Niels Brown joined the city of Garland as real estate director on April 1. Brown brings more than two decades of real estate management and transactional experience ranging from small, private projects to full-scale multimillion-dollar, high-profile, public land acquisitions.
Most recently, he was the real property manager for the city of Fort Worth, where he was responsible for planning, organizing and directing all citywide real estate acquisitions, including managing city fee-owned and tax-foreclosed properties, negotiating lease terms and buy-outs for city use of private property, and acquiring right-of-way and easement properties for departmental capital projects.
Adept at negotiating project acquisitions to meet budget targets, Brown has been able to provide taxpayer savings throughout his tenure working in the public sector. His resourceful leadership and ability to balance stakeholder interests has resulted in the timely completion of public works projects, open space acquisitions and park expansions in addition to homeowner and tenant relocations. Prior to Fort Worth, Brown brokered real estate leases and acquired properties on behalf of developers, investors and a nonprofit land conservancy. His work to protect the vistas of Palo Duro Canyon State Park was recognized by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Brown holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance and a concentration in Real Estate from the University of Texas at Austin. He has been a been a member of the International Right of Way Association since 2016 and is a licensed Real Estate Broker and notary in and for the State of Texas.
Brown and his wife, Lisa, have two children, Natalie and Georgia. He enjoys traveling and playing tennis in addition to spending time with his family.
Information and photo provided by city of Garland.