Ted Palles is a local entrepreneur and real estate developer in multi-family housing. His company, Pallas, is among the few companies that has principals who have participated in the management, ownership, planning and continued administration in the Midtown Dallas marketplace for more than 35 years. As one of the largest property owners in Vickery Midtown, Ted’s understanding of the District is deep, with a vast comprehension of the properties, the people who live in the District, the past trends, the current trends and the needs of the community. Outside of the on-going management of properties, he also participates in all facets of identifying, communicating, championing and implementing opportunities for the neighborhood through the City of Dallas, Dallas Independent School District and other governing/related entities.
Ted has invested corporately and substantially on improvements to the workforce housing his company owns and manages in Vickery Midtown.
Having served as Vickery Midtown’s president in 2020 2021, Ted has also led the Public Safety and Community Standards Committee, and is active and passionate about specific initiatives including the Ridgecrest road improvement construction program as a part of the Midtown Complete Streets re-design to facilitate both vehicle and pedestrian vibrancy, safety and efficiency; District branding for Vickery Midtown; the Trail-to-Trail recreational greenspace initiative, the Midtown Blues security program; and building awareness of the Midtown 311 Code Red system for reporting issues and concerns in the District to City of Dallas.
Don Bouvier is a founding partner and president of UCR Development. He is responsible for leading the overall day-to-day management and direction of the firm. He has spent more than 25 years in the commercial real estate development industry, completing projects across various product types including anchored retail shopping centers, single-tenant build-to-suits, corporate office and healthcare campuses. His experience spans across several states with an emphasis in the southwest.
Prior to UCR Development, Don served in a Principle/Partner capacity at Hunt Properties, Direct Development and Mays & Company – all Dallas-based firms. His primary responsibilities included firm-wide business management, sourcing new business opportunities, maintaining anchor tenant relationships, and directing internal project teams through the development process involving planning, leasing, legal, construction and project finance. He has completed projects anchored by Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Kohl’s, JC Penney, Belk, Kroger, Safeway, Harley Davidson Financial, Southwestern Bell Internet HQ, Bridgestone/Firestone U.S. roll-out, Baylor Health System and Adeptus Health.
Don began his development career consulting both municipalities and private land-development clients as a licensed Engineer for Kimley-Horn & Associates. Don is a past board member of The Real Estate Council and an alumnus of its Associate Leadership Council.
Charlie Nye is an experienced real estate and hospitality attorney, with more than 34 years in handling complex commercial real estate matters, including providing legal advice and support for hundreds of transactions. He has 19 years of experience as in-house counsel for a hospitality REIT, with substantial involvement in acquisitions, dispositions, financings, development, construction, litigation management, asset management, operations and management/franchise company issues and relationships.
Charlie is a skilled communicator and negotiator in complex transactions involving business and legal due diligence, risk analysis and project management. He has managed multiple projects and resources in changing business environments, with focus on teamwork and communications, and is an experienced multifamily real estate investor–investments in 20+ “B” and “C” class properties.
Roger Albright began work as an attorney in 1978. His first case was a federal constitutional challenge to protect his client’s First Amendment rights: a case which ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Continuing that path, Roger gained extensive state and federal litigation experience, taking more than 30 major cases to judgment including class actions and million-dollar recoveries. He worked at Mullinax, Wells, Babb & Cloutman for a decade, first as an Associate and then as a Partner. Thereafter, Roger opened the Law Offices of Roger Albright, where he practiced for over two decades. He became Of Counsel to Sheils Winnubst, PC in 2018.
Throughout the years, Roger has served on various boards and committees including the Dallas Rapid Area Transit (DART) Board and the Dallas Plan Commission. Roger’s current practice focuses primarily on municipal land use, real estate and business representation. Roger uses his vast network and decades of experience to provide thorough, efficient and effective legal advice.
Sabrina Bunks started her career in the radio industry, first selling ads in Houston in 1982, then in Dallas and rising to executive sales positions as her expert business-building skills brought success to stations such as KLIF and to ABC Radio Networks.
While working in radio, Sabrina and her husband, Al Taylor, began purchasing and renting investment condos in the Vickery Midtown area and established their company Great New Place, which now owns and manages more than 65 homes in the District.
A champion for community service and teamwork for improvement, Sabrina also serves on the boards of six different homeowner associations in the District. Sabrina was appointed to the Vickery Midtown Public Improvement District Board in 2010 and has served on the Vickery Midtown Executive Committee from 2014 – 2021. She leads the Vickery Midtown Open Space and Public Realm Committee that has planted more than 600 trees in the community since 2018. She is a graduate of Tulane University and an MLA graduate of Southern Methodist University.
Dustin Davidson is Director of Land Development for Hines, responsible for land and residential development, acquisitions and dispositions of projects within the Southwestern Region of the United States, focusing also on the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area.
Since joining Hines’ Dallas office in 2012, Dustin has worked on more than 20 single-family development projects in cities across the Southwestern United States, totaling more than 9,000 lots.
Dustin has specialized in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, and is responsible for sourcing financing, both equity and debt, and has been directly involved in more than $800 million in project revenue. He is a graduate of Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in History.
Mason Ice is managing partner for BARetc, an agency that focuses on adult beverage brands and consumer goods in a promotional marketing capacity. Mason has been in Vickery at his house for nearly two decades. He was on the joint task force committee for years leading up to the construction of the SoPac Trail having co-founded the Friends of SoPac Trail group with others in Phase 3, years before construction started.
He stays busy managing a chunk of the country for Reed’s Ginger Beer and Virgil’s Soda and travels most week out of state. He helped Vickery Midtown move to Google Apps in the office for email and file share to keep things clean for the District’s back of house. Mason also co-owns a boutique in downtown historic McKinney with his fiancée.
As a volunteer leader in Dallas for more than 25 years, Lynn McBee has worked more than 45,000 hours of service for more than 30 different non-profit groups. Lynn’s work has made a difference on tough issues like improving education, serving homeless, protecting children, fighting domestic violence and helping underserved students succeed in college.
As a deeply engaged civic leader, Lynn has learned how to bring different stakeholders to the table, find common ground and solutions, and get everyone moving in a productive manner that gets results.
Lynn has served more than five years as CEO of Young Women’s Preparatory Network, a public-private partnership that creates STEM-focused schools of choice in an all-girls setting. To date, YWPN grads have a 100% college acceptance rate – many of them first-generation college goers. Over five years as CEO, Lynn has grown revenues 300% and gained a deep understanding of how to partner with ISDs to improve student achievement.
W. Sandy Spurgin is Senior Vice President of Operations and Development for Northwood Retail. He oversees operations for Northwood’s managed mixed-use and retail properties, as well as future Northwood Investors’ retail opportunities. In addition, he leads the company’s real estate development across the retail portfolio, which is currently comprised of 11 properties totaling over 4.5 million square feet located in cities across the United States.
Prior to joining Northwood Retail, Sandy was Vice President of Development for Cooper & Stebbins, LP, where he spent 10 years developing Southlake Town Square, a 3.5 million square foot master-planned downtown and regional central business district. During his tenure, he directed more than 800,000 square feet of development from conceptual design and pro forma feasibility to construction completion and lease up. He was also involved in all aspects of asset management, leasing and financing.
Sandy received a BBA in Real Estate Finance and a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
Cara Talafuse is Vice President of Texas Operations for Fath Properties. She has been a leader in the real estate and property management industries for 30-plus years.
Fath Properties is the second largest property owner of multifamily residential in Vickery in Midtown Improvement District, specializing in owning, rehabilitating and managing quality apartment communities. The current portfolio consists of more than 8,400 apartment homes located throughout Ohio, northern Kentucky, Indiana, and Dallas. Cara began her career with Fath in 2004.
Prior to her 2023 election to Midtown Board of Trustees, Cara served on the Midtown Board of Trustees from 2014 for seven years, and has served as its president for two one-year terms. She is a mother of two children.
Ken Wright has been at Half Price Books for 33 years. Starting as bookseller, he rose the ranks and helped build the legendary brand with his leadership in district management, retail store design, risk management/safety, and property management.
Ken is now Vice President of Development for Bookmark, a subsidiary of Half Price Books that is developing commercial property in Vickery Midtown. Half Price Books has made a large investment in Vickery Midtown, redeveloping 12 acres at the southern entrance to the neighborhood as a long-term asset.
admin@midtowndallasinc.com
972-373-4043
Shannon Freeman joined the staff of Midtown Improvement District in September 2022 as the Assistant Executive Director for District, helping guide and administer the office's vast work across 1,000 acres in the dynamic area of Dallas and its five active boroughs.
Shannon is a Mississippi native and relocated to Dallas/Fort Worth from Houston. Her knowledge and understanding of major metro markets and the growth in neighborhoods and districts within is extensive. Shannon has nearly a decade of experience in real estate and with an array of leading property management companies. Her leadership roles have included district and regional management, encompassing numerous properties in multiple states. Portfolios within Shannon's management have ranged between 1,200 and 1,400 properties.
She is motivated and inspired by her four-year-old daughter, and by her parents, who have continuously encouraged and championed her to be the leader she would like to see in others in business and the community at large.
Shannon is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
pm@midtowndallasinc.com
972-373-4043
Nick Palles joined the Midtown Improvement District in August of 2021 to work on the District's 2023 renewal effort. He served as Executive Director on an interim basis in 2022, and now is the organization's Project Manager. His priority is overseeing capital improvement projects in the District.
Nick has a long history in Midtown, as he began interning in property management locally when he was just a teenager. A Dallas native, Nick is committed to seeing that the area grow into a healthy and sustainable urban landscape and one of the best places to live in the city. His experience in the real estate industry has taught him to keep a tight handle on projects and to successfully see them through to completion.
Nick graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Science in International Business and Finance, and a minor in Spanish.