John T. Sughrue
Chief Executive Officer
Founder/Director/Shareholder
Mr. Sughrue established Brook Partners, Inc. in 1994 to capitalize on real estate investment opportunities in the Southwest. Since that time, Brook Partners has evolved into a full-service development, investment and advisory firm recognized as a leader in the real estate industry. Since its inception, Brook Partners and its principals have been involved in development projects exceeding $500 million. Among recent high-profile projects, Mr. Sughrue created the Fashion Industry Gallery (“f.i.g.”), the contemporary high-end wholesale fashion boutique that inspired hundreds of fashion lines to relocate to the Downtown Dallas Arts District. His partnering with iconic Texas chef Stephan Pyles, in his eponymous 10,000-square-foot restaurant established five-star dining in the Arts District. In addition, Brook Partners developed the nationally recognized art-house Magnolia Theatre, which was the engine that accelerated leasing at the West Village of Dallas, now considered one of the most successful lifestyle centers in the country. Most recently, Brook Partners produced the Dallas Art Fair, a best-of-breed national art fair hosted at f.i.g.
Initially, Mr. Sughrue established Brook Partners to continue the acquisition and repositioning of distressed assets for his own account. Assets acquired from the RTC, “bad banks” or “bridge banks”, insurance companies and other distressed sellers included commercial land, office, industrial (including Brownfields), residential, data centers and theatres and commercial mortgage notes. Each asset was acquired with the strategy to create value through either, or a combination of, aggressive management of operations, budget conscious redevelopment, concise target marketing and communications, and improved financial capabilities of the sponsors. Over time, Brook Partners’ expertise was sought by domestic and international investors and institutions leading to advisory assignments involving a multitude of property types located both domestically and internationally. Advisory assignments are the fastest growing sector of Brook Partners’ business today.
Prior to Brook Partners, Mr. Sughrue served as director of development for SCI Real Estate Development, an Italian investment and development firm affiliated with Pirelli Realty of Milan, Italy, and ROEV of Rome, Italy. In 1991, Mr. Sughrue directed SCI's acquisition of seven office buildings approximating two million square feet from North Carolina National Bank (“NCNB”; the precursor to Bank of America). SCI became NCNB’s largest landlord in Texas and later was awarded a management contract from the Bank for an additional two million square feet of Bank office space located in third party buildings in Downtown Dallas. Prior to joining SCI, Mr. Sughrue worked in New York for the Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Real Estate Investment Banking Group and for Chemical Bank's Real Estate Lending Group, where he was involved with in excess of $1 billion of real estate debt and equity financings.
Raised in Boston, Mr. Sughrue received his B.A. in Economics in 1982 from Harvard College and an M.B.A. from The Amos Tuck School of Dartmouth College in 1988. Mr. Sughrue is a founder of Magnolia Pictures, an Austin-based exhibition and distribution film company that opened the Magnolia Theatre in Dallas in 2002. He is also a director and executive Producer of Insignia Films, a New York-based documentary film company heralded for its productions of "The West," a $12 million project for PBS on the history of the American West, and “Amato-A Love Affair with Opera,” a cinema verite piece nominated for the prestigious Directors Guild 2001 Best Documentary Award. Mr. Sughrue was a 2002 recipient of the Neiman Marcus Renaissance Award, for significant contributions to the revitalization of Downtown Dallas. Among numerous civic endeavors, he is a member of the advisory board of the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and was a past chairman of the board of America Scores Dallas, an after-school program that promotes literacy among inner-city elementary school children in the Dallas Independent School District.
Professional Affiliations:
Civic
Mayor Tom Leppert’s “Downtown Task Force Committee” – 2008 – Present
Woodall Rodgers Park Advisory Board – 2007 – Present
“Tom Leppert for Dallas Mayor” Finance Committee – 2007
“Van Taylor for U.S. Congress” Finance Committee – 2006
Mayor Laura Miller’s “Inside The Loop Committee”
Objective – propose initiatives to revitalize Dallas CBD – 2002 – 2005
Mayor Ron Kirk’s “Downtown Task Force Committee” – 2001 – 2002
“Ron Kirk for U.S. Senate” Finance Committee – 2002
“Veletta Lill for Dallas City Council” Co-Chair Finance Committee – 1999
Central Dallas Association
Board of Directors – 1995 – 2001; Executive Committee – 2002 – 2005
The Real Estate Council – 1993 – Present
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Presidio Trust Implementation Plan – Consultant to the privatization of the Bay Area Presidio landmark site – 2001
Reinvestment Zone Seven Board – Sports Arena TIF – 1999 – 2001
Uptown Improvement District
Board of Directors – 1995 – 2001
West End Association
Board of Directors – 1993 – 1994; Chairman – 1994 – 1996; Treasurer – 1997 – 2000
The Dallas Plan – Planning & Greenspace Committee – 1996 – 1998
Downtown Improvement District
Board of Directors – 1993 – 1994
Not-for-Profit
America SCORES Dallas
Board of Directors – 2004 – 2006; 2008 – Present; Chairman – 2006 – 2008
North Texas Business for Culture and the Arts
Board of Directors – 2004 – 2005; Executive Committee – 2005 – 2008; Advisory Board – 2009 – Present
The Dallas Film Society (formerly known as AFI Dallas)
Board Member – 2007 – 2008; Advisory Council – 2009 – Present
Dallas Architecture Forum
Board Member – 2007 – Present
The Fashionistas
Advisory Board – 2007 – Present
Booker T. Washington High School for The Performing and Visual Arts
Advisory Board – 2009 – Present
Mockingbird: The Center for Texas Music
Board of Directors – 2009 – Present