A LANDMARK CHANGE Brad Saville’s 26 years at top of real-estate company gives way to Kevin Dreiling

Kevin Dreiling will soon be on the other side of the transaction as the new president of Landmark Commercial Real Estate.

He joins Landmark after a 20-year career with the Wichita-based Restaurant Management Co., where he oversaw real estate and development of its franchise brands. Dreiling, a native of Wichita, will take over the position in January.

“I just felt like the situation was right,” he said. “I’ve had the experience being on the other side of the brokerage and hopefully I can lend experience to that.”

Brad Saville, who founded Landmark in 1993 and has served as president since, will take on a new role as CEO.

But Saville makes it clear: He isn’t going anywhere.

“I intend to remain very active on a day-to-day basis, working with clients and development projects,” he said.

The move marks a new chapter for a growing company, which is second on the WBJ’s list of commercial real-estate brokerages with 27 employees.

“I was getting called in a lot of those different meetings and being the catalyst or the glue to make those things work. We just got to the point where we want to continue the growth and want to continue to work on all those projects but didn’t want to neglect what we’ve built.” BRAD SAVILLE, on the addition of Kevin Dreiling as president to oversee the continued growth in sales, leasing, development and site selection for Landmark Commercial Real Estate.

Landmark has experienced year-over-year growth in sales and staff, Saville says, and is one of the largest full-service commercial real-estate companies in Kansas with 30 employees going into 2020. The company has landed some of the biggest retail deals in Wichita and is increasingly starting to dip its feet into major mixed-use developments happening in Wichita.

“We need a visionary to keep pressing ahead every day with our growth plans,” Saville said.

Landmark, though, has humble beginnings.

Saville was studying real estate at Wichita State University when he started his own firm almost 30 years ago. In those early years it was just Saville.

“The first year I can remember sitting in the living room licking hundreds of envelopes, and then taking them all to the post office to try and promote the company or somebody’s property,” he said.

He built the company slowly, adding one or two new agents each year. At first it wasn’t glamorous, Saville said, but his small team of agents found its stride.

Relationships are what led to Landmark’s growth — “you don’t need a lot of clients you just need a few good ones” was a motto Saville said he lived by. And eventually Landmark started to land major retailers new to the Wichita market.

Many of its early projects were in west Wichita, such as the 26-acre development at Central Park Place off Maize Road between 21st and 29th streets. That’s anchored by Academy Sports, Lowe’s, Home Goods and Five Below. Landmark also secured Menards just down the street at its 40-acre shopping development at 37th and Maize.

Out east, Saville’s team has handled the leasing and sales of several notable Waterfront properties at 13th and Webb, including Whole Foods, Abuelo’s, P.F. Chang’s and the Old Spaghetti Factory.

The company represented Cabela’s in the Regency Lakes Shopping Center, putting together an incentive package with the outdoor retailer to fund the diamond interchange at K-96 and Greenwich that ultimately kickstarted growth in the area.

Besides retail, Landmark’s Ted Branson has been a leader in the industrial sector, helping Johnson Controls secure its 400,000-square-foot warehouse distribution center in Park City in 2018.

Downtown, Landmark recently developed the mixed-use Spaghetti Works District, including a 41-unit apartment building and 70,000 square feet of commercial space.

Things were getting busy.

“I was getting called in a lot of those different meetings and being the catalyst or the glue to make those things work,” Saville said. “We just got to the point where we want to continue the growth and want to continue to work on all those projects but didn’t want to neglect what we’ve built.”

Dreiling isn’t new to real estate; he has 30 years of experience in the industry. And he’s known Saville for about 25 years.

As the chief development officer and director of real estate at Restaurant Management Co., he oversaw site selection, construction and development of its franchise YUM brands, including Pizza Hut and KFC. The company has 135 stores in 10 states, but none of them are in Kansas.

“I just felt like the situation was right,” Dreiling said. “I think that my skill set is one that complements his skill set and I feel like my opportunity here and the goals that they have for me is to hopefully be a guiding force and be a little bit of a leader in the company. And just try and see if we can move ahead and reach the things that Brad’s wanted to reach for since the beginning.”

As CEO and founder, Saville says he will take on a more boots-on-the-ground approach, interacting with clients and working more hands-on with current and future projects. Saville said the focus will continue to be on Wichita, but that he’d like to look at development projects across the Midwest. And Landmark will continue to work with clients that want to acquire real estate beyond Kansas, he says.

In his new role, Dreiling will oversee the continued growth in sales, leasing, development and site selection. He also plans to expand the property management division of Landmark — the company already manages about 50 properties.

“The goal is to grow — smart growth,” Dreiling said. “And to continue to build the Landmark company and the brand and see how far we can expand.

By Shelby Reynolds  – Reporter, Wichita Business Journal