Henry S. Miller III Remembered as Dallas Mixed-Use Visionary

Dallas is home to a handful of companies where an employment stint is like a degree from Southern Methodist University, a calling card in the real estate industry.

One of them is Henry S. Miller Company. Founded by Henry S. Miller in 1914, the commercial brokerage came to define modern Dallas development, counting among its alumni industry icons like Roger Staubach, Herb Weitzman and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller.

The company has endured past the life of its namesake, his son and now his grandson, Henry S. Miller III, who died Feb. 28 at the age of 79.

The SMU grad followed in the footsteps of his father, who expanded the firm and delivered some of the area’s first walkable retail projects. Henry S. Miller Jr. teamed up with Trammell Crow to develop Preston Royal Shopping Center in 1958. Henry S. Miller Jr. also purchased Highland Park Village in 1976 and meticulously re-leased the property to elevate it into a premier luxury retail destination before selling it to Ray Washburne in 2009.

The third Henry S. Miller built on this legacy by pioneering one of Dallas’ first walkable mixed-use districts, Uptown’s West Village, which opened in 2001. West Village featured a unique mix of homes, shops and restaurants that covered 400,000 square feet in Uptown and became a template for future mixed-use projects in the area.

“Long before mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly urban districts became standard in American cities, he imagined a Dallas where shopping, dining, living, and public life could coexist seamlessly—and brought that vision to life with West Village,” his obituary read.

The company’s family-run legacy continues under the leadership of Henry S. Miller III’s nephew Greg Miller, who is the firm’s CEO. Its commitment to mixed-use development is still going strong. Henry S. Miller is in the process of redeveloping the Pepper Square shopping center in Far North Dallas into a mixed-use district. The $200 million mixed-use project is set to bring 868 apartments on the 15.5-acre site near Preston and Belt Line roads.

Lurin Capital blocks foreclosure with bankruptcy filing

Jon Venetos’ floundering Lurin Capital blocked the foreclosure sale of a Lurin-owned Houston apartment property with a bankruptcy filing on Monday. The ownership entity of Latitude 2976 Apartments filed for Chapter 11 protection. Fannie Mae has been trying to seize control of the 734-unit Latitude 2976, at 201 and 301 Wilcrest Drive, since claiming Lurin Capital defaulted on the $77.2 million mortgage tied to the Houston property in a November lawsuit. Latitude 2976 has since been flagged for foreclosure multiple times, the latest notice scheduling the property for a sale on Tuesday.

“This filing provides us with the time and structure necessary to address our balance sheet and position the property for long-term stability,” said Venetos, the majority of whose portfolio is in the hands of lenders, under receivership or in foreclosure proceedings.

Cornyn and Paxton head to runoff

The primary race that split Dallas real estate might be headed to a runoff. In Tuesday’s Republican race for U.S. Senate, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn fended off a challenge from Attorney General Ken Paxton — but not by enough to avoid a runoff. Cornyn got 41.9 percent of the vote, while Paxton got 40.7. Wesley Hunt netted 13 percent of the vote. Cornyn, the establishment Republican with the backing of Lucy Billingsley and Ross Perot Jr., and Paxton, the MAGA loyalist with the support of Mehrdad Moayedi and Rex Glendenning, will face off again on May 26, that is, unless President Trump successfully convinces one of them to drop out. Paxton hinted he may be open to conceding, but under the condition that Senate GOP leaders scrap the filibuster and pass legislation requiring people to provide a birth certificate or passport when they register to vote.

Compass-Redfin deal unfolds in Texas

Compass has a new partnership with Rocket and Redfin to create an off-MLS, off-Zillow platform that will syndicate Compass’ exclusive listings on Redfin’s portal. The deal is set to bring 500,000 off-market listings to Redfin, but Texas luxury homes may hang back, according to agents. Agents say that plenty of wealthy sellers want exposure if they can hide their home price, but also that a meaningful slice of owners in the luxury market will eschew Redfin for exclusivity and discretion in Texas, where sellers opt for off-market deals to keep property tax appraisals low.