Meet CPE’s 2017 Stars to Watch: Colin Fitzgibbons, KDC
"You have to be disciplined with what projects you go after," says the executive, who led development and leasing of retail, restaurant and entertainment opportunities at one of the largest mixed-use projects in the U.S.
By Barbra Murray
Colin Fitzgibbons, KDC
Each year, CPE features some of the commercial real estate industry’s top young talent. The high achievers selected as Stars to Watch represent a broad range of specialties, companies and geographic locations.
Following is a brief introduction to one of this year’s outstanding young professionals. Read here about all 2017 Stars to Watch.
On the job: Vice President, KDC
Age: 37
With Company Since: 2010
Big Project: Led the development and leasing of the retail, restaurant and entertainment opportunities at CityLine, KDC’s 186-acre mixed-use property in Richardson, Texas, and one of the largest projects of its kind in the U.S. At full build-out, CityLine will encompass 5 million square feet of office space, 3,925 multi-family residential units, more than 60 dining and service retail options, two hotels and two parks. Approximately 30,000 people are expected to live and work at CityLine.
Also played an integral role in landing two major corporate tenants, State Farm and Raytheon, and has developed four office towers for State Farm, totaling 2.1 million square feet.
Secrets to Success: Sticking to long-term goals and avoiding shortcuts that might pay short-term rewards but are detrimental in the long run. “You have to be disciplined with what projects you go after … For a guy whose job it is to bring in new projects, that’s a challenge.”
Best Advice Received: “I was starting to get itchy because I’d been working at KDC for a couple of years and I hadn’t really made any deals yet. Someone who’d taken me under his wing in business school and helped me get my job here, kept advising me to be patient, be patient, be patient, and take long-term view.”
Advice to Others: “When I was in business school, I networked with as many people that I could. You have to hustle, you have to work hard … but all these things take time. Big things don’t happen overnight.”
Goals: Emulating colleagues at KDC “who can speak as fluently as they can with an attorney as they can with a banker as they can with architect. That’s what I really aspire to.”
Quotable: The more I learn, the more I learn I don’t know anything, so I just continue to learn.”
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