03.17.26 March Member Brunch

Description

Celebrate 🍀 St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 with us at the breathtaking Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens during the height of Dallas Blooms! Join us for the March Member Brunch featuring dynamic networking, a delicious spread, and a forward-looking conversation on Reimagining Dallas: What’s Next — Exploring Adaptive Reuse, Redevelopment, and the Public Investments Shaping Our City. Hear insights from Bill Cawley & Cawley Partners, Tamara Leak (City of Dallas Assistant Director of Catalytic Real Estate Development), and Mike Ablon & Pegasus Ablon discussing the Bank of America Plaza redevelopment, moderated by Andy Taylor (Pacific Elm).

Be sure to stick around after the brunch! Your Registration includes admission to the gardens. Gates close at 5pm.

Tamara Leak currently serves as Assistant Director in the City of Dallas’ Office of Economic Development. Ms. Leak oversees the Catalytic Real Estate Development team which supports real estate development projects throughout the City that would otherwise not occur without City support. Her division also oversees the 18 active Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, including provding administrative support to the board of directors for each TIF district.

Tamara has nearly 20 years of professional experience, including more than 18 years with the City of Dallas and has negotiated numerous public-private partnerships that have leveraged over $1 billion in private investment in the City of Dallas, including the adaptive reuse of over 11 million square feet of vacant downtown Dallas office space into successful mixed-use projects such as The National and The Statler as well as large area development projects like Victory Park and Cypress Waters.

Tamara has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Florida A&M University and has earned Housing Development Finance Professional and Economic Development Finance Professional certifications from Grow America.

 Michael Ablon is the founding partner of PegasusAblon, a developer and investor focused on the integration of evolving growth patterns and demographic shifts in Dallas- Ft. Worth.

Mr. Ablon has completed numerous noteworthy and well-known landmark projects with a cutting-edge ethos in the course of his career. He is fortunate to have led the redevelopment of the Dallas Design District, Preston Center Office Submarket, The Oak Lawn District, Frisco Square, The Harbor in Rockwall, Lower Greenville Avenue, and the 7th Street District in Ft. Worth. Mr. Ablon’s culture driven projects include the creation of highly innovative developments including Retail, Office, and Multifamily assets. Mr. Ablon’s work within PegasusAblon has led to the completion of over 5 million SF in DFW since its inception in 2007, and more than double that in his career.

Mr. Ablon and his firm have received numerous awards including Best Multifamily Design Projects, the Dallas Regional Chamber Momentum Award- Community Investor, Best Deal Award for Best Public/Private Partnership, 100 Fastest Growing Companies, and named the #1 Best Place to Work in DFW.

Mr. Ablon received his Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Architecture degrees at the University of Texas at Austin and earned his master’s degree from Harvard University. Early in his career, Ablon worked as an apprentice under the world-renowned theorist and architect Robert Venturi in Philadelphia, and was a visiting lecturer at Harvard and Yale. Amongst other personal awards and recognitions, he was a recipient of a Lloyd Warren Travelling Fellowship in Europe for the Paris Prize Competition, a two‐time finalist for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Fellowship for architectural theory, named one of the 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders in DFW, a recipient of the Pioneer Award for Real Estate in Dallas, named a Living Legend in 2023 in Dallas for his community service work, and named a 2020 Texas Real Estate Icon.

Michael Ablon’s community work includes founding Chairman of the Trinity River Corridor LGC for the Harold Simmons Park, Chairman of The Real Estate Council, Executive Committee member for the Southern Gateway Park adjacent to the Dallas Zoo, Vice Chairman of The Legacy, and on the Advisory Board of Directors for BBVA Compass Bank.

Don't miss out—register today!

This event was organized by the Executive Committee.