News
Dallas, Texas (April 24, 2023) – Despite headwinds amid economic uncertainties, Foundry Commercial’s Development & Investments (D&I) business remains bullish on the retail industry, announcing the launch of its Retail Investment Platform in conjunction with two key hires who have been tapped to jumpstart the platform’s growth.
Both Managing Directors and Deal Principals with Foundry, Rick Coe and Matthew Gallo join the firm to co-lead the platform. Based in Dallas, but with pursuits across the country, they lead the charge to source and execute retail investment opportunities. They will work closely with other associates throughout the D&I and retail services parts of the business to create programs and raise funds for Foundry’s broader development and acquisition business.
“Having survived government shutdowns and the meteoric switch to e-commerce during the pandemic, retailers have discovered a renewed appreciation of brick-and-mortar. Today we know better which retailers survived the pandemic, how they did so, and what success is going to look like in the retail industry going forward,” said Pryse Elam, Foundry’s Chief Investment Officer. “Rick and Matt bring a record of having transacted billions of dollars of retail investments. With these two at the helm, combined with our existing retail services platform, the opportunities for making well-advised investments, diversifying our portfolio, and growing our services business is expected to be significant.”
Coe, a nearly 40-year commercial real estate veteran, comes to Foundry from Fidelis Realty Partners DFW, where he was responsible for all acquisition, development, and investment activity in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area since 2014. Under his leadership, the company acquired and developed over 2.6 million square feet of retail with a total cost of $400 million. He is no stranger to Foundry; he worked alongside many members of the team that launched the company in 2007 after having worked together for nearly 20 years at Trammell Crow Company. There, he eventually became the Senior Managing Director of the Development & Investment Group and also served as a member of the company’s Operating Committee. In addition, Coe has been Chief Investment Officer for CNL Fund Management, and he was a founding partner of Parkwood Real Estate Partners (now Oakwood Real Estate Partners), a privately held real estate investment company formed in 2005. While there, he was involved with structuring, reviewing, and approving more than $5 billion of acquisition, development, and structured finance transactions.
Gallo joins Coe to launch the retail investment platform. With more than 20 years in the industry, he most recently served as COO and Senior Vice President for Lincoln Property Company in Dallas, where he managed more than 60 team members in Lincoln’s retail and mixed-use division engaged in development, acquisition, redevelopment, capital markets, leasing services, as well as asset, property, and construction management. During his nine years with Lincoln, he completed 36 acquisitions and development deals with an aggregate value of $1.36 billion, in addition to raising and placing a $250 million single-tenant net lease fund. During his career, he has also been Vice President of Development and Acquisitions for The Retail Connection as well as Vice President of Development for The MGHerring Group, both in the greater Dallas metro. Prior to these positions, he worked for Prudential (PGIM) in New Jersey and The Carlyle Group in Washington, D.C.
Long considered a differentiator for Foundry, the larger platform combines both a successful services business alongside a robust Development & Investments business. In fact, Foundry’s D&I business experienced significant growth last year, despite a slowing economy and indicators from the Federal Reserve suggesting otherwise. Through strong relationships and a solid pipeline, Foundry’s D&I platform closed 15 transactions totaling $1 billion in 2022. Taking into account a number of factors before launching this new vertical – including falling vacancies and rising rents – Foundry remains optimistic about the growth of the retail asset class in the near term.
The launch of Foundry’s Retail Investment platform closely follows the announcement that the firm recently hired retail powerhouse duo Carrie Bobb and Molly Marcum in Nashville, joining a team of more than a dozen talented retail brokers and specialists interspersed throughout the country.
Coe earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder before going on to get his M.B.A from Southern Methodist University. Gallo is a graduate of Washington & Lee University, where he received bachelor’s degrees in business administration and accounting. To contact Coe, email rick.coe@foundrycommercial.com. To contact Gallo, email matthew.gallo@foundrycommercial.com.