Granite Properties, a national real estate investment, development and management firm mostly focused on the office sector, has a new chief executive getting ready to take the reins next year, marking a change in the decadeslong leadership of the 32-year-old company with major growth plans.
Granite Properties founding partner and CEO Michael Dardick plans to end his long tenure as the company's chief executive and transition to Granite's executive chairman on Jan. 1, with Will Hendrickson, a senior managing director and the Dallas market leader, succeeding him in the CEO role. Hendrickson, who began his career at the Plano, Texas-based real estate firm two decades ago, plans to grow Granite through developments and acquisitions.
"To support our growth strategy, we will continue to diversify our capital, as well as work together with our current capital partners to create value together," Hendrickson told CoStar News. "With our realigned leadership, our talented teams’ growing skill sets, and the changes in how people utilize the office, this is an exciting time to transform the company for the future."
In his new role, Hendrickson will manage the day-to-day operations across Granite's five U.S. offices in Atlanta; Dallas; Denver; Houston; and Newport Beach, California.
Granite plans to be "very selective and strategic about our development and acquisition plans," Hendrickson told CoStar News. Next year, the firm plans to complete a redevelopment project in Cambridge, Massachusetts; develop 23Springs in Uptown Dallas with partner Highwoods; design a 12-story office project in the greater Denver area; and manage the development of a timber project in Los Angeles' Chinatown.
Granite's plans come amid a challenging time for the office market across the country.
"We think the challenges in the office market will create buying opportunities," Hendrickson told CoStar News. "We believe in the shift to flight to quality. Newer, high-quality, highly amenitized, walkable, well-located office buildings will continue to see demand. Companies want high quality, inspiring spaces and experiences to make time in the office meaningful and productive."
Other Changes
Along with Hendrickson being named Granite's new CEO, the firm plans to promote Bill Brown, Granite's chief investment officer, to president in addition to his C-level role beginning Jan. 1. Paul Bennett, now a senior director of investments, will succeed Hendrickson as senior managing director and Dallas market leader.
Jason Purvis, a senior managing director and the southern California market leader, will become head of capital raising at the start of the new year, reporting to Chief Financial Officer Ace Roman. Other top executives at the firm — Chief Operating Officer Greg Fuller, Executive Managing Director Scott Martin and Chief Administrative Officer Sheryl Troiani — will continue in their respective leadership roles.
Dardick founded Granite Properties in 1991 with the help of the Schusterman family, who made their wealth in the oil and gas industry and is still a major investor in Granite. Granite has grown to complete more than 30 million square feet of real estate development and acquisitions in Dallas; Houston; Atlanta; Denver; southern California; Boston; and Nashville, Tennessee. Under Dardick's leadership, Granite developed the 90-acre Granite Park, a mixed-use campus in Plano, Texas, as well as Midtown Union in Atlanta and Factory Six03 in Dallas' West End.
Hendrickson, who began his career at Granite as an investment analyst in 2003, rose up the ranks overseeing investments in Atlanta, Austin, Denver and Houston. He was promoted to lead the Dallas office as senior managing director in 2017, overseeing daily operations and the firm's growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. He also helped oversee the $400 million acquisition of McKinney & Olive in Uptown Dallas.