24 Aug Betting Big on Texas: Expanding the Wildcat Paw Print

By Tanya Ragan

If you know Wildcat, you probably know us for Downtown Dallas.

Old buildings. Complicated land. Deals that require patience, persistence and, honestly, a little stubbornness.

That work built Wildcat — and it taught me how to recognize opportunity before it becomes obvious. But good real estate is not limited to one property type or one ZIP code.

Wildcat recently acquired a 7 Brew Coffee property in Livingston, Texas — our first Texas net lease of this kind. It looks very different from the projects people usually associate with us.

That is exactly why the deal matters.

A Texas Net Lease, and a Different Kind of Wildcat Deal

The Livingston property has a 15-year absolute triple-net ground lease. It adds stabilized, long-term income to our portfolio with a tenant already in place.

No century-old building needs restoration, and no complicated adaptive reuse plan needs solving. This property serves a different role in the portfolio.

Our redevelopment projects create value through transformation. This acquisition adds stability and income from day one.

I believe a strong real estate portfolio should do both.

Diversification does not mean walking away from what you know. It means using what you have learned to recognize more than one kind of opportunity.

Why Livingston?

Texas is much bigger than Dallas, Austin, and Houston. Some of the most interesting opportunities are emerging in regional markets where new investment is already beginning to change the landscape.

This Texas net lease sits along U.S. Highway 190 near a new H-E-B and Walmart. Nearby, the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas has broken ground on the approximately 685,000-square-foot Naskila Casino Resort, which is expected to bring more visitors and investment to the area.

Those are the kinds of signals I watch.

Markets whisper before they shout.

A new retailer opens. Infrastructure improves. Consumer traffic grows. One investment creates momentum for the next.

By the time everyone agrees a market is growing, the best opportunities may already be gone.

And yes, Dale and I had to stop by and try the coffee. The Iced S’mores and Strawberry Banana Freeze passed the test.

Expanding the Wildcat Map

Wildcat’s portfolio now includes several very different kinds of real estate.

At the historic Purse Building at 601 Elm Street, we took on restoring a Downtown Dallas landmark that had been overlooked for decades.

At 1823 Cadiz Street, we own strategically located land near the changing convention center and the Downtown Dallas development corridor.

At Castle Ranch in Mansfield, we saw the long-term potential of approximately 45 acres along the growing West Broad Street corridor.

Now, the Livingston acquisition adds a stabilized Texas net lease in a growing East Texas market.

They may look completely different, but I evaluate them the same way: location, demand, timing, and what is happening around the property.

Building From Our Roots

We are not leaving Downtown Dallas behind. Our work there taught us to recognize overlooked opportunities, navigate complex projects, and create value over time.

Now we are taking those lessons with us as Wildcat expands across Texas.

We are selectively evaluating additional properties and other well-located, single-tenant Texas net lease investments, while continuing to pursue the more transformational projects Wildcat is known for.

The goal is not to own more just for the sake of owning more. The goal is to build a diversified portfolio that can perform through different markets and different real estate cycles.

We are not limiting ourselves to one property type, one strategy, or one market.

Texas continues to grow, and that growth is reaching communities far beyond its biggest cities.

Wildcat is growing with it.

We’re betting big on Texas.