WPM brings together approximately 51,000 facilities management, engineering, experience and mobile technical specialists who can safely and expertly address the dynamic needs of modern organizations and drive greater value for JLL clients.
WPM takes an advisory-led approach and leans on global and local expertise, standardized delivery, insights and integrating state-of-the-art technology to reposition clients’ real estate portfolios as a value driver versus a cost center.
According to JLL’s Future of Work Survey, 48% of respondents globally identified flexibility, agility and resilience as the second most important skill required for commercial real estate to deliver value by 2030. WPM continues the JLL tradition of implementing a dynamic, data-driven method to integrated facilities management (IFM) and supercharges it with other vital workplace-oriented services to enable swift responses to evolving situations and deliver even more comprehensive solutions to clients.
Morgan selected an impressive slate of leaders to collaborate on solutions that drive results for clients and oversee specific segments of the WPM ecosystem:
This reorganization of Workplace Management within JLL’s Real Estate Management Services segment is in accordance with previously announced changes in how JLL is reporting financials that took effect January 1, 2025.
Beeville Independent School District (BISD) in Beeville, Texas, in collaboration with Pfluger Architects and Spawglass General Contractors, recently commenced construction on a new elementary school designed to consolidate two aging schools into one modern campus.
Following years of planning, bond proposals, and the approval of a $62 million bond by voters in Spring 2024, the new Beeville Elementary School will serve 1,200 students when it opens in August 2026.
Designed by Pfluger Architects, this campus marks the beginning of a long-awaited transformation for the district, creating a modern, fully enclosed facility designed to foster creativity and collaboration. The new 108,100-square-foot Beeville Elementary School at 1799 N. Fenner Street will replace the current Fadden-McKeown-Chambliss (FMC) and R.A. Hall Elementary Schools, both of which have served the community for over five decades. In addition to indoor classrooms and collaboration spaces, the campus will include 51,000 square feet of outdoor learning and natural play areas.
Pfluger Architects worked closely with Beeville ISD and the district’s Community Advisory Committee – a group of parents, teachers, administrators, and community members – in the bond planning process. Together, they asked big questions about enrollment growth, safety, and facility conditions and built a plan that reflects the community’s priorities.
The new facility offers Beeville students advanced learning spaces and state-of-the-art technology in a completely enclosed, secure environment, with designated learning hubs and collaborative spaces designed to enhance the educational experience. Once the new campus is completed in August 2026, R.A. Hall Elementary will be demolished and FMC Elementary will be repurposed for other district educational uses.
Leasing activity remained sluggish in the U.S. office market, while vacancy rates continued to rise in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest research from JLL.
JLL’s first quarter U.S. office report didn’t contain much in the way of surprises: The U.S. office market continues to struggle as companies seek smaller amounts of space and workers continue to work from home at least on a part-time basis.
According to JLL, office leasing volume in the United States during the last 12 months stood at just 89% of what this sector would typically see during a 12-month span before the COVID pandemic.
In a bit of good news, though, leasing volume did increase in the first quarter, with JLL reporting that the United States saw 50.4 million square feet of closed office leases during the first three months of the year. That is up 15.3% from the first quarter of 2024.
The higher leasing volume did not translate to a drop in vacancy rates, though. JLL said that the U.S. office sector posted 8.1 million square feet of negative net absorption in the first quarter of the year.
The loss in occupancy was elevated by federal lease terminations, federal contractor sublease additions and buildings removed for conversion that had space leased before removal.
Even these negative numbers were an improvement from the first quarter of 2024, when the U.S. office sector saw negative net absorption of more than 20 million square feet.
The U.S. office market total vacancy rate jumped by 34 basis points on quarter-over-quarter basis, hitting 22.64% in the first quarter, JLL reported.
Is there positive news? A bit. JLL predicted that net absorption is expected to stabilize during the remainder of the year. JLL also said that it expects vacancy rates to plateau and eventually decline.
This is partly because downsizing activity has lessened during the past year, with larger tenants trimming just 6.6% of their space once their office leases expire. With an increase in expansionary leases expected to hit the office sector throughout the rest of this year, JLL says, both absorption and vacancy rates should begin to improve in the second half of 2025.
In another key trend, JLL reported that the average number of days a week that employees at Fortune 100 companies are required to work in the office now stands at 3.74 days. That is up from 2.2 days in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Office investment volume also rose to $11 billion in the first quarter, according to JLL.
Anthem Development capitalized the development of a 256-unit Class-A luxury multifamily community at the intersection of I-35 and Justin Road in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville, Texas.
The institutional joint venture will break ground in May 2025 with completion scheduled within 24 months.
Anthem Village will comprise four four-story, elevator-serviced buildings, offering a diverse mix of thoughtfully designed residences.
Residents will enjoy direct access to a host of nearby amenities, including Lake Lewisville, Old Town Lewisville, and the Lake Park Athletic Fields and Golf Course. Situated on I-35, the community’s strategic location also ensures convenient commutes to major employment areas throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex without disrupting neighborhood traffic.
Jorg Mast of Colliers International represented Anthem and arranged the financing and joint venture common equity that will be used for the acquisition and development.