"We already have very seasoned, very established people on board," says Knaus, managing partner with Means-Knaus. "We have a strong core group. So to bring in a strong person like Peyton, who is a senior real estate executive in the industry, will definitely help us from the operations side, especially in Texas."

Collins, whose background includes stints in high-level positions at McCord Development, Inc./Navisys Group and the defunct Insignia/ESG, will focus his attention on sites throughout Texas, such as the 225-acre Oak Park at Westchase and 21-story, 356,780-sf 2000 West Loop South project in the Post Oak/Uptown district.

"When Doug lost his partner [Steven A. Means] last January, I think he wanted to try to continue building the organization and expanding so he's working on the talent to do just that," Collins comments. "Doug's done a tremendous job during the past year, even with Steve's death--there's a lot going on in the pipeline." Among those projects, Collins continues, are potential two-story office developments in Oak Park, though neither Knaus nor Collins would confirm specifics at this time.