"Once themerger was completed, we knew there would be an additionalservice line that we'd be adding once we found the appropriateperson," says Todd Burnette, JLL's managing director in Fort Worth.The office's new senior vice president and head of the new line isW. Whitney Kelly, who officially starts Dec. 1.

Burnette says more news about the new line will come out in 30days. Burnette, also a city native, launched the Fort Worth shopin May2002, filling it with local brokers and Dallas transplants,getting a firm positioning in the marketplace before otherDallas-based brokerage houses started to plant second metroplexoffices in a city where business ties run deep.

Kelly, in fact, has had the 40-story, class A Carter BurgessTower at 777 Main St. in the CBD at his side throughout his career,first with its one-time local owner Crescent Real Estate Equities,now owned by New York City-based Morgan Stanley Real EstateFunds--just like the high rise--and then during a 38-month stint asone of three principals of Vintage Capital Partners, also a FortWorth firm. Kelly moved to Vintage long before Crescent'sAugust 2007buyout by Morgan Stanley.