"I expect to add a new dimension to the Dallas and Texas markets with the Legacy foundation," Spencer Stuart Jr., the firm's newest senior vice president and partner, tells GlobeSt.com. He and Legacy have been negotiating the deal since late spring after he exited the top job in Dallas for the Netherlands-based Palladium Group's USA division. "Legacy has a number of the same awards that I won when I was at Palladium," he says.

Stuart says he's looking at several suburban and urban areas for the first ground-up project in Texas by the 35-year-old West Coast company. He says the goal is to build "two or three" developments per year, beginning with rental product and later segueing into condos. Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin are at the top of Stuart's "to do" list.

The office has just opened at 13455 Noel Rd. in North Dallas' Galleria. Stuart's plan is to hire from the local market as projects take root.