The Pivot Awards™

 Purpose: To Recognize Local Visionaries

One of the purposes of the annual CRE Summit™ is to promote leading-edge discussions between all segments of the Commercial Real Estate Industry. We provide a venue to recognize visionaries who have made Pivotal contributions to the real estate industry (Pivot Award™). At the CRE Summit Luncheon, Pivot Award™ winners who exhibit innovation and creativity in various industry categories will be announced.

The Commercial Real Estate Summit’s Board of Directors selects commercial real estate industry professionals who have made Pivotal contributions to the real estate industry during the previous year in several categories, including:  Architect, Appraiser, Contractor or Developer, Financing, Public Official and Real Estate Brokerage. (sample categories), not all categories may be awarded in a year.

2023 Pivot Award nominations will be accepted until July 1, 2023 by sending an email to the CRE Summit Marketing Director/Administrator, Wendy Duncan at: marketing4cresummit@gmail.com Included in the nomination should be a short biography of the nominee as well as a short paragraph which highlights their pivotal contributions to the real estate industry.

Pivot Award™ Winners

Read about the winners from each year by clicking on the link within the years below!

2022

Pivot Award for Architecture – Anthony McDermid

Anthony McDermid, AIA, RIBA, Founding Principal, TAP Architecture – Celebrated for historic preservation & Urban Planning.  Exhibits sustainable design & comprehensive planning for urban projects such as: 

  • The Oklahoma Supreme Court
  • The Core to Shore Master Plan
  • The Station at Moore Central Park
  • The OKC Arts District Garage
  • The OKC Convention Center Garage
  • The American Fidelity Garage
  • The Brownstones at Maywood Park
  • Old Central at Oklahoma State University
  • City Rescue Mission and WestTown

Pivot Award for Development – Richard Tanenbaum

Richard Tanenbaum, Principal Owner & CEO, Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings

Recognized for being a premier development firm. Well regarded for ambitiously repurposing, retrofitting and redevelopment of a series of dynamic projects for multi-family housing. Aerospace, industrial, commercial developments & business complexes have impacted our economy. Expansions in the Innovation District position our city to be the leading competitor for new companies.

  • Britton Commerce Park
  • Westgate One, Westgate Park
  • Park Harvey
  • Park Harvey Center
  • Liberty Creek Village
  • The Presley Apartments
  • Innovation Hall Coming 2023

Pivot Award for Finance – Amy Bailey

Amy Bailey, Managing Director, Crossfirst Bank

Highly endorsed for her skills in banking & finance serving small & large commercial real estate businesses & developers. 

  • Funding “The Presley Apartments/Tower” for Gardner Tanenbaum. “Amy Bailey led the financing of the renovation and transformation of the dilapidated Lincoln Plaza Hotel off Lincoln Boulevard in OKC (a 24-acre abandoned complex) into a 300+ unit multifamily apartment building bringing new life to the area, now known as The Presley.  The project was layered with complexity in many ways that created challenges we were able to overcome as a banking partner.  It was on the National Register of Historical Places and incorporated New Market Tax Credits in an area that was blighted.  CrossFirst was proud to work alongside Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings on an incredible renovation that has given lift off to the resurgence along Lincoln Boulevard.”

Pivot Award for Real Estate Brokerage – Andrew Hwang

Andrew Hwang, Esq., Co-Founder, Managing Partner, ADEPT CRE

Andrew is a real estate professional with eleven years of experience in commercial real estate investments, brokerage and developmental Estate & Of Counsel Real Estate Attorney with Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison& Lewis.

  • Recipient SVN Achiever Award.
  • Glen Eagles Shopping Center
  • Central Plaza student Housing
  • LSB Chemicals Corporate Office (3 Properties)
  • FLC Acquisitions (4 Properties)
  • Timberbrooke Professional Center (6 Buildings)
  • Plaza Garage
  • Tomcat Aviation Facility
  • RBA Architects
  • Gyro Data Portfolio Baker Hughes Portfolio
  • The Del City Village Shopping Center
  • N OKC Land Deal – 73 Acres on Hefner Road
  • City of OKC Building
  • Former Dolese Corporate Office

Pivot Award for Public Official – Larry Hopper

Larry Hopper, Sr. Planning Manager, EMBARK, City of Oklahoma City

Recognized for economic revitalization, urban planning, and transit/transportation planning with an emphasis on bus and rail strategies. 

  • The Planning Manager for EMBARK Transit in Oklahoma City (OKC) since 1999, he managed the Alternatives Analysis leading to the 2011 streetcar route decision 
  • Managed the TIGER II streetcar planning work. He is active in the streetcar planning and operations effort which came to fruition in 2018.
  • 2005 “Fixed Guideway Transit Plan” that recommended commuter rail, downtown streetcar, a transit hub, BRT, and vastly more bus service.
  •  In 2015 and 2016 he has been focusing increasingly on planning for “high capacity” transit (such as BRT – bus rapid transit or streetcar), Transit Oriented Development, livability, and a healthier community in OKC’s Northwest Multimodal Corridor.
  • Bricktown mixed-use warehouse district revitalization
  • The circa 1996 Citywide trails master plan
  • First staff for the Bricktown Urban Design Review Committee
  • He played a key role in establishing OKC’s first TIF district and also raised the match needed to first add bike racks to the bus fleet. 

Pivot Award for Title Company – Dawn Brooks

Dawn Brooks, VP Commercial Escrow Manager Chicago Title OK

Dawn strives to provide the best customer service possible through timely communication, integrity, and passion. 

 “She is proud to work for the number one title company in OKC alongside the strongest, most dedicated team in the area”. 

  • Along with numerous national, multi-site transactions with Oklahoma Investors, has helped grow and lead a team to the number 1 Title Company based on number of transactions, overall dollar amount filed, and leading the market in resales and refi’s filed.
  • Notable 2021 transaction finalized was the separation of the Colcord hotel from the Devon tower
  • This involved substantial time with attorneys on both sides to negotiate all easements and endorsements

2021 – No Award

2020 – No Award due to the COVID Pandemic

2019

Pivot Award for Real Estate Lender – Patrick Lippmann

Patrick is a senior vice president at BancFirst, specializing in commercial real estate lending. He brings experience making commercial construction and term loans for retail, office, industrial, and self-storage properties along with residential subdivision and builder construction financing. 

Pivot Award for Real Estate Developer – Chris Fleming

Chris is executive vice president of Midtown Renaissance. Chris has transformed the Midtown and Automobile Alley districts through place-making, historic preservation, sustainable practices, and a long-term investment perspective

Pivot Award for Industry Advocate – Jack Evans

Jack is the founder of Timbercraft Homes. He is a pioneer in the homebuilding industry and he and his wife, Theresa, have generously given their time and money to the Real Estate Program at UCO.

Pivot Award for Architect – Brian Fitzsimmons

Brian’s projects have been recognized locally, regionally, and nationally. He specializes in creating beautiful, functional spaces while being mindful of every project’s schedule, budget, and safety. He does so with consideration of our effect on the environment and with social responsibility.

2018

Pivot Award for Real Estate Lender – Bryan Geiger

Bryan is senior vice president at Simmons Bank. Geiger has 23 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and lending, 19 years in real estate banking, and four years in securitized commercial mortgage lending.

Pivot Award for Real Estate Developer – Blair Humphreys

Blair has shown pivotal leadership in the development of an innovative project known as Wheeler Park. This unique, mixed-use development was created by the community through a series of charrettes, financed with the use of tax-increment financing, and is turning a dilapidated old airpark into an urban village.

Pivot Award for Contractor – Stan Lingo

Lingo Construction was founded in 1998 by Stan and focuses on distinct projects and has built award-winning buildings on both the local and national stage. Their projects range from the 500-square-foot interior remodels to entire block revitalization and development.

Pivot Award for Industry Advocate – Darin Dalbom

Darin Dalbom with JLL Valuation & Advisory Services has been actively engaged in real estate valuation and consulting assignments since 1990. He is a true pioneer in the appraisal industry.

Pivot Award for Real Estate Broker – Jim Parrack

Parrack joined Price Edwards & Co. in 2007 and heads the firm’s retail division encompassing management and brokerage activities for more than 50 shopping centers in Oklahoma and North Texas. He is actively involved in overseeing all management and leasing efforts of the firm’s retail building portfolio to ensure asset protection and enhancement of client-owned properties.

2017

The Pivot Award for Real Estate Lender – Paul Lienhard

Paul is a senior vice president at MidFirst Bank. Starting his career in 1982, Paul’s story is one of perseverance, surviving roller coaster oil and gas prices, failed banking institutions, and many mergers and flag changes. Since then, he has found a home at MidFirst, managing a department with $400 million in commitments. This portfolio includes apartments, retail centers, office buildings, self-storage, industrial buildings, and hotels.

Pivot Award for Real Estate Developer – Gary Brooks

Gary is president and CEO of Cornerstone Development. He has shown pivotal leadership in the multifamily development space with several successful urban apartment projects, but his most adventurous venture to date is the purchase of the historical First National Center with plans to return the iconic building to its once prominent stature.

Pivot Award for Architect – Wade Scaramucci

Wade is associate director at Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects. He Skyped in to accept his award due to him spending half of his time in the company’s London office. With successful historical rehabilitation projects such as the Plow Building in Oklahoma City and high-profile projects in London such as the Google headquarters in King’s Cross, Wade was an obvious choice in this category. 

Pivot Award for Real Estate Broker – Stuart Graham

Stuart Graham is first vice president with CBRE in Oklahoma City, specializing in the sale and leasing of shopping centers, retail buildings, restaurant properties, commercial land, and large development tracts. He also specializes in tenant representation and site selection services for those looking to relocate or expand their business in the OKC market.

2016

Pivot Award For Real Estate Developer – Grant Humphreys

Grant was Vice President for Humphrey’s Capital.  Grant started working for Trammell Crow Company in Dallas and Oklahoma City.  In the 2000’s, he assembled the largest self-storage portfolio in the state.  During this time, he also developed luxury, LEED certified condominiums in Downtown Oklahoma City.  In 2010, Grant founded Carlton Landing, a DPZ-designed lakefront resort community in southeast Oklahoma.  As Town Founder of Carlton Landing, Grant directs the long-term development and culture building strategy.  Key initiatives include forming a new municipality, creating a new TIF District, crafting a public-private partnership with the Corps of Engineers for Federal lands surrounding Carlton Landing, and long-term economic development placemaking..  With his wife, Jen, Grant founded Carlton Landing Academy, the first rural charter school in Oklahoma.  Grant is past President of the National Town Builders Association.  For those who missed our first Commercial Real Estate Summit in 2016, you may view the video of Grant Humphrey’s keynote address, which was a seminal discussion of the nature of and a “New Definition of Sustainable Developments: https://streaming.uco.edu/media/Grant+Humphreys+-+CRE+Summit/0_tbbm9yok/26986922

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