Trammell Crow, the development arm of real estate services giant CBRE, has promoted two executives to its C-suite in a move that is expected to help it focus on growth this year.
Dallas-based Trammell Crow named longtime executive Adam Nims as its chief investment officer to oversee capital markets and development initiatives. Nims, who most recently served as Trammell Crow's president of the Eastern U.S., is expected to report to Trammell Crow CEO Danny Queenan.
"Everything I've done in my career has been in preparation for roles like this one," Nims told CoStar News. "I've held various leadership roles in the organization and served on the investment committee for the last four or five years. Trammell Crow Company has the most talented developers in the country, and it's our job to utilize our company's balance sheet and the infrastructure we have to unleash development through highly creative deals."
The real estate firm was founded in 1948 by developer Trammell Crow, who pioneered the idea of building on speculation and short-term leases, according to the Texas State Historical Association. While the company focused on industrial development when it was founded, it expanded into other sectors, and now its construction pipeline is made up primarily of industrial and multifamily projects.
"Housing affordability is not changing," Nims added. "There's still a big opportunity in adding to the housing supply."
The firm also named Billy Hart as its new chief strategy and underwriting officer to oversee planning and growth initiatives, as well as underwriting and risk management. Hart, who moved over to Trammell Crow from CBRE in 2021, where he identified and executed global merger and acquisition opportunities, will report to Nims. Prior to joining CBRE, the world's largest real estate services firm, Hart was a partner in Boston Consulting Group's Los Angeles office.
Hart was busy in his prior role with CBRE being in acquisition mode for the past few years, having upped its stake in Turner & Townsend, the U.K.-based project management company, buying coworking firm Industrious and diversifying its business with the acquisition of facilities management firm J&J Worldwide.
Like other developers, Trammell Crow is steering clear of office development in the near term and only planning projects "where it makes sense," with this being "more limited than it has been in the past," Nims said.
In some markets, like its home city of Dallas, Trammell Crow is building offices as part of a larger mixed-use development called The Knox, which is part of the firm's partnership with billionaire Michael Dell. Trammell Crow has also teamed up with Fehmi Karahan to add offices to a mixed-use project called Fields West in the northern suburb of Frisco, Texas, a municipality about 28 miles from downtown Dallas.
Nims, who once oversaw the Austin region for Trammell Crow, said capital markets have "changed tremendously" in the last few years, reflecting both rising interest rates and economic growth.
"It's been a challenging last few years, but we have an incredible capital markets team and deep relationships with a lot of institutional equity partners," Nims said. "We are continuing to capitalize deals" and start new developments.
Nims said he expects capital markets to improve this year, and he hopes to start more projects.
"The pace and speed at which we can grow is dependent on the capital markets and the economy," he added.
Trammell Crow has 18 offices in the United States and Europe, with varying opportunities in each of those markets, Nims said. In the last two years, the firm has opened new U.S. offices in Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham in North Carolina, as well as San Diego. Nims said he will be working closely with Trammell Crow President of European Operations David Neuman on expansion overseas.