Retail Deep Dive

Market Insights, Trends And Opportunities

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  Crystal Allen

  Allen leads the project leasing team to provide consulting, marketing, merchandising and leasing services to landlords and developers. Her profound expertise covers a range of asset classes including traditional neighborhood, regional and super-regional shopping centers, mixed-use developments, lifestyle centers, and entertainment venues. Allen also provides tenant representation services and market strategy for local, regional and national retailers and restaurants looking to expand their concepts. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Prior to joining Transwestern in 2012, Allen worked as a senior leasing agent for Brixmor Property Group (formerly Centro Properties Group), the second largest owner of open air neighborhood and regional shopping centers in the nation. With an assigned portfolio of more than 2.5 million square feet, she correlated the marketing, negotiation, construction coordination, budgeting and overall execution of transactions with new and existing tenants. She also played an integral role in multiple redevelopment projects. Throughout her tenure she was consistently a top producer not only within the Southwest region but nationally, and she executed more than 2 million square feet of lease transactions alone. Today, Allen has built a leasing portfolio of more than 3 million square feet of existing and new developments, and, in the last 12 months has executed transactions that created over $100 million in value. Crystal Allen currently leases many of the largest, most high profile projects within the country, and is consistently requested by the company’s premier clients to represent projects. She is a top producer within the firm, is considered a leader within the retail industry and a mentor to her team members. Her clients include Brookfield, Oliver McMillan, DC Partners, LNR Partners, Patrinely Group, CDC, Xenia Lodging, Imperial Development, Skanska, 4M Investments, Woodridge Capital, Walton Street Capital and Ley/Wilson Development as well as multiple tenants including Amorino Gelato, Habitat for Humanity ReStore, Star Furniture, Voicebox Karaoke, Gigi’s Cupcakes and TF Supplements. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS/RECOGNITION: Crystal is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the states of Texas and Colorado, a member of ICSC and a member of Transwestern’s Women’s Leadership Council. In 2015 Crystal was recognized as one of Globe Street’s Top Ten Emerging Retail Leaders and has recently been named one of Real Estate Forum’s 2016 top 50 under 40. EDUCATION: Crystal graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

  Transwestern

  Managing Director

  Crystal Allen

  Managing Director

  Transwestern

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  Joan Collum

  Joan began her career in 1984 as a real estate representative with WNS, expanding the Wallpapers To Go concept throughout the Southeast United States. She then moved to Pier 1 Imports, where she successfully opened over 100 new locations across the Southeast and Northeast markets. In 1994, she transitioned to tenant representation brokerage, leveraging her extensive retail expertise on the brokerage side. Joan also has extensive experience in retail real estate investment and development that she will further leverage with the Partners Capital and Development platforms. Over the past 30 years, Joan has exclusively represented major brands such as Michaels, Pier 1 Imports, Applebee’s, Office Depot, Bar Louie, La Madeleine, and Popeye’s in the Houston market. Currently, she continues to represent Office Depot and Floor and Décor. Additionally, Joan handles leasing responsibilities for her own developments, including Seguin Marketplace, 1242 Witte Road, and Tomball Marketplace, and sources development opportunities in Houston and South Texas markets.

  Partners

  Partner

  Joan Collum

  Partner

  Partners

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  Josh Friedlander

  Josh Friedlander joined NewQuest in 2010 and has been active in the retail real estate industry for over twenty years. Josh currently serves as Director of Leasing and is a Development Partner. His areas of expertise include retail project leasing, tenant representation, land brokerage, investment sales, and project development. In his tenure at NewQuest, Josh has successfully completed over 450 transactions. Josh graduated from The University of Texas in 2004 where he received a degree in finance. In his spare time Josh enjoys family time with his wife and four kids, watching the Astros and Longhorns, and traveling. Josh has been recognized in the Houston Business Journal’s “Heavy Hitter List” for Retail in 2017 and from 2019 to 2024. Josh received the Top Project Leasing Broker award at NewQuest in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023. In 2023, he also earned the Power Broker award from CoStar.

  NewQuest

  Development Partner

  Josh Friedlander

  Development Partner

  NewQuest

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  David Littwitz

  University of Texas, B.S. Real Estate Finance; Columbia University, MSRED – Masters of Science in Real Estate Development; A licensed real estate broker in the State of Texas for over 35 years, David is a well respected commercial real estate executive with a varied background covering many facets of the retail industry. Presently he is building a specialized tenant representation brokerage practice focused on restaurant owners and investors in the metro Houston area. His well known client base includes: Panera Bread, B & B Butchers, El Tiempo Cantina, Niko Niko’s, The Union Kitchen, JAX Grill and Tookies Hamburgers amongst others. In prior years, he was the Director of New Store Development for North America for 7-Eleven, the East Coast Real Estate Manager for Shell Oil / Texaco and the Vice President / National Dispositions Manager for Trammell Crow Company on behalf of Mobil Oil Corporation.

  Littwitz Investments

  Owner

  David Littwitz

  Owner

  Littwitz Investments

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  Brent Richardson

  Brent Richardson, President and Owner of Cheyenne Construction Group has grown into an industry leader in Texas commercial construction within 4 years since the start of Cheyenne. With a strong focus on retail, office, corporate interiors, banking, and industrial projects his team has many satisfied clients. Throughout Brent’s career, he has established and nurtured long-lasting relationships with owners, developers, architects, engineers, and consultants built on trust and doing what you say you are going to do. Over the years, he has established himself as a boots-on-the-ground leader with a natural talent for building a strong team and guiding his employees to accomplish their career goals.  Brent received a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and is active in numerous commercial real estate associations.  Husband and Father to two daughters, he enjoys his time outdoors spending time with those he loves.

  Cheyenne Construction

  President

  Brent Richardson

  President

  Cheyenne Construction

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  Phil Ward

  Phil Ward is a Senior Associate at Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (MHOA). With over 20 years of professional experience, his career has covered flagship retail, large scale commercial, mixed-use, hospitality and residential work. Since joining MHOA in 2023 he has been working on a broad range of commercial and mixed-use projects across Texas with many active projects in the greater Houston area including the RO with Transwestern and the historic Swift Warehouse complex with Radom Capital and Triten Real Estate.

  MHOA

  Senior Associate

  Phil Ward

  Senior Associate

  MHOA

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  Caleb Trotter

  Caleb D. Trotter is a deal maker, representing clients in a variety of industries on a wide range of real estate transactions from raw land development and construction financing, to leasing, asset management, and disposition. He leverages his broad real estate experience with a collaborative, responsive, and knowledgeable approach to bring tremendous value to each project and to get the deal done. A primary focus of his practice is representing developers in connection with ground-up development of industrial, retail, office, and data center projects, as well as portfolio-level leasing and asset management for institutional landlords across all product types. Caleb has also represented both banks and private lenders, with an emphasis on construction loans and horizontal development. As the need for data centers has surged in recent years, Caleb’s practice has also evolved to include the representation of land owners, developers, and operators in this emerging market. This work includes projects for data storage, Artificial Intelligence, data/cryptocurrency mining and other operations dependent on high-volume energy consumption.

  Winstead

  Shareholder

  Moderator

  Caleb Trotter

  Shareholder

  Winstead

Houston Mixed-Use

Placemaking & Tenant Mix Strategies

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  Arsean Maqami

  Arsean Maqami serves as President of DC Partners, where he holds a pivotal role in managing and directing all facets of the organization. With a wealth of experience in mixed-use properties, adaptive reuse, multi-family developments, and tenant fit-outs, Arsean is a seasoned executive with a comprehensive understanding of the real estate industry. Education Bachelors of Arts, Swarthmore College Masters of Business Administration, Columbia University Summary Before assuming his current role at DC Partners, Arsean co-founded DB Partners, a real estate development and construction management firm, with Blake Berg. As leaders of DB Partners they successfully orchestrated the development and construction of over two million square feet of mixed-use projects across prominent locations in New York, California, Texas, Florida, Connecticut, Indiana, and Washington DC. Arsean’s professional journey also includes significant tenures at Seritage Growth Properties, where he held the position of Vice President of Development and Construction, and at WeWork, where he served as a Senior Director of Development and Construction. In these roles, he demonstrated his proficiency in capital planning, real estate underwriting, and operational excellence throughout the entire development lifecycle. Arsean Maqami holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. His academic background, combined with his extensive industry experience, positions him as a distinguished leader in the real estate sector.

  DC Partners

  Co-President

  Thompson Houston Hotel

  Arsean Maqami

  Co-President

  DC Partners

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  Kevin Freels

  Kevin joined Midway and subsequently Parkway in 2021 as a Managing Director of the Investments Team, responsible for new acquisitions and equity relations across Sunbelt states. Prior to Midway/Parkway, Kevin was with HFF’s Houston office and subsequently relocated to Seattle to help establish and grow the outpost’s commercial investment advisory platform in 2016. Kevin spent 5 years as a Director in the Seattle office of HFF Capital Markets specializing in institutional-grade assets and developments across the West Coast, with a particular focus on the Pacific Northwest. Over his career, he’s contributed to the sale, recapitalization (mezzanine and joint venture equity placement) and financing (permanent, bridge, construction debt placement) of mixed-use, office, retail, multi-housing, industrial and hospitality assets totaling in excess of $4 billion dollars. Most recently, he has been very focused in the office/mixed-use investment space—in 2021, he led the acquisitions of Conoco’s former headquarters in West Houston (now Watermark) which will be converted into 1.5m sf mixed-use district. In 2023, he led an all cash acquisition of CityWest Place (West Houston) and Post Oak (Uptown Houston) totaling 3.5m sf of office, which will also be adding mixed-use components over next 5 years including retail, hotel, and multi-family.

  Midway

  EVP

  East River

  Kevin Freels

  EVP

  Midway

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  Eric Hudson

  Eric Hudson is a founding Partner and Principal of Design Services at Method Architecture. He oversees the firm’s Design Services department responsible for Sustainability, Design, Quality Control, and Technology. A Houston native, Eric received his bachelor’s in environmental design from Texas A&M University and master’s in architecture from the University of Houston. Eric and his teams have worked on adaptive reuse projects such as M-K-T, East Village, and East End Maker Hub. Eric is President of the University of Houston College of Architecture and Design Alumni Board and sits on the board for Spring Spirit, a local children’s non-profit.

  Method Architecture

  Partner & Principal of Design Services

  Katy Boardwalk

  Eric Hudson

  Partner & Principal of Design Services

  Method Architecture

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  Harrison Loew

  Harrison Loew serves as the Director of Acquisitions for The Wideman Company, where he is responsible for leading the company's strategic efforts in identifying and securing high-value investment opportunities. With a keen eye for value-add assets and a deep understanding of the real estate landscape, Harrison plays a pivotal role in driving the company's growth and expanding its portfolio. Harrison joined The Wideman Company after his exit from Loew and Loew, a commercial Title insurance and escrow firm which he co-founded with his brother. Harrison brought experience both from his time at the equities division of Bank of America and his +2000 commercial and residential closings. Known for his analytical prowess and strategic vision, Harrison excels in evaluating market trends and assessing potential acquisitions that align with The Wideman Company's long-term goals. His approach combines rigorous financial analysis with a forward-thinking perspective, ensuring that each acquisition supports the company's mission of delivering exceptional value and growth. When he is not working on acquisitions, Harrison finds joy in spending time with his family, playing golf, and working with his Alma Mater, Rollins College, through mentorship and internship programs to grow the next generation of real estate leaders.

  The Wideman Company

  Director of Acquisitions

  Harrison Loew

  Director of Acquisitions

  The Wideman Company

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  David Flores

  David V. Flores is a 20 year professional in Commercial Real Estate Business. In his current role as Chief Operating Officer at Impex Capital Group he is involved in asset management, underwriting, acquisitions and capital market for their extensive portfolio. Previously, Mr. Flores held several prominent positions of Vice President and Director at Greystar Real Estate Partners, Nitya Capital, PM Realty and One Real Estate Investment. David has been involved in over $2 billion in transactions. Notable projects include a turnaround portfolio worth $450 million that comprised of 28 properties in four major markets. In a separate r two year period he led the effort in acquiring $800 million in assets (24 properties) in 22 months. He has done single asset purchases to large portfolios and Class A high-rises to Class C turnarounds. He also has vast experience in property management, leasing and hand-on skills with financial analysis and valuation. David’s background is a unique blend of breadth and depth in the multifamily business Mr. Flores graduated from Texas A&M and then served as a Field Artillery Officer in the U.S. Army. He earned an MBA from the University of Houston and did a study abroad at Monterrey Tec (Monterrey, Mexico), the #1 rated business school in all Latin America. He continues his personal development by completing the Real Estate Executive Seminar at Harvard Business School and is a Senior Fellow at the American Leadership Forum.

  IMPEX Capital Group

  COO

  David Flores

  COO

  IMPEX Capital Group

• Moderator

  Dr. Teresa Smith

  Director

  PACE Transactions