PegasusAblon

The Existence, Relevance, and Excellence of Social Media in Real Estate

Kendall Shiffler — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:19:55 +0000

Mike Ablon’s latest guest post on D Magazine’s Real Points blog playfully ponders The Existence, Relevance, and Excellence of Social Media in Real Estate.

See what PegasusAblon has been doing in the social media realm by visiting our blog about life in the Dallas Design District, LowerOakLawn.com.

Twice as Nice: PegasusAblon named Best Place to Work in 2011

Kendall Shiffler — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:21:31 +0000

For the second year in a row, the Dallas Business Journal has recognized PegasusAblon as a top tier winner in their annual Best Places to Work competition. This year, PegasusAblon took second place in the small business category, achieving the award based on the results of a survey which polled all employees on topics such as work environment, people practices, innovations/new ideas, leadership in the organization and employee recognition.

“People want to be respected, trusted, appreciated and have stability and a sense of both individual and collective destiny. Top talent doesn’t just want this; true top talent demands it both for themselves and for those on their team,” PegasusAblon principal Mike Ablon says. “I believe that if you get this right, everything else generally works.”

Read PegasusAblon’s Best Places to Work write-up on the DBJ website or download a PDF of the article.

The iPhone, The iPad and the iBeam

Kendall Shiffler — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:28:12 +0000

The Echo Boomers are addicted to ever-evolving technology that changes every two years, and often even more frequently. So how do you develop space targeted toward this generation when your project must stand for 30 years?

Mike Ablon tackles this question in his latest contribution to the D Magazine Real Points Blog: The iPhone, the iPad, and the I-Beam.

The Simple Paradox of Complex Transactions

Kendall Shiffler — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:59:23 +0000

It is commonly said that when in a transaction is in process, many people tend to over-complicate the real issues. And it is just as frequently said people tend to overlook complexities by oversimplifying critical items.

So which is it?

Get answers in Mike Ablon’s recent post on D Magazine’s Real Points blog: The Simple Paradox of Complex Transactions.

What Will Be Built in the Next Cycle?

Kendall Shiffler — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:45:54 +0000

The bet is on as to what will be built in the next cycle and PegasusAblon Principal Michael Ablon is sharing his predictions on the newly launched D Magazine real estate blog, RealPoints.

Read the full post at DMagazine.com: What Will Be Built in the Next Cycle?

Staying Focused: Remember What Matters

Steve Brookshire — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:25:07 +0000

My job at PegasusAblon requires me to stay knowledgeable about the economy and current market conditions, so I read a wide variety of economic and investment blogs and publications. Sometimes the insights bleed over into my personal life.

A good example is the chart, pictured above, from Carl Richards at BehaviorGap.com. Carl intended the chart as sound investing advice, but I think it also applies more broadly.

In MANY areas of our lives, we can become trapped into obsessing about things that matter, but that aren’t in our control. (The older I get the more I discover how little we control!) This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t think ahead or plan for contingencies, but once that’s done, our focus should be where our efforts influence the outcome.

We also expend too much energy on things we control but that don’t really matter. If you’re like me, just think back through your week and you’ll find plenty of examples.

Sadly, as I am thinking about it, my golf game probably isn’t in either circle. Hmmmm…..

Lower Oak Lawn named 2011 Public-Private Deal of the Year by DBJ

Kendall Shiffler — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 18:20:17 +0000

Last Thursday PegasusAblon’s Lower Oak Lawn in the Dallas Design District project was named Public-Private deal of the year winner at the Dallas Business Journal’s 2011 Best Real Estate Deals dinner.

The master plan by PegasusAblon and their investment partner, The Lionstone Group, for the approximately 40-acre area, includes development of more than 1,300 apartments, 800,000 square feet of showroom and gallery space, a new public park, upgraded road systems, restaurants and a future boutique hotel.

PegasusAblon partnered with the City of Dallas through new a TIF district to support infrastructure and aesthetic improvements in the Dallas Design District. PegasusAblon committed $6 million of private capital to upgrading public infrastructure to support development and to improve the streetscape of the area. A major focus included reestablishing the street grid, and creating a new, central heart to the Design District. Lush landscaping, impressive public art from local sculptors, improved lighting, a new amphitheater, prominent entry features and other community-centered attributes give the neighborhood new personality and style.

The successful revitalization of the Dallas Design District required the coordination of many strategic partnerships between both public and private stakeholders. The project involved coordination between multiple jurisdictional entities, the newly formed Oak Lawn-Hi Line PID, two non-profit groups as well as 30 separate property ownerships and four private developers.

To accomplish the integrated master plan, seven different professional design and consulting groups were integrated into the development team to accomplish the highest quality work in each of the respective disciplines, including Good Fulton Farrell, TBG Partners, HKS Architects, and others.

This project required constant coordination and communication with such entities and individuals as:

City of Dallas (including the assistance of Karl Stundins and Karl Zavitkovsky)
Oak Lawn-Hi Line PID
Dallas Design District TIF Board #621
Dallas County
North Texas Council of Governments
State of Texas
Texas Department of Transportation
Trinity Strand Trail (including assistance of Mike Kutner)
Katy Trail
More than 30 separate property plats and four different private developers, all in an evolving 3-year coordination.

Tax records show that the from the base tax year of 2005 through 2009, the assessed taxable value of property in the Dallas Design District TIF had grown 88.4 percent to more than $267 million.

PegasusAblon’s goal was to breathe new life into a historic area and to raise the sea level of the entire neighborhood, not just its properties. PegasusAblon has effectively preserved and enhanced a precious piece of Dallas history, and simultaneously created an economically viable region ripe for future growth.

PegasusAblon Salutes Veterans within its Ranks

Mike Ablon — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 14:44:19 +0000

At PegasusAblon, we are very proud of our veterans of service in the United States military. Companies are never more than the sum of their people, and more than 75 percent of our services team have been part of a much more significant team prior to joining us. They bring with them a legacy of service, discipline, team focus, organizational skills and self management which are both the hallmark and linchpin of the company dynamics at PegasusAblon.

Their service to our country ranges from deployments in the Vietnam conflict through the Cold War to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Our employees represent the Air Force, the Armyand the Navy. Their diversity of positions, focus and responsibilities could not be broader but are held together by their unspoken bond of duty.

They include:

Michael Butts upon joining the US Navy, 1964

Michael Butts, United States Navy

Enlisted 1964-1970 with 4 years active and 2 years active reserve
MM4 (3rd class Petty Officer), Attended Machinist Mate “A” school
USS Yorktown an Essex-class Aircraft Carrier, Assigned to CINC PAC, 7th fleet
Duty Station: The Gulf of Tonkin, South China Sea, The Gulf of Thailand
Operations: Operation Rolling Thunder, Operation Magic Carpet, Operation Apollo 8 Recovery
Deployed and visited Guam, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Susan Chism, United States Navy

Drilling reservist for 16 years with one year active duty
Deployed to Kuwait in 2009-2010 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom
Qualified as a Marksman on the M9 and as a Sharpshooter on the M16
Certified U.S. Customs Border Clearing Agent, Certified U.S Postal Agent, Licensed Humvee driver, Licensed Fork Lift Operator and Certified Classroom Instructor

Rich Elam, United States Army

Graduated from USMAPS and appointed as a Cadet in the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, Graduated in June 1976 with a BS, commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry
Leadership and staff positions at various levels from infantry units to division level (approximately 12,000 soldiers)
Airborne School (Awarded Airborne Wings), Ranger School (Awarded Ranger Tab), Air Assault School (Awarded Air Assault Wings), Infantry Officers Basic Course, Infantry Officers Advanced Course, Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS (Graduated with Master of Military Arts and Science, May 1990)
Retired after 20 years of active duty as a Major

Charlyne Keith, United States Navy

Served from July 1998 to December 2002
Stationed with VFA-106 working with F-18s from 1998 to 2000
Stationed in Florida and Virginia as a Plane Captain working on the flight line with VFA-106s
December 2000 transferred to the USS George Washington (CVN 73) stationed in Norfolk, VA, with deployments to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Sloveni
Discharged from the Navy in December 2002 with rank of AZ2 (Aviation Maintenance Administrationmen 2^nd class)

Jorg Mast, Military Police, West Germany

Keith Metlock, United States Army

OSUT (One Station Unit Training) in Fort Benning, GA in 1999, Graduated Air Assault School in 2000
Graduated OSUT with an MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) of 11BC2 (Infantry Dragon Gunner)
Stationed in the 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lightning) in Schofield Barracks, Oahu, HI
Honorable discharge in 2001 with the rank of E-3 (Private First Class) and the title Infantry Air Assault SAW (M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner.

Michael Woodlee, United States Air Force

Graduated from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Russian Language School
Certified as Airborne Cryptologic Linguist Specialist/Aircrew Instructor serving aboard RC-135 strategic reconnaissance aircraft tasked to satisfy nationally tasked intelligence collection requirements in the Far East Theater of Operations
Served as strategic intelligence analyst, tactical deception and counterterrorism program manager at two major command headquarters and various deployed locations
Completed USAF Air Traffic Control and Airfield Operations Officer training programs followed by assignment as Air Operations Flight Commander supporting Department of Defense and NASA space launch systems, space shuttle crew training and range safety at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center
Concluded 20-year U.S. Air Force career as Airfield Operations Commander for the European North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Joint Jet Pilot Training Program, municipal airport operations and approach control services for regional commercial aviation
Graduated from Southwest Texas State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Master of Science in Aeronautics

We remain proud of these people for who they are and what they do for our company, but even more so for their commitment to our country, our freedom and what they have done, and in some cases continue to do through their Reservist duties.

I take great personal pride in their service and derive great pleasure in being on their team everyday.

Photo courtesy of: ISAF Public Affairs

GlobeSt.com Names Design District MF Development Hotspot

Kendall Shiffler — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 17:20:45 +0000

PM Realty Group’s recent ground breaking on 1400 Hi Line, a 23-story, mixed-use project, has further proved the Dallas Design District’s status as an emerging multi-family development hotspot. In a recent article from GlobeSt.com, Will Balthrope, a senior director with the Balthrope Group of Institutional Property Advisors, a Marcus & Millichap Co. was quoted saying:

“Of all the submarkets in Dallas to invest in, many institutional apartment investors believe the Dallas Design District has the most upside for potential rent growth in the future. It is truly an up-and-coming, urban infill location.”

Read the rest of the article, Design District Emerges as MF Development Hotspot, at GlobeSt.com.

Something Bigger than Ourselves

Steve Brookshire — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:16:40 +0000

At PegasusAblon, we like to think our success is kind of a big deal, but it is nothing compared to Maria’s.

Maria used to sell out of this blue box.

Maria lives in Pedro Brand in the Dominican Republic. Not long ago she supported her family by selling gum, candy and odds and ends from a blue box by the side of the road. These days, thanks to a series of six-month micro-loans from Esperanza International, Maria’s roadside blue box has grown into a colmado, (her community’s equivalent of a 7-11) and her standard of living rises daily. Maria is setting a very impressive pace!

I just returned from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, where Esperanza International is hard at work with local communities and international partners to build a middle class—through a powerful blend of micro-finance, early childhood education, health care, clean water and better housing.

Now, thanks to the help micro-loans from Esperanza Interantional, Maria has a much bigger blue box to sell from.

The results are amazing, and I believe our collective efforts will transform the island in my lifetime!

I am grateful PegasusAblon views my frequent volunteer travel to the Dominican Republic as a part of our firm’s core commitment to give back to the broader community. And I am glad that locally, PegasusAblon supports organizations like Buckner International and Chiapas International who partner in Esperanza’s big dream!

During this holiday season, may we all find joy in the privilege of being a part of something bigger than ourselves.