In 2010, Tom Terkel founded FourT Realty with his daughter, Taylor, to develop retail and urban infill communities that create sustainable business marketplaces. Tom’s 30 years of commercial and mixed-use real estate experience in Austin spanned two full economic cycles. He brought exceptional market knowledge and insight to every project and has an extensive background in asset operations.
Prior to FourT, Tom founded Cencor Urban, a development company focused on mixed-use/retail projects in Austin. While there, he was the master developer for the Triangle, a 1.3-million-square-foot mixed-use community in north central Austin, and developed 190,000 square-feet of retail and residential space in the project’s first phase, which opened in 2008.
In 1989, along with Herb Weitzman and seven others,Tom formed The Weitzman Group and Cencor Realty Services. For 12 years, he ran the Austin office for the two companies and developed or re-developed 14 different projects, totaling more than two million square feet. Before that, Tom practiced real estate law with the firm of Jenkens and Gilchrist in Dallas from 1979 to 1984, and later, having moved to Austin, worked for Herb Weitzman, while they were with Henry S. Miller Commercial.
Throughout his career, Tom was active in a variety of professional and civic organizations, including the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and served on the boards of the YMCA of Austin, the Austin Family House, and two mayor-appointed task forces – the Comprehensive Watershed Ordinance Task Force and the Bond Election Advisory Committee for the City of Austin’s $560-million bond package in 2006.
Tom served as one of several chairmen of Zach Theatre’s $22-million capital campaign to build the Topfer Theatre, also serving as Chair of the Building Committee during the pre-construction phase of the project. He was named an honorary life member of the Zach Theatre Board in 2007. He co-founded the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) in 1991, received the Gary Farmer Commendation of Excellence Award from the organization in 2007 and served as board president in 2008. Tom also participated on the board of ECHO (Ending Community Homelessness Organization), but his recent philanthropic efforts were focused on the Waller Creek Conservancy, where he served as a board member.