OVERVIEW
Mr. Jeff Swaney, President of Delphi Group, Inc., is a Michigan State
University Graduate (BS ’80 EGR) and Hewlett-Packard Alumni. Delphi
was started in 1987, and has been one of the preeminent Real Estate
firms active in Texas with well over $100MM in Brokerage and
Development projects completed to date. Jeff has also diversified into
other areas, including Angel Venture Investing, and Real Estate
Lending, nationally.
Jeff Swaney and the Delphi Group embrace Conscious Capitalism
principals. If you had to identify reasons for the Delphi’s success,
you'd find a fusion of elements such as a love of working with
talented and artistic people, a keen eye for fresh ideas that present
a message consistent with defined social-political beliefs, an intense
drive to meet objectives regardless of the obstacles, and a commitment
to the bottom line. Jeff believes that, “If I can't do something
truly outstanding and original that makes people think, then I'm not
interested in the project. If I make the commitment, it becomes an
obsession. That's the key to fulfillment and success." THE EARLY YEARS
Mr. Swaney’s earliest influence was a poetic mother who stressed
education first. College
at Michigan State University in East Lansing resulted in a B.S. in a
select Engineering / Marketing program with special interests in
quantitative marketing methodologies and the arts. Upon
completion of the program, Mr. Swaney sold his possessions and
embarked on a year long world-wide solo backpacking journey focusing
on cultural exchange, writing, photography, the outdoors and the arts.
The journeys he experienced in high school through his reading planted
the early seed that drove his post college travels around the world.
Collectively, these experiences continue to inspire Jeff’s
entrepreneurial spirit and passion for life.
Returning to the states, he accepted a commercial systems marketing
position with the Hewlett-Packard Company in Richardson, Texas. (HP
was recognized that year by Fortune magazine as the finest U.S.
company with which to work). After a 3-year tenure with HP, marked
with top producer awards and promotions, and passing on an HP paid MBA
at Stanford University, he opted for an entrepreneurial opportunity
with the Data Switch Corporation, a high-flying high-tech specialty
switching equipment manufacturer.
Finally, with the desire to strike out on his own, Jeff Swaney left
the corporate world to pursue his newfound passion – Downtown Dallas
and the undeveloped Deep Ellum district, on the city's East side.
Deep Ellum began in the late 1800’s as a freedman’s town and was a
nationally recognized center of jazz and blues music in the 1920’s and
30’s featuring such notables as Columbia Record’s Blind Lemon
Jefferson. But the area declined sharply in the years following World
War II with businesses and residents moving to the suburbs.
Until..... ENTERTAINER AND ENTREPRENEUR
Jeff Swaney began his entertainment career in his 20's in Deep Ellum
in June of 1985 with a series of roving "warehouse parties" where
various forms of entertainment, art, dancing, live music, bizarre
environmental displays etc, were the talk of the “see-and-be-seen”
crowd. In time, to accommodate the sheer numbers of patrons seeking
out these roving events, Mr. Swaney created a permanent locale for the
festivities - Club Clearview on Elm Street. Its tremendous success,
and the corresponding development of neighboring clubs and
restaurants, created the foundation for Deep Ellum’s growth as a
nationally recognized entertainment center.
The club and it’s siblings (The Art Bar & Caf (1989) the Blind Lemon
Bistro and Bar (1991)) were the undisputed pioneers of the Deep Ellum
/ Elm Street burgeoning nightlife scene, one of the most dynamic in
the country. The media dubbed Mr. Swaney the unofficial first “Mayor
of Deep Ellum.” The
Clearview complex closed in 2005 after a spectacular 20 year run.
During that period, Mr. Swaney also took on outside entertainment
consulting projects with clients including Lucasfilm Limited, The
Disney Development Company, and The Hahn Company. Mr. Swaney
also leveraged his music connections with Austinite Louis Meyers in
the early 80’s in creating the successful industry convention, South
by Southwest (SXSW). REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER and DEALMAKER
With the success of his entertainment complex gaining national
attention, Jeff started The Delphi Group Inc. Real Estate Services in
1988 to take advantage of the possibilities in Deep Ellum and downtown
Dallas. The Delphi Group quickly became and still is a leader in area
real estate brokerage, development, and leasing. In 1993, he took a
position with the Central Dallas Association on CDA's housing
committee to further urban living development in and around downtown
Dallas. He forged alliances in Urban Housing where Mr. Swaney and his
company consulted, leased, brokered, and / or developed over a dozen
multi-use and residential projects. (see list below)
In addition to the developments in downtown Dallas, Mr. Swaney
received accolades for the impact of the 1995 sale of ‘Village on the
Parkway’ in Addison, Texas which lead to the redevelopment of the
center, (Dallas Business Journal Best Deal “runner-up”), the 1996-97
deal with friend Mark Cuban on Yahoo!/Broadcast.com’s new Deep Ellum
headquarters, and the acquisition of multiple apartment renovation
projects (The "Upper E") in the East Dallas area.
In Deep Ellum, he fashioned a spectacular 2nd floor 6,000 sq. ft.
home/office loft and first floor real estate office and art studio in
a vintage 1940 two-story building on Commerce Street. It has been
featured in local tours including the 2006 Lofty Spaces tour
and national publications. RECENT
Through Delphi Group, Mr. Swaney has assembled one of the largest
portfolios of commercial property on the east side of downtown Dallas.
Continued efforts in the Deep Ellum area have yielded such successes
as Cafe Brazil, Deep Sushi, Ambassador Cellars, Skinz Car Wraps, The
Lizard Lounge, Pepe and Mito’s Mexican Cafe, The Curtain Club,
Airstar! Events Lighting, Vintage Wine Warehouse, KUL Design Studios,
TagTeam Creative, Glo Cleaners state of the art plant and
retail facility, and Yahoo! He also continues his work in urban
planning for the Deep Ellum neighborhood as it relates to new rapid
transit stations (www.dart.org) and
integrating a 7-mile stretch of bike-hike trail (East Dallas Veloway /
Santa Fe Trail) he has spent six years championing into a 28 mile loop
round the Dallas area.
East of the Deep Ellum area Jeff and his partners have purchased a
collection of period buildings between Peak and Carroll Streets in the
4300 & 4400 blocks of Elm Street.
He has coined the area "New East Elm", a former haunt of Dallas
legend Jack Ruby and supposed nexus of the underground gambling
rackets of the 1930's-40's.
Today's tenants there are an eclectic/artsy mix including
Victor's Cafe, Paper Arts, Doug Davis Photography, The Shamrock Hotel
Artists Co-op, Michael Ledoux Art Glass, Queen City Tattoo and the
studio of Pulitzer Prize winning artist Karen Blessen (www.29pieces.org)
with whom he collaborates on creative direction for the neighborhood.
In addition, Delphi has also broken out and has leveraged its
experience in taking on more assignments in brokerage, consulting and
lending in the DFW area, and nationally. Outside of real estate, Jeff has helped start a
stable of start-up businesses by providing angel venture capital,
including Advertickets, (sold in 2007,
www.advertickets.com ), Live
Oak State Bank, Stream Energy (one
of the fastest growing companies in Texas (www.streamenergy.net
), Open Labs of Austin (a cutting edge music/media platform creation
company – www.openlabs.com )
Applied SB (a mobile music, ticketing, and merchandise platform
www.appliedSB.com) and restaurant The Village Idiot of Los Angeles.
Mr. Swaney is also helping owners find short term capital for
their real estate projects via a Bridge Lending Program where he has
participated in originating and funding a number of asset-backed
loans.
Jeff has been working on a collection of original Deep Ellum art
spanning over 25 years, 34 artists and 46 pieces, for a planned show
entitled “Deep Ellum Dallas - Art and Artists - A 25-Year
Retrospective.” Many of
the artists featured are now represented nationally in museums across
the country including Dan Rizzie, Andy Bennett, Frank X Tolbert, and
Christian Schuman.
He purchased and renovated a home in Bend, Oregon where he helped
launch the Bend Film Festival in 2004 and where he recharges his
batteries, communes with nature and has begun work on his first book,
“Reality Check” a short, personalized stream of consciousness
exploration of modern philosophy.
In Bend, he has joined the Board of the Tower Theatre (www.towertheatre.org),
where he is involved in many aspects of its operation and promotion.
He wed his soulmate, Amanda Dyer, in May 2008, a fellow Texas realtor
and also Oregon Real Estate Broker (www.westbendrealtycompany.com).
They celebrated the arrival of their first child, Cozette, in
January of this year.
"Universe dynamics dictate change in every way. I keep a positive view
in regard to mankind and the planet and consider that we are evolving
to a better understanding of the whole. In my own way, I see my
work as a microcosm of this all-encompassing change. My efforts there,
thus far, and in the future, represent my mark."
Partial Client /
Transaction list as of 2010:
SELECTED RESIDENTIAL
PROJECT LIST :
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