Hunt Realty President Colin Fitzgibbons Dies at 46

Colin Fitzgibbons, president of Hunt Realty Investments and a rising force in North Texas real estate whose career touched some of the region’s most transformative projects, died at 46, leaving behind a deep imprint on Dallas’ development landscape and the colleagues he led.

The company did not release a cause of death, though two people close to him told the Dallas Morning News who first reported his passing Nov. 21 that he died from complications related to cancer. In a statement, Hunt Realty CEO Chris Kleinert called Fitzgibbons a singular leader whose loyalty, intellect and self-deprecating humor powered the investment firm through a slate of high-impact projects.

A Dallas native, Fitzgibbons straddled journalism and real estate before choosing the latter. His mother, Ruth Fitzgibbons, was a longtime D Magazine editor, while his father, Jay Fitzgibbons, ran JSC Realty and developed industrial sites across the region. Fitzgibbons tried the newsroom first, working as a sports reporter at The Washington Post, then pivoted to commercial real estate at the Staubach Company in New York.

He returned to Dallas for graduate school at SMU, earning an MBA that propelled him into KDC in 2010. There, he helped steer some of the metroplex’s most ambitious developments: Richardson’s 186-acre, $1.5 billion CityLine, Plano’s $3 billion Legacy West and Liberty Mutual’s 1-million-square-foot regional hub. Fitzgibbons often said Legacy West was the project he was proudest of, writing on LinkedIn that he loved an industry where “people are rewarded if they’re willing to hustle.”

That drive led him to Hunt Realty in 2020. Fitzgibbons said the chance to work on marquee developments in Frisco, Uptown and downtown Dallas sealed the deal, along with a seasoned bench he described as one of the firm’s biggest draws. Hunt Realty — backed by the family of oil magnate H.L. Hunt — has long shaped the Dallas skyline, from its 1970s investment in the Reunion project to its current role as a heavyweight source of capital.

Beyond the office, Fitzgibbons was active with The Real Estate Council, NAIOP North Texas, SMU’s Folsom Institute and the Oak Cliff YMCA, reflecting a civic streak that matched his professional ambition.

He is survived by his wife, Jessica, and their three sons. Kleinert told the outlet that Fitzgibbons’ influence at Hunt would endure far beyond his six years at the company, adding that his devotion to family guided how he showed up for colleagues and partners alike.

— Eric Weilbacher