DALLAS-Younan Properties Inc. has named Thom Ridnour to the newly-created position of director of leasing. In his new role, the industry veteran is responsible for leasing and marketing Younan’s 6.5-million-square-foot Dallas portfolio, which accounts for more than half of the company’s total assets.
Ridnour's appointment is one of the first steps Younan is taking to build its in-house leasing platform, according to Robert Peddicord, chief operating officer of Younan. “We are revamping our organization to capture new business as we see the market turning,” he tells GlobeSt. “As activity has picked up, we decided we needed more manpower.”
Ridnour has more than two decades of experience in negotiating, leasing and managing commercial property, acquisitions, development and oversight for both large urban and suburban properties in multiple cities. Most recently, he was a principal with TRG Realty Services in Dallas, a commercial real estate services company and subsidiary of TRG Investment Corp.
In addition, Ridnour has held executive positions with Trizec Properties Inc., Transwestern and Clayco Inc., a national real estate, architecture and engineering and full service real estate development firm in St. Louis.
Younan, which owns and operates 35 office properties totaling 11 million square feet in Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix and Los Angeles, currently works with eight different third-party brokerage firms, with 31 professionals representing the firm’s properties. Three regional managers oversee the portfolio, and Ridnour will report to John Cook, who is in charge of Dallas.
Peddicord says Younan considered half a dozen candidates for the director of leasing position in Dallas. Through its relationship with its third-party brokers, the firm was introduced to Ridnour.
“Thom comes to us with a very strong resume – he’s very well-known throughout the market, especially in the CBD,” Cook says. “We felt we had the right guy in Thom. He’s done some of the biggest deals in town, and he has the level experience and expertise that we want on board.”
Ridnour will initially focus on meeting with the firm’s local third-party brokers to get up to speed on what they’re working on and to make sure they’re meeting the needs of prospects, he says. Additionally, he plans to meet all of Younan’s existing tenants. “Tenant retention is a priority, and I want to make sure we are doing all we can to keep our tenants happy,” he notes.
In addition to Ridnour, Younan plans to hire new leasing people in both Chicago and Houston.
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