Customer Reviews

Trammell Crow: A Legacy in Real Estate Innovation

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Characteristic of authorized biographies, the reader quickly realizes that Crow's involvement was concerted and leads to a contrived book -- inspite of the author's claim in the Preface: "When Trammell asked me to write this book, I said that, to me, business histories usually fall into two types: sanitized, self-serving, documents blue-penciled by the company, and documents in which the author, unfettered, calls the facts as he sees them. 'What kind do you want?' [asked Crow] 'The second.' [answered the author]"

If the author chose the second, then he lacks the sophistication to follow-thru with that grand stand. On pg 3, he describes Crow's mother "... was a saint, tall, and beautiful, with such penetrating eyes..." Those are kind words for a woman he never met! Or on pg 39 concerning McFadden and Miller who were Crow's early general contractors, "over the long years of their association, they never had a disagreement." Even if we assume there were no lawsuits, the reader is left in disbelief. If the author just illustrated more through examples of this critical relationship, Crow's character would've been better portrayed and the objectivity and thoroughness of research more convincing.

The author fails to demonstrate any financial or business acumen when discussing Crow's projects or deal-making. On pgs 39-40, he describes Crow's first deal on Cole Street with rent "about 60 cents a square foot" and constructed "at four dollars a square foot". The reader can only question: 60 cents "per year"? construction cost includes financing? Land cost was diminished? How much leverage? What did McFadden and Miller make? Moreover, the round numbers and an implied 15% cap-rate in industrial properties (even then), only cause the reader to question the seriousness with which the author analyzes his subject and his understanding of real estate investment.

On pg 46, he lists 11 do/don't of the Crow Way. #5 states: "Depreciate enough to wipe out your income tax..." Then, #7 states: "Pay off debt out of income." This illustrates the sloppy writing of the author. Depreciation is a required accounting method, so there is no such thing as "enough", but what he probably meant to say is that Crow applied Accelerated Depreciate Rates as much as possible and did aggressive Cost Segregation on fixtures and fittings. If Depreciation wipes out income tax, then there would be no "income" to pay off debt... so what the author probably meant there was Net Cash Flow, Free Cash Flow, or Funds from Operations. Even if the author isn't a CPA, again, poor research leads to sloppy writing.

Regarding the two "types", the vast majority of biographies and business histories fall between these two extremes. And, good books are not simply black/white portraits. This book's simple depiction is demonstrative of the author's lack of and disregard for subtlies within Crow's life and overall story. This book is a mixture of verbalized spoon-fed recollections from Crow, anecdotal stories about business history, homespun 8th-grader-level simple writing style, and fairly poor business analysis. It is unfortunate because Trammell Crow must have a better story to tell and more colorful life to learn from. Don't buy this book.