TIG, Transwestern Make Power Hires

On the brokerage side of the musical chairs, Debi Carter has left the Jackson-Shaw Co. as after 18 years to climb on board with TIG Real Estate Services. Carter has stepped in a TIG's vice president of acquisition and special projects.

Carter tells GlobeSt.com that the change "to pursue other interests" in essence sets the stage for TIG's move into the office arena. Carter will be part of a five-member development team chasing office build-to-suits in all of TIG's markets. She confided that the team has "four or five" proposals out right now, all of which have made the short lists from the would-be occupants.

"TIG is really trying to reposition itself in Dallas and nationally in office product," Carter says. She most recently oversaw development and leasing of more than two million sf in Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Orlando, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Chicago-based Transwestern Commercial Services too has made a power hire bringing back John Waller as vice president of tenant services in Dallas. Waller, responsible for tenant rep and agency leasing, was vice president of Fults/Kennedy-Wilson International, where he specialized in office and industrial leasing and build-to-suits.

The 25-year veteran was one of the founders of Transwestern-Dallas in the late 1970s. Waller was the partner/project manager for the development, leasing and management of the 1.1-million-sf Forest Plaza office complex.

Transwestern also hired Susan Singer as a vice president and Evonne Keene as a senior associate. Singer was vice president of sales and leasing for Dallas-based Emerson Partners Inc., where she oversaw its 2.2-million-sf portfolio in Dallas and Austin. She is tenant rep, agency leasing and general brokerage activities. Keene previously worked for Mohr Partners Inc. of Dallas.

Karl Kerr sold out his interests in Coastal Construction in Dallas to start K2 Construction. Kerr tells GlobeSt.com that he has lined up an exclusive building contract for a developer who specializes in government buildings. Six projects are in the works for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Kerr was one of the founders of the nine-year-old Coastal Construction, which specialized in high-tech finish-out most often in Richardson's Telecom Corridor. With that industry sagging, the 20-year construction veteran said it was simply time to look at other options. He has launched his three-man shop in an office at the Meadows Building at 5646 Milton St. in Dallas.

Harris Design Inc. in Dallas hired Donna Vaughan and Jim Harris as managing director and project architect, respectively. Principal Olaf Harris says the hiring "is part of our strategic plan to broaden our base of business." Vaughan has spent 30 years working the commercial real estate circuit, starting her own company in 1978. Sims has 18 years experience in construction document production and project administration.