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"We've all gone to the suburbs," she said. "We didn't realize what we missed. Now, the heart of the city coming back is just huge. And in conjunction with Fort Worth, we are really going to be unique in the nation."
Billingsley is the only daughter of legendary real estate developer Trammell Crow, who died in January. She is a real estate powerhouse in her own right, working alongside her father for years and now a partner in the development firm founded by her and her husband, Henry Billingsley.
Creating communities has always been one of her favorite aspects of developing, she said.
Among their projects is Austin Ranch, a 1,900-acre master-planned community in far north Dallas, and the $150 million One Arts Plaza in downtown Dallas, a 24-story, mixed-use building of residences, shops, restaurants and offices.
It's not often Billingsley comes to Tarrant County, so when she was in the area recently on personal business, we spoke with her about real estate trends, the recession and whether her company will ever do a project in Fort Worth.
When did you get involved in real estate?
I started working when I was in college with the Henry S. Miller Co. in Austin doing some part-time work. I carried it straight on through. I went with my husband to Houston and worked with the Trammell Crow Co. in leasing. I worked at the Decorative Center of Houston and then came back to Dallas and went to work at the Dallas Market Center and stayed there 15 years. I joined Henry developing property in 1997.
Did your father influence you?
Totally. I worked with him mostly at the Dallas Market Center and the design centers in Dallas, Houston and Boston.
Have you considered Tarrant County for a project?
The way we work, Henry buys raw land and then we will wait to see what is the right development opportunity for that land. He's just got to find land here. Maybe this time around we will.
Have you had trouble funding projects or getting financing?
We have just gotten new financing for a build-to-suit project, but we would not venture to do a new speculative project at this time, nor could we get it financed in any kind of reasonable way. We wouldn't want to get terms right now from banks because they wouldn't be good. Opportunities for us are going to be in acquisition, not in new development.
What do you think the real estate landscape will look like in North Texas after this recession ends?
Real estate is a trailing-edge industry. We come into these recessions more slowly, and we will leave them, the commercial end, after the jobs are there. Dallas-Fort Worth is hugely fortunate this go-around. We did not go through the boom like the rest of the country, and nor shall we go through the trough. We have tremendous job growth and population expansion predicted for this region of the nation, and we will be the beneficiaries of that.
SANDRA BAKER, 817-390-7727
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