Dallas Real Estate Remembers Late Colin Fitzgibbons

The Dallas real estate community is grieving the loss of a visionary who helped bring “Y’all Street” to life.

Colin Fitzgibbons, president of Hunt Realty Investments, died at 46 on Nov. 21 of colon cancer. He is survived by his wife Jessica and their three sons, Patrick, Conor and Declan.

At the time of his death, he was years into spearheading the development of NorthEnd, a mixed-use community at 2323 North Field Street that will be home to Goldman Sachs’ new Dallas campus. The 11-acre “urban arboretum” is a critical element of an upcoming wave of investment that promises to make Uptown into a financial hub that rivals Wall Street.

Fitzgibbons grew up in Dallas but spent five years living in New York’s Financial District while working at the Staubach Company, followed by nearly a decade at KDC working on high-profile projects like Legacy West. He was quick to give his understanding of what drew people to each city and worked to highlight Dallas’ sometimes invisible perks.

“Deep down, there’s an understanding that there’s no reason for Dallas to really exist,” he told The Real Deal in 2024 for a story on the upcoming developments that will form Y’all Street.

“Dallas is very business-friendly, and that’s sort of been our reason for being. But the underpinnings of all that is, look, this has to be a great place to build a career and to raise a family. I think that’s the secret sauce.”

Fitzgibbons saw NorthEnd as a development that would embody the future of office space. He took that vision seriously and talked about his team’s research into projects around the world to create the best possible development. He was also clear-eyed about what it means to be “pro-business” in a conservative state and advised leaders not to rely solely on the state’s lack of income tax to maintain Texas’ pro-business identity.

A self-described “cheerleader” for Dallas, Fitzgibbons was optimistic about the city and city life in general, predicting that projects like NorthEnd could help make Uptown a truly urban slice of Dallas where residents and people who work there get around on foot or by public transit — a rarity for North Texas communities.

Perhaps most importantly, he saw Dallas as a city that’s still in the process of being molded and seemed to live by the idea that, if you want to see change, you can make it happen.

“One of the things I love about Dallas is you can get involved so easily,” he said during that 2024 interview.

Low lows for Austin housing market

The tech boomtown’s star has fallen almost as quickly as it rose. Austin notched the steepest annual drops in price and financing activity among markets with at least 1 million residents in the last 12 months, according to TRDData. The median home sale price in the Texas capital region fell by 8.2 percent year-over- year to $416,000. The national median climbed by 4.8 percent to $375,000. Mortgage activity in Austin also bucked national trends.

Purchase loan originations tumbled by almost 41 percent in the third quarter compared with a year before. Purchase mortgage originations dropped nationally in the third quarter as well, but just by 6.6 percent year over year, per Attom.

Foreclosures don’t faze Ari Rastegar

Real estate investor and CEO of Rastegar Capital Ari Rastegar could lose four Austin apartment buildings at a foreclosure auction on Tuesday, but he isn’t sweating it. The Austin multifamily market is so frozen that foreclosure has become another outlet to exit a deal, he said. He sang the same tune at an event The Real Deal and his firm put on in Downtown Austin in October.

“If you can’t sell them *#!ing kick the keys back,” he said this week.

Rastegar said the foreclosure is the result of a “knock-down, drag-out fight with the lender.” Greystone provided the $22.7 million loan for Hyde Park Square, a 48-unit complex at 206 West 38th Street; Sunset Palms, a 36-unit complex at 902 Romeria Drive; The Chateau, a 30-unit complex at 1211 West 8th Street; and The Highlander, a 49-unit complex at 803-809 Tirado Street.

White Rock Lake home buyer is Bush subject

If you’re familiar with the artistic stylings of former President George W. Bush, you might recognize the buyer of 4231 West Lawther Drive on White Rock Lake. Entrepreneur Mark Haidar is a Lebanese refugee born in Kuwait and also the subject of a portrait painted by Bush, featured in his book, “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.” The 9,140-square-foot home sits on a 3.7-acre lot and was most recently listed for $10.9 million.