Dallas, TX
A Second Act for Dallas Real Estate Exec Bob Mohr
Like many of his midwestern peers, Bob Mohr left Indiana in the mid-1980s to pursue a commercial real estate career in Dallas. The market was hot, and there was money to be made. But within two years, conditions had drastically changed. Banks were failing, the S&L crisis was taking hold, office buildings that had sprouted up were sitting empty, and no deals were in sight.
The developer for whom Mohr worked wanted to take away his salary and shift him to a commission-only role. Instead, the industry upstart decided to go into business for himself and focus on the emerging specialty of tenant representation. “I worked out of an executive suite someone let me use, and my wife helped me,” Mohr says. “I didn’t have much money to invest in buildings at the time, and I thought that, frankly, tenant reps and corporate folks—nobody wants to hear this—make an obscene amount of money for what they do. You know, you renew a lease and get paid 4 percent of the gross. So, I thought that might be a good area to focus on.”
His first deal was a 3,000-square-foot lease for Christian Broadcasting Network. Initially, business centered around renegotiating agreements for tenants. As the real estate market rebounded, Mohr Partners grew. Clients asked him to do what he did in Dallas in Atlanta and other markets, and the firm evolved to specialize in multi-site, multi-year agreements for national tenants.
By 2017, after 31 years of growing and running his company, Mohr was ready for a fresh challenge and sold the firm to then-president Robert Shibuya in a management buyout. (Shibuya now serves as chairman and CEO and is majority shareholder.) Mohr Partners had 18 offices at the time; today it has 24 and is among the world’s largest tenant-only advisory firms.
“I had done the same thing for so many years, and intellectually, as much as anything, I was ready for something new,” Mohr says. Retirement, however, was not in the cards. He had quietly begun a capital markets side hustle in 2000 and decided to double down on investments via his family office. Things have gone well.
Through Mohr Capital, he has bought and developed projects across the country—retail, industrial, hospitality, and office, and he may expand into student housing, too. In Dallas, he put about $2 million into a 12-story office tower at 4851 LBJ Freeway he bought in 2020 and has nearly filled it up. Among other improvements, he upgraded the building’s cafe and brought in noted Dallas chef James Rowland to run it. “I also used the old Trammell Crow model of hiring a good security guy who knows everyone,” Mohr says.
He’s currently making $7 million in capital improvements to a hotel in Austin and developing a 705,000-square-foot logistics park in Surprise, Arizona. That project, in partnership with Rosewood Property Co., is the first in which he has taken outside equity. Looking ahead, Mohr intends to pursue more hospitality deals. “There are many moving parts, but the yields are so much better if you can hit it right,” he says. He’s also working on a flurry of industrial acquisitions, but intends to proceed with caution on office buys. “Values are down 35 percent,” he says. “There are going to be some great opportunities; you just have to wait for the timing to be right.”
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Christine Perez
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Christine is the editor of D CEO magazine and its online platforms. She’s a national award-winning business journalist who has…
The Tennessee Titans parted ways with linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. to begin the offseason, trading him to the Dallas Cowboys.
He was a potential cut candidate, making the trade not too much of a shock. Still, Murray Jr. admitted he was “extremely” surprised by the move.
“I’m not gonna lie, it was extremely surprising for me, just because I wasn’t expecting it,” Murray Jr. said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. “… At the same time, I was ecstatic because obviously playing for the Dallas Cowboys is a big deal. I’m excited to be able to come here, bring my brand of football and just fly around and make plays.”
The former first-round pick spent the first four years of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers before signing a two-year, $15.5 million contract with the Titans.
He will now join a Cowboys defense that features star linebacker Micah Parsons, cornerbacks DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs, defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and more.
It’s a bit of a dream come true for Murray Jr. A former Oklahoma Sooners star and Houston area native, he grew up a Cowboys fan in Texas.
“I’ve always loved the Cowboys,” Murray Jr. said. “I grew up a Cowboys fan. My whole family are Cowboys fans. So this is definitely a dream for me playing here.”
Murray Jr. wasn’t the only defender to arrive to Dallas via trade this offseason. The Cowboys also acquired former first-round cornerback Kaiir Elam from the Buffalo Bills.
Murray Jr. will head into his sixth NFL season with 67 starts across 73 career games while posting 416 total tackles (271 solo), 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, 12 pass breakups and three interceptions. He started all 14 games he appeared in for the Titans this past season.
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
Taylor Toynes says he started thinking of ways to honor the life of Dallas Police Officer Darron Burks in the immediate weeks following his death.
“It’s important that people can come in and sit down with what took place but also see hope,” Toynes said.
The founder of ‘For Oak Cliff’ said fundraising efforts started earlier this year for a memorial park at the nonprofit’s location at 907 E. Ledbetter Drive.
“I think it’s important for it to be here because of the events that happened here,” Toynes said.
Burks was parked at ‘For Oak Cliff,’ completing work in his patrol car and waiting for his next assignment when the rookie officer was ambushed by a suspect in August 2024.
Two other Dallas PD officers were shot by the suspect responding to the scene. Both survived but Sr. Cpl. Karissa David was left blind in both eyes.
Burks worked as a teacher for 17 years before changing careers and entering law enforcement in his early 40’s.
Toynes says the memorial park will honor his life as an educator, athlete and public servant with spaces for play, reflection and artwork.
“It’s not just something that people walk up to and see but it’s also something that people can interact with and have fun and learn and build community at the same time,” Toynes said.
Toynes said ‘For Oak Cliff’ did not move forward with the project until it had support from both Burks’ mother and the Dallas Police Department.
Dallas PD said Thursday in a statement Burks’ unwavering commitment to serving and protecting the city made a lasting impact.
“Officer Burks’ legacy will forever remain etched in the heart of the city he loved, and he will always be remembered as a true hero,” a spokesperson said.
“We are honored to see Officer Burks’ memory live on through the legacy he left behind.”
Toynes said he estimates the project will be completed in three phases and will cost upwards of $300,000 to complete.
“I have faith in the city of Dallas and the philanthropic community here,” Toynes said.
The fundraising effort is ongoing through the Community Foundations of Texas and the North Texas Giving Day campaign.
Taylor Toynes had just tucked his son into bed on Aug. 29, 2024, when he was rushed back to For Oak Cliff to find tragedy had struck on its doorstep.
While sitting in his patrol car, parked in the center’s lot, Dallas police officer Darron Burks, 46, was fatally shot in a brazen attack that wounded two other officers and scarred southeast Oak Cliff.
For weeks, Toynes watched as the haven he founded to be a beacon of hope for the community became a makeshift memorial instead. Hundreds of people came and went — to light candles and tie balloons, to reminisce and reflect, to question God and to pray.
Almost immediately, Toynes recalled, his perspective shifted.
Let me shine a light, he thought. Let me teach you something.
Tyrone Gonzales, who were fraternity brothers of Dallas police Officer Darron Burks, hug during a vigil at For Oak Cliff on Aug. 30, 2024.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
“We know it’s the tragedy of death we’re dealing with,” Toynes said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News earlier this month. “But we also recognize that this is someone who needs to be honored for their spirit and their courage.”
And so came the vision for the nonprofit’s next project: The Darron Burks Memorial Park.
Their highest hopes, aligned
Long before Burks joined the Dallas Police Department, he was a student at Paul Quinn College, where he was a football player and president of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He was described as a “pure man” who never smoked, drank or cursed, and checked in on his friends daily.
For 17 years, Burks was a math teacher at Texans CAN Academies, a charter school that helps students recover credits to graduate.
In 2023, he brought the leadership skills he honed in the classroom to the police academy, where he helped corral the younger officers and keep them in line. They nicknamed him “Papa Burks.”
The challenge for For Oak Cliff wasn’t whether they wanted to memorialize Burks, but how they possibly could.
Toynes considered a traditional monument, but worried something so modest might allow Burks’ legacy to become synonymous with the tragedy that cut his life short.
Instead, his staff hopes to honor every part of Burks’ journey.
After drafting some ideas of their own, Amber Hartfield, For Oak Cliff’s director of operations, said her team met first with Burks’ mother, Cherie Jeffery, to get both her input and her blessing. They found her dreams for a permanent memorial aligned almost “word for word” with their own.
“She loved every bit of it, and she was really grateful that the community is coming together to do something like this for her son,” Hartfield said.
Ideally, the park, which will sit on For Oak Cliff’s property, will include an outdoor classroom, a playground and fitness equipment featuring educational quotes and words of encouragement, a garden with seating and a memorial plaque, and a mural symbolizing Burks’ faith, leadership and love for his community.
“To pull up and see people out there playing, sitting together, reflecting, whatever it is, I think that’s it,” Toynes said. “That is joy. That is living.”
Jeffery, according to Hartfield, was especially adamant about pursuing the garden, yearning for a space designed to bring families together, an ode to the bond she shared with her son.
“We really want to honor all of her wishes,” Hartfield said. “We want to do our best to make all of it come true.”
Park to be built in phases
Hartfield and Toynes said a partnership with Leadership Dallas has been instrumental in connecting them with organizations, fundraising campaigns and pro bono services that will help them see the park through.
”Officer Burks’ legacy will forever remain etched in the heart of the city he loved, and he will always be remembered as a true hero,” a Dallas police spokeswoman wrote in a statement sent to The News. “We are honored to see Officer Burks’ memory live on.”
They’re still in the early stages of crafting designs, but anticipate it could take anywhere from $275,000 to $500,000 to complete the project.
It’s too soon to grasp the timeline, but Hartfield said the park will be built in phases as the money is raised.
For Burks’ mother, they’ll start with the garden.
To donate or sponsor a portion of the park, the North Texas Giving Day fundraiser can be accessed here.
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