A decades-long real estate executive in Dallas is taking on a new role, while keeping his player-coach mindset, by becoming an equity partner at Partners Real Estate and leading the firm's Dallas office in expansion plans.
JJ Leonard has joined the Houston-based real estate services firm that recently moved into an expanded office totaling nearly 9,000 square feet of space in 2515 McKinney Ave. in Uptown Dallas. In his new role, Leonard will continue to lease office space while also leading the Dallas team as managing director.
"I've come to help grow the Dallas market," Leonard told CoStar News. "I get to do what I love to do, which is lease space, while mentor and help other people grow. I also get to recruit talent."
The move comes after the Dallas-Fort Worth office market closed 2025 on a resilient note, positioning itself as one of the few major U.S. metropolitan areas with more space leased than given up in a challenging year for the sector, according to a CoStar analysis. Demand strengthened during the past year, driven by corporate relocations and expansions that helped offset earlier headwinds, the analysis found, with stricter attendance policies from large employers such as Caterpillar, AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Toyota and JPMorgan supporting stability.
Prior to joining Partners, Leonard held the title of partner with various executive roles during his tenure at Dallas-based Stream Realty Partners. He was at Stream for more than a decade, joining the firm in 2015. Leonard has also held broker stints at Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE and CapStar Commercial Real Estate Services during his career.
Leonard has clocked more than 24 years of commercial real estate experience after serving in the military. He served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years after he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
Building a team
In the past few years, Leonard said he noted some "very strong players" were joining Partners, and that put the firm on the map for him. This includes the addition of Chip Colvill and his team in Houston, as CoStar News reported last year, and Peter Mainguy, who will help lead Texas, CoStar News reported. In addition, Partners made a big expansion in Atlanta last year.
"Culture was also a huge piece for me," Leonard added. "This was an amazing opportunity to help the firm's Dallas office grow, while continuing to work in Dallas" as an office leasing broker for clients.
Leonard will lead the firm's day-to-day operations in North Texas.
In Leonard's career, he has closed over 10 million square feet of lease transactions with a value exceeding $2 billion. He has worked on behalf of clients, including New York Life Investors, Piedmont REIT, CBRE Global Investors and J.P. Morgan Asset Management in his career.
The addition of Leonard to lead the firm's Dallas office is "a testament to our strategic investment in top-tier talent to drive our expansion and enhance our service offerings in one of the nation's most dynamic real estate markets," said Partners CEO Jon Silberman in a statement.
Partners, one of the largest privately held, independently owned commercial real estate firms, also continues to grow its presence in the southeast United States and throughout the Sun Belt.