The Dallas real estate sector is mourning the death of Colin Fitzgibbons, president of Hunt Realty Investments. Fitzgibbons died on November 21 at age 46 after battling colon cancer. He leaves behind his wife Jessica and their three sons.
Fitzgibbons was a central figure in the development of NorthEnd, a major mixed-use project at 2323 North Field Street that will house Goldman Sachs’ new Dallas campus. The project, described as an “urban arboretum,” spans 11 acres and is expected to play a significant role in transforming Uptown into a financial district comparable to Wall Street.
Having grown up in Dallas, Fitzgibbons also spent several years in New York’s Financial District while working for the Staubach Company before joining KDC, where he contributed to projects like Legacy West. His experiences informed his perspective on urban development and what attracts people to different cities.
“Deep down, there’s an understanding that there’s no reason for Dallas to really exist,” he told The Real Deal in 2024 regarding upcoming developments tied to Y’all Street. “Dallas is very business-friendly, and that’s sort of been our reason for being. But the underpinnings of all that is, look, this has to be a great place to build a career and to raise a family. I think that’s the secret sauce.”
Fitzgibbons envisioned NorthEnd as setting a new standard for office space design. He emphasized his team’s global research efforts aimed at building an optimal development and cautioned local leaders about relying solely on Texas’ lack of income tax to uphold its pro-business reputation.
A vocal supporter of Dallas, Fitzgibbons predicted that initiatives like NorthEnd could help make Uptown more walkable and transit-oriented—an uncommon feature in North Texas communities. He believed strongly in residents’ ability to shape the city’s future.
“One of the things I love about Dallas is you can get involved so easily,” he said during his 2024 interview with The Real Deal.
Meanwhile, Austin’s housing market has experienced sharp declines over the past year. According to TRDData, home prices dropped by 8.2 percent year-over-year to $416,000—the steepest fall among large U.S. cities—while the national median price rose by nearly five percent over the same period. Mortgage activity in Austin also saw significant declines compared with national figures.
In other Texas real estate news, Ari Rastegar, CEO of Rastegar Capital, faces potential foreclosure on four Austin apartment buildings due to disputes with lender Greystone over a $22.7 million loan but indicated little concern about this outcome: “If you can’t sell them *#!ing kick the keys back,” he said this week.
Entrepreneur Mark Haidar recently purchased a property on White Rock Lake previously listed for $10.9 million; Haidar is known as both an entrepreneur and as one of former President George W. Bush’s portrait subjects featured in “Out of Many, One: Portraits of America’s Immigrants.”
