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Shawn Patterson never thought he’d be a builder, but he’s always had a knack for working with people.
Growing up in a ranching family in a small town in Texas, he first embarked on a career in the purebred cattle industry. He traversed across many states, devoted time and labor to the business, worked with an array of people, and even won some competitions along the way.
It wasn’t until a visit home did his career take an unexpected turn. “I didn’t know homebuilding would be my next opportunity in life,” Patterson says. “But I came home to visit my parents, and DR Horton’s vice president of construction was sitting at their table having dinner.”
Small talk gradually turned into professional discourse. At the time, Patterson didn’t have much experience building, but his grandad had been a custom homebuilder, he understood how to develop relationships, and he was familiar with a two-by-four.
Before dinner was finished, the VP offered him an opportunity. “If you ever want to move over here,” he told him, “I’ll give you a job as an assistant builder and you can work your way up.”
And he did. Patterson planted roots back in Texas and started his building career.
After 3 years at DR Horton learning the industry, he spent 13 years at Lennar Homes handling large volumes of business on upper-management teams. “I went through three mergers or acquisitions within four years,” Patterson says, “[so] I got to look under the hood of three different companies within a short period of time.” Not only did he adapt to ongoing change in the office, but he also interviewed for his position three times, evaluated talent make-up on three different teams, and built the most efficient processes for three professional frameworks.
So when Brookfield Properties was seeking a vice president of operations in Austin in 2020 to help double business, Patterson was a perfect candidate.
“Brookfield Asset Management is one of the largest real estate owners in North America. Being a part of that was a special opportunity for me,” Patterson says. With unique land positions across the globe, he was energized to join an innovative organization that exhibited healthy growth.
As VP of operations for Brookfield’s Austin division, Patterson oversees the vertical home construction, purchasing, estimating, starts, product development, customer care, design factions, and escrow teams in his department. He has nearly 60 employees under his purview and his team oversees each step of the homeownership process until the property is out of structural warranty 10 years after closing.
It’s a very exciting time for Patterson right now. They are developing two masterplans in the Austin Market: Easton Park and Kissing Tree. Easton Park is the largest masterplan community for this market, with 10,000 total lots and 330 sales per year. Kissing Tree is an active adult, age-restricted masterplan community in San Marques, Texas, with 3,500 total lots and about 300 sales per year.
As these communities get built in phases, Patterson and his team try to stay in front of the demand for lot development. “Ideally, we’re delivering lots to ourselves or our building partners just prior to them running out of their current lot supply.”
By controlling the rate at which they develop the lots within these masterplans, building can actively respond to market demand.
“Both masterplans [are branded] around this sense of community, fellowship, and friendship,” Patterson says. “Kissing Tree was a beautiful piece of rolling hill country, and Brookfield [turned that] into a great masterplan community”—golf course included. “Easton Park is the largest masterplan in Austin,” Patterson says. “[It] has the amenities customers are looking for when thinking about places to call home.”
Customer experience is Brookfield’s strongest commitment. For Patterson, that means putting the right people on the ship. His aim is to “[develop] a team of passionate, giving, caring, committed, competitive folks who make our customers a priority.”
A good team pays off; they’ve closed about 1,000 homes in Easton Park and another 700 in Kissing Tree. Patterson also maintains great relationships with his partners, notably building consultancy firm Veritas QA. “Our team is proud of our partnership with Shawn Patterson and Brookfield. Having known and worked with Shawn for nearly 20 years, I have always appreciated his leadership style,” says Donnie Cunningham, principal of Veritas. “Shawn is gifted with a unique and steady balance of high expectations mixed with boots-on-the-ground experience for each team he leads. I’m glad to call him a friend.”
Patterson’s leadership style is supportive and accountable. He includes his teams in planning discussions, empowers them to set their own goals, and encourages them to make decisions about growth and profit margins. “Instead of telling my team members how to do their job, I prefer to let them do it the way they think is [most successful], and then my job is to give them the tools to do that,” he says.
As for Patterson, the inspiration comes from within. He says, “There’s not really any other industry in the world where you have the ability to take a piece of dirt and in a relatively short time period build somebody’s dream.”
Looking to the future, Patterson expects nothing but growth. He aspires to help continue establishing Brookfield’s housing footprint in Houston, Dallas, and hopefully all of Texas. No matter what unfolds, he will forge opportunity into the open land ahead.
Wolfe Insulation joins in celebrating Shawn Patterson and Brookfield Properties! We are proud of our partnership with Shawn and the team and are excited to do continued business together. Wolfe Insulation is a full-service insulation contractor serving the Central Texas Area. It is our goal to educate the consumer about the benefits of properly installed insulation, and advanced air sealing for maximum comfort, efficiency, durability, and control.
U.S. Ecologic is proud to support Brookfield RP in its endeavor to build sustainable and energy-efficient homes for the Austin community. We work as its trade partner to assist the company with tight building envelopes, proper ventilation, and energy-efficient performance of their mechanical systems. We enjoy Brookfield’s partnership and look forward to helping the company move forward in the dynamic world of home construction.
Timberlake Site Services: “Timberlake Site Services has always enjoyed our working relationship with Shawn Patterson. He is an outstanding professional that is clear in his vision and direction, which makes it easier to align our goals and produce the best products and services in the industry. Congrats, Shawn!”—Danny Davis, President of Sales & Estimating
Congratulations Shawn Patterson and Brookfield Properties for this well-deserved recognition in American Builders Quarterly. We are proud to partner with you and look forward to continued work together. Copeland Engineering is a structural engineering firm servicing the greater Austin area. Our primary focus is residential construction and light commercial services. Our passion is engineering and supporting the people in the industry! Learn more here.
