As Land Tejas co-founder and owner, Al Brende is one of the industry’s most successful visionaries. Working with his late partner Courtney Grover, Mr. Brende brought a unique concept to the Houston housing market in 1997: guard-gated communities with homes priced from the low $100’s. His accomplishments include the development of nearly 20 communities in the Greater Houston area, including three that have reached national prominence.

A native of Washington State, Mr. Brende entered the building industry as a custom home builder in California. What began as a project building his family home soon became a multi-home expansion as buyers began approaching him. His reputation as a smart and thoughtful home builder travelled fast in the Palos Verdes area, and soon he had a thriving building company.

That experience took Mr. Brende to Arizona and Nevada, where there was more land and a fluid approach to home-building and developing. It was a time of rapid growth in the Las Vegas/Reno area, and it was here that Mr. Brende began his career as a land developer. His company grew and his communities prospered, despite a nationwide slowdown in real estate development.

By the mid-90’s there were strong signs of recovery, and one particular region caught Al Brende’s attention. He found that Houston offered an abundance of land amidst a buyer’s market. He also found there was an absence of many popular building concepts that had become cutting-edge in Nevada and Arizona. Once he became familiar with Houston’s pro-growth building climate, Al Brende had no trouble deciding to make this his new home.

In this vibrant, new market, Al Brende made innovation a central component. Beginning with the First Community Powered by IBM in 1998 at Canyon Gate at Cinco Ranch, each new project featured the latest advances in technology and recreation. Land Tejas communities were the first to offer low-voltage wiring as a building standard, fiber-to-the-home internet, and a community-wide solar program as part of General Electric’s Ecomagination program. The first splash pad in Houston was built at Stone Gate in 2003, with variations built into each new community going forward. In 2017, construction will begin in Balmoral on Houston’s first world-class amenity sensation, Crystal Lagoon.

Drawing from his experience in previous developments, Mr. Brende established the Adopt-a-School program for all Land Tejas communities starting in 1997. The program is designed to lend a helping hand to schools affected by the influx of so many new families moving into Land Tejas communities. As each lot and home are sold, matching donations from the homebuyer, builder and developer are placed in a trust fund for that community’s schools and is distributed to a specified Adopt-a-School recipient each year.

Under Al Brende’s leadership, Land Tejas has become one of the largest developers of master-planned communities in the Houston area. During its 20-year history, Land Tejas has developed homes for more than 25,000 families, encompassing nearly 12,000 acres of land. Projects include the original Canyon Gate Communities, Stone Gate, Canyon Lakes West and Miramesa at Canyon Lakes West, one of the nation’s top-selling communities. Current projects include Lago Mar, Harmony, Sterling Lakes, Etteridge and Wedgewood Forest, Vanbrooke and Balmoral.

Mr. Brende has been honored many times for his philanthropy throughout Houston. Land Tejas was named Developer of the Year in 2000 by the Greater Houston Builders Association. In 2016 Mr. Brende was honored by the GHBA for donating a record-breaking 17 lots to support their annual Benefit Home program.

James Henrie joined Land Tejas in 2001 after working with Eagle Mortgage Company based in Las Vegas. There he acquired the expertise needed for all aspects of real estate financing, including loan analysis, investor relations and real estate liquidation. During his tenure with Land Tejas, Mr. Henrie has worked as Project Manager overseeing the development of some of the company’s largest master-planned communities and as Director of Land Acquisition and Development. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Henrie oversees a number of responsibilities, including feasibilities, proformas, budget management, construction oversight, investor relations, operations, sales and marketing activities, and the overall growth of the company.

Melanie Ohl brings nearly 30 years of experience to the Land Tejas team. Since joining Land Tejas in 2005, Ms. Ohl has served as Controller with direct responsibility for all accounting, payroll, office management, cash management and financial matters. Now as Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Ohl’s duties now include all financial planning, financial reporting and banking relations. In her prior experience, Ms. Ohl served in capacities such as Controller, Accounting Manager and Supervisor for a variety of businesses in the Houston Metropolitan Area.

Uri Man is Executive Vice President at Land Tejas, focusing on Mixed-use Projects and Commercial Land Sales. As a member of the company’s loan committee, Mr. Man is jointly responsible managing overall resources in optimizing project profi tability. He oversees amenity design and construction and is the Land Tejas spokesperson for matters pertaining to investor proposals, government officials, builders and the media. Mr. Man previously led Crystal Lagoons® US Corp., a company that licenses its patented technology to land developers incorporating their amenity. He has been entrenched in real estate development since 2002, primarily in the development of apartments and mixed-use projects. Additionally, Mr. Man has served on the Urban Land Institute (ULI) National Community Development Council. He received a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley.

Joining Land Tejas nearly 20 years ago, Collin Campbell is responsible for all aspects of project management. These include cost analyses, project projection, budget control, contract administration, local, state and federal approvals and construction supervision. Prior to working for Land Tejas, Collin served as development director for large organizations, including McCord Development Communities, Kaufman & Broad and Glenn Loggins, Inc.

Jeff Sheehan is responsible for the conceptual development, design, and installation of each community’s amenities. At Land Tejas, Mr. Sheehan has personally overseen the installation of more than $20 million of community features, including recreation complexes,  guard gates, landscaping and parks. Before joining Land Tejas, he served as golf course developer for Renditions Golf Group and Landscapes Unlimited. Mr. Sheehan is a life member of the PGA of America where he has served as General Manager, Director of Golf and Golf Course Superintendent.

Having worked for Houston’s top real estate advertising agencies as both account supervisor, writer and graphic designer, Susan Brown brings valuable marketing experience to the Land Tejas team. Ms. Brown’s impressive client list has included leading builders and developers such as Friendswood Development Company’s Kingwood, Cinco Ranch and Greatwood. Her primary focus is advertising and marketing for each Land Tejas community as well as the Land Tejas corporate branding strategy. In 2018 Ms. Brown received the Marketing Director of the Year Award from the Greater Houston Builders Association Sales and Marketing Council.

Tim Johnson has worked in the new home building industry for over a decade.  He is also an award winning television producer and marketing professional.  He has significant experience in creating unique marketing and advertising plans to help promote new home communities to Houston’s home shoppers.  At Land Tejas, Mr. Johnson helps oversee client relations and deliver customer support to the new home builders that currently sell homes in Land Tejas communities.  He also helps oversee current marketing efforts and give direction to future initiatives.  Tim Johnson graduated from Baylor University with bachelor’s degree in communication.

Josh Wadley recently joined Land Tejas as Project Manager, with a focus on land acquisition. He brings nearly 10 years of experience, most recently with one of the nation’s largest homebuilders. There he built critical relationships with brokers, developers, engineers, planners, as well as with other builders across the Houston area. His expertise includes both market and financial analysis and a deep understanding of the local market environments across Houston.

Shamar O’Bryant is the Project Manager for new Land Tejas development acquisitions. He has more than 13 years of experience in residential land sourcing, due diligence, creative financing, feasibility modeling and lot purchase and sale contracts. A licensed professional engineer in the State of Texas, Mr. O’Bryant has extensive experience in engineering and architectural design management, as well as budget and construction management. Mr. O’Bryant formerly held the positions of Vice President of Land at SeD Home Texas, Vice President of Land at Signorelli Company and Project Manager at Friendswood Development Company. Mr. O’Bryant holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University.