Transwestern Steps Up Development Initiative in Texas

Corby Collins, most recently a principal with Urban Realty Inc. in Houston, has settled into the development manager's slot for the locally based Transwestern. He tells GlobeSt.com that Transwestern intends to "ramp up and expand" its development group to tackle value-added redevelopment, acquisitions and ground-up opportunities for transactions exceeding $20 million. He says the development pipeline will be built from Transwestern's principal accounts.

Collins says his development map targets the state's six to eight largest growth areas. Though he can't be specific about the "three or four" projects he's now working on, he is likening the sizes to his prior work. Among his credits in the past six years is the $140-million, 1.1-million-sf Reliant Energy Building in the CBD; $90-million redevelopment for Koch Energy Trading 's 505,000-sf headquarters building, an abutting 24-screen, bi-level theater and 2,200-space parking garage in Greenway Plaza; and the $70-million, 550,000-sf Park Towers in the Galleria.

A two-time recipient of the Landmark Award, the 22-year professional has been involved from conception to delivery of 14.3 million sf of real estate projects, valued at more than $1.85 billion. "The addition of Corby to our Gulf Coast Region Development Services group is a continuation of Transwestern's ongoing strategy of gaining market share in this important business line," says Chip Clarke, president of the Gulf Coast and Mountain regions.