Jeff Harkinson
President
Mr. Harkinson holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Political Science from Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Following graduation, Mr. Harkinson served ten years in public management with the City of Dallas City Manager’s Office, as Assistant to the City Manager in Mesquite, Texas and as Director of Regional Services with the North Central Texas Council of Governments serving the 16-county North Central Texas Region.
Subsequently, Mr. Harkinson served as Senior Vice-President of Morrow Investment Company, Inc., based in Hurst, TX. During Mr. Harkinson’s tenure, he was responsible for leasing company-owned and developed office buildings, managing outside exclusive leasing contracts, and serving as lead broker in all third-party commercial investment property sales.
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In 1983, Mr. Harkinson formed his own commercial real estate brokerage and investment company. Since that time, he has personally closed over $500 million in commercial real estate transactions on behalf of his clients and for his own account. Mr. Harkinson is President of Harkinson Investment Corporation, Harkinson Development, LLC and Harkinson Dewan Management, LLC with its corporate offices located in Addison, Texas.
For the past thirty years, Mr. Harkinson has structured numerous joint ventures and limited partnerships with both individual and institutional equity partners to acquire and develop both income properties and land in Texas and Oklahoma, but principally in the Dallas - Fort Worth Metropolitan Area. Mr. Harkinson and his partnerships have purchased or developed three million square feet of commercial income properties, including fifteen (15) suburban office buildings totaling 860,000 square feet, multiple office/flex buildings located in nineteen (19) separate projects totaling 1,680,000 square feet, and eight (8) retail shopping centers totaling 498,000 square feet (see attached schedule). Since 1991, Mr. Harkinson has never contracted to purchase a property, or executed a loan application, and failed to close the transaction (except once due to undisclosed environmental contamination). In addition, he has never missed a monthly mortgage payment or defaulted on a mortgage in the last 30+-years.
Through one of his affiliated companies, Mr. Harkinson is the managing general partner of the partnerships and develops, leases and manages the property investments. Harkinson has a very “hands on” style of real estate management, which contributes to one of the highest rates of tenant retention in the business, and among the lowest operating expense histories. His business philosophy is based on the concept of “follow the Golden Rule,” and he believes “nobody cares like an owner.” Mr. Harkinson is 75 years old, has been married for 51 years and has three children ages 44, 42 and 40. He is a native Texan, born in Houston, but residing in Dallas since 1962. He and his wife own the historic Blasingame Creek Ranch near Blanco, Texas about 45 minutes west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country, site of one of the most famous gun battles in Texas history that took place in 1856 at the Blasingame Cabin, still standing.