Well-known Fort Worth businessman Mark Presswood and his son, Trey, are just as likely to be caught sitting around a table talking baseball as they are real estate, but since the two just started a real estate firm together, they are trying to keep their current conversations focused on the latter.
Trying. “I guess you could say we have a lot of baseball analogies,” Trey Presswood said. Mark Presswood first made a name for himself in Fort Worth while working for the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team handling real estate from 2004 to 2007, after which he was recruited to work for Innovative Developers Inc., IDI, as vice president of real estate. When he left IDI in December 2009, it took him less than two weeks to come up with Panther Real Estate Solutions and team up with his son, who had just graduated with a business degree after playing baseball for Texas State University. And with a freshly signed lease on some office space at 1209 E. Belknap, the company is up and going. “I’m bullish on Fort Worth,” Mark Presswood said. “I think in the next 12 to 18 months we’ll start to see something and we’re just trying to get in front of that. We want to be ready when the market turns.” Panther Real Estate Services will offer consulting and development services including site selection and walking clients through each step of the development process, if that’s what the client is interested in. Mark Presswood said he has a stable of contacts from contractors to civil engineers and architects to lend a hand in the process. And to start the company off right, Trey Presswood, 24, just passed his real estate test. “I passed it on the first time. I knew if I didn’t, since my dad passed his on his first try, then I would hear about it,” Trey Presswood said. “I guess we’re a little competitive that way.” Mark Presswood, who got his engineering degree from Texas A&M University, said there are a few key areas of Fort Worth he is keeping his eye on for future growth including Race Street, the Near Southside, the Trinity River Vision project and Uptown, which is along the banks of the Trinity River just north of downtown Fort Worth. “Fort Worth is so fortunate and I know you hear it a lot, but there are some amazing projects happening in the city. It’s a great place to be,” Mark Presswood said. “Those types of projects can mean good things for Fort Worth. There are a lot of cities out there where projects have just stopped.”
As for working with family, Mark Presswood admits that he might not have been in a place in life where he could have worked well with a family member five or 10 years ago because “I was a matter-of-fact kind of guy and I just don’t think it would have worked.” “But now, I’m turning 58 and it’s a different time in my life,” he said. “I’m relishing it. I get to work with my son and that’s pretty nice for me. I appreciate the differences between us now and we’re getting to know each other better.” Mark Presswood said while his son might be young, Trey has demonstrated leadership in his role as catcher during his baseball career – and that’s proof enough for dad. “I saw him out there on the field and I know he has it in him,” Mark Presswood said, digressing to tell a few of his favorite moments from Trey’s baseball days – before being corrected on a few details by Trey. “Well, as you can see, baseball talk sort of parallels with business for us,” Mark Presswood said, smiling and shrugging.
To date, Panther Real Estate has a blossoming list of clients including a Keller restaurant project, a processing plant relocation and a few notable Fort Worth projects that could not be named yet. Trey Presswood is handling the networking aspect of the business, tapping into local chambers and networking groups in hopes of “lobbing them up and dad can hit ’em out of the park,” he said. “I think it’s a great time to start a business and the way we approach it, there are no ‘gotchas.’ And I think that’s important,” Mark Presswood said. “We’re working on some good projects and having fun with it. And we know there are some big plays coming up for Fort Worth and we’re going to be ready and waiting.”
