From Tiny Acorns, Mighty Oaks Do Grow

from REDnews March / April 2023

Transwestern's Annual Trendlines Presentation, River Oaks Country Club

BY RAY HANKAMER

Sitting in a boring business meeting in 1975, my mind began to wander. How to lease up the new two-story office building I had just completed on Richmond Avenue? Then the idea came: I'd plant a little grove of trees in the long, dull esplanade that lay in front of the building to make it more inviting.

So that's what we did, my partner John Kirksey and I, with shovels and some young pine and oak trees.

The newspaper did a story on this mini grove, and I was contacted by the late attorney and civic leader Carroll Shaddock, who saw the story and whose organization Billboards, Ltd., was well on the way to reducing Houston’s scourge of tall signs from 15,000 to 1,500, a project which took many years and much hard work.

Carroll was fascinated by the idea of planting trees on a barren Houston street, and he was looking to give birth to an organization focused on adding something to the city, in addition to taking something away (i.e., the billboards). It was noted that although Houston does not have beautiful mountain ranges or other topographical features, it DOES have a climate that can grow luxurious trees, creating neighborhoods like those found in and around Rice University and the Museum District.

Carroll asked me to serve on the board of directors of his redirected organization, and Billboards, Ltd., became Scenic Houston. Also on the board were numerous other civic leaders from branches of city government

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< ACORNS Continued from Page 43 and private citizens who wanted our city to be more attractive. I was a member of this board for over 30 years.

Carroll and the young organizations identified candidates for city council and mayor, and took them to lunch before before the elections to tell them about the various efforts on billboards and trees and ask for their support. Most of the candidates got on board with the beautification goals before they were elected and supported them ongoing after they began to serve.

Trees For Houston, a new organization specifically dedicated to planting and maintaining thousands of street trees was spun off, financed by private and corporate contributions. Trees were not just planted willy nilly and forgotten, but instead, long thoroughfares on all sides of the city were chosen and green corridors were planted to as to make a statement on a given street. Provisions were made for watering trucks to see the young trees through their early months while they were getting established.

Kirby Drive and Broadway from the Gulf Freeway to Hobby Airport are just two of many thoroughfares which have been enhanced by the efforts of Trees For Houston.

In the meantime, various projects by Scenic Houston, including specifications for walkable streets and parks—“Streetscapes”—were being noticed by other Texas cities, and they came to Houston for guidance in setting up their own programs. Scenic Texas was formed, which now encompasses towns and cities across the state. Instead of being the state poster child for haphazard no-zoning growth, Houston’s reputation slowly began to change.

Individual Houstonians, with dreams, energy and money have made a difference. Other world cities such as Paris, Vienna, Manhattan, and elsewhere, which are known for their open spaces, broad avenues, wooded parks and tree-lined esplanades, must also have been the result of individual citizens, years-or centuries-ago, who dreamed large. Houston and other Texas cities are following their lead, starting with dreams like tiny acorns.

And not only did our building lease up, but over time, other property owners the length of Richmond Avenue have planted this long throughfare with thousands and decorated it with urban sculpture.

Our original grove was at 6009 Richmond Avenue. Go see it and imagine it without one tree, as it was in 1975.

Ray Hankamer is a retired hotel and office building developer, who as General Partner of Southwest Inns, Ltd., operated at the peak fourteen hotels and five suburban office buildings, mostly located in the Greater Houston market.

ARCHITECTS/DESIGN-BUILD FIRMS

KDS de stijl interiors, LLC

2006 E Cesar Chavez St. Austin, TX 78702

P: 512.457.1332

Website: kdsaustin.com

Key Contacts: Jill Laverentz, Owner, jill@kdsaustin.com; Clark Kampfe, Principal, clark@kdsaustin.com

Services Provided: Programming & Client Process Analysis – Due Diligence & Building Analysis – Schematic Design – Test Fit & Pricing Notes – Project Scheduling Goals – Consultant Team Formation – Cost Analysis & Value Engineering – Design Development – Construction

Documentation – Racking, Commodity, & Equipment Coordination – Permit Processing – Project Management – Construction Administration – Project Budgeting & Cost Tracking – As-Built Documents

Company Profile: KDS is a full-service commercial design firm with 30+ years of experience including 25,000,000+ SF of Industrial/Flex and 3,000,000+ SF of Office Projects. We are committed to responsiveness and to providing well designed and implemented solutions. Our extensive knowledge base and adept management of critical milestones creates consistently successful projects.

Notable/Recent Projects: American Canning – Austin, TX – 101,000 SF –

Manufacturing & Distribution

FlightSafety International – TX & OK – 186,000 SF Combined – Manufacturing

GT Distributors – Pflugerville, TX – 58,000 SF – Retail, Office, Fabrication, Storage & Distribution

ASSET/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FIRMS

CENTERPOINT PROPERTIES

945 Bunker Hill, STE 625 Houston, TX 77024

P: 832.856.4779

Website: centerpoint.com

Key Contacts: Nate Rexroth, Executive Vice President, Asset Management; nrexroth@centerpoint.com; Danielle Radtke, Senior Vice President, Asset Management; dradtke@centerpoint.com

Services Provided: CenterPoint Properties is an innovator in the investment, development, and management of industrial real estate and multimodal transportation infrastructure. CenterPoint acquires, develops, redevelops, manages, leases, and sells state-of-the-art warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing facilities near major transportation nodes. Our experts focus on port-proximate distribution infrastructure assets near America's major population centers.

Company Profile: CenterPoint Properties continuously reimagines what’s possible by creating ingenious solutions to the most complex industrial property, logistics, and supply chain problems. With an agile team, substantial access to capital, and industry-leading expertise, we give customers a competitive edge to ensure their success — no matter how great the challenge.

CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES/GENERAL CONTRACTORS

ALSTON CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

HOU: 1300 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S Suite 225, Houston, TX 77042

DAL: 10440 North Central Expressway Suite 720, Dallas, TX 75231

Website: alstonco.com

Key Contact: HOU: Nick Dwyer, Director of Business Development, ndwyer@alstonco.com

DAL: Brittany Schneider, Director of Business Development, bschneider@alstonco.com

Services Provided: Alston offers a diverse background of design-build experience, general contracting and construction management of industrial, commercial, healthcare, retail, and municipal projects.

Company Profile: Alston Construction’s success begins and ends with our approach to planning, scheduling, and choosing the right team. We have been adhering to an open and collaborative approach since our founding more than 35 years ago.

Notable/Recent Projects: Innovation Ridge Logistics Park, a 1.1 million SF 3 building industrial business park in Forney; 610 Business District, a 388,795 SF industrial park located in Houston; 1.2 million SF logistics facility located in Conroe.

SUMMIT DESIGN + BUILD, LLC

98 San Jacinto Blvd, 4th Floor Austin, TX 78701

P: 512.872.6698

Website: summitdb.com

Key Contacts: Adam Miller, President, amiller@summitdb.com;

Doug Hayes, Project Executive, dhayes@summitdb.com; Amber Autumn, Business Development, aautumn@summitdb.com

Services Provided: Summit Design + Build, LLC is a provider of full service general contracting, construction management and design/ build construction services for the commercial, industrial, multifamily residential, office/tenant interiors, hospitality and institutional markets.

Company Profile: Located in downtown Austin and with offices in Tampa, FL, Chicago, IL and North Carolina, Summit Design + Build has been involved in the design and construction of over 400 buildings and spaces totaling more than 10 million square feet over the firm’s 18 year history.

Notable/Recently Completed Projects: Montage – 2323 S. Lamar (Multifamily), Congress Lofts at St. Elmo (Multifamily), UpCampus Student Housing Tallahassee (Multifamily), WeWork (Office TI), Eli’s Cheesecake (Industrial), Lockheed Martin (Industrial), Stadium Lofts North Carolina (Multifamily).

FINANCE & INVESTMENT FIRMS

CENTERPOINT PROPERTIES

945 Bunker Hill, STE 625 Houston, TX 77024

P: 832.856.4779

Website: centerpoint.com

Key Contacts: Jim Clewlow, Chief Investments Officer, jclewlow@centerpoint.com; Rives Nolen, Senior Vice President, Investments, rnolen@centerpoint.com

HIFFMAN NATIONAL

One Oakbrook Terrace, Suite 400 Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

P: 833.HIFFMAN

Website: hiffman.com

Key Contacts: Dave Petersen, CEO, dpetersen@hiffman.com; Bob Assoian, Executive Managing Director of Management Services, bassoian@hiffman.com

Company Profile: Hiffman National is one of the US’s largest independent commercial real estate property management firms, providing institutional and private clients exceptional customized solutions for property management, project management, property accounting, lease administration, marketing, and research. The firm’s comprehensive property management platform and attentive approach to service contribute to successful life-long relationships and client satisfaction. As a nationally bestowed Top Workplace, and recognized CRE award winner, Hiffman National is headquartered in suburban Chicago, with more than 250 employees nationally and an additional six hub locations and 25 satellite offices across North America. For more information, visit hiffman.com