GlobeSt.com EXCLUSIVE: Get the Inside Track to Dallas/Fort Worth

With just five days to go, nearly 500 professionals have signed up to attend RealShare Dallas, which will be held at the Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre at 5410 LBJ Freeway. The door opens at 7 a.m. for a networking breakfast and registration. Michael G. Desiato, editor in chief for Real Estate Media Inc., parent of GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, will deliver the opening remarks followed by an investment market perspective from Hessam Nadji, managing director of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co.

In a rare business conference appearance, Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations for the Dallas Mavericks and partner in the Frisco Square development, is the lead-off play for a fast-paced agenda, offering an entertaining glimpse into the parallels of sports and business. Then, it's time to get down to business as a panel professionals from all walks take the stage for a town hall meeting to discuss where the year's been, where it will end and what's in store for 2006. Richard Pogue, executive managing director for CB Richard Ellis Inc., will moderate a guaranteed-spirited discussion with Greg Fuller, managing director of Granite Properties; Bob Mohr, chairman of Mohr Partners; Dan Smith, senior vice president for GE Commercial Finance Real Estate; and Jeff Thornton, senior vice president of Duke Realty Corp.

The morning's concurrent sessions will delve into the capital markets, insider talk about TICs and the state of the Dallas office market. The past 10 months of dealmaking have reeled in record prices despite low cap rates, brought new buyers to town and new corporate headquarters tenants. Unlike recent years, 2005 has put the region back on track. Dean Castelhano, senior vice president and managing director for NorthMarq Capital Inc. will moderate the debt and equity discussion while Carl Ewert, executive vice president for the Staubach Co., will head up the office market panel and Kevin Thomason, partner in Thompson & Knight LLP, will lead the talk about TICs.

RealShare's popular "Inside the Real Estate Mind" features Bill Cawley, chairman and CEO of GVA Cawley, who sits down with Desiato to discuss the trials and tribulations of doing business in Dallas and how to get ahead of the curve. True to tradition, the one-on-one interview promises to deliver insight from an insider who's managed to stay at the top of his game.

The noon hour kicks off another round of concurrent sessions. The investment sales panel, moderated by CBRE executive vice president Russell Ingrum, brings together three buyers, including Zaya S. Younan of Woodland Hills, CA-based Younan Properties who's on a quest to become the largest office property owner in Dallas. Right down the hall will be panels on the multifamily and condo markets, moderated by Don Ostroff, senior director for Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc., and the Dallas/Fort Worth retail market, led by Sam Kartalis, president and COO of Henry S. Miller Commercial.

The day wraps up with a networking luncheon, featuring roundtable discussions. Featured topics are the North Central Expressway, the next five years; US versus Canadian call centers; advertising, promotion and marketing of office buildings; and the inland port plan.

After four years, the fast-paced agenda is well-honed. "RealShare Dallas is now something people have on their calendars and make time for and look forward to," says Richard Kelley, conference series director. "We've attracted a larger audience and a senior level of folks who attend. The combination of RealShare Dallas, GlobeSt.com, Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.RETAIL have really grown and furthered Real Estate Media's position as the go-to source for real estate information and news in the metroplex."