Q&A with
JULIAN L. “KIKI” DEAYALA
Longhorns football legend turned real estate developer breaks ground on Phase II of high-end Islands of Rockport community. Tell us a little about your background?
into a different real estate career, and I thoroughly enjoy real estate developing.
I was the first American-born person in my family. My parents fled communist Cuba in 1959, and I was born in Miami in 1961. We lived in Miami, Dallas, and Rio De Janeiro Brazil, but we finally made Houston our home. That’s where I attended Houston Memorial High School. I entered the University of Texas in 1979 on a football scholarship, following in my brother Carlos’ footsteps. All five of my brothers graduated from UT.
Are there any principles you learned on the field that you apply to real estate development? You better be pretty tenacious, because you have a lot of competition out there. You better have a better mousetrap and a better piece of property and idea. You need to negotiate contracts with city and county officials, especially here on the water where you are dealing with the core of engineers. It’s all full contact; it’s just done in a suit and tie.
What records did you establish at UT that still stand?
What brought you to Rockport? In 1999, a buddy of mine said, ‘Hey, let’s go down to Rockport and go fishing.’ I had never been to Rockport and I really enjoyed myself. For the next eight years I was traveling here and having a good time. We were working on a project in Laredo, so this was a good halfway point to come up and go fishing. Then, in 2007, we had the opportunity to buy this property.
I hold the record for most career sacks and pressures and single season sacks and pressures. Also, I hold the record for most tackles for a loss of yardage in a single season. Did you have a pro football career? Both the United States Football League and the National Football League drafted me in the 1983 draft. I played two seasons in the USFL, earning 1st team USFL honors as a linebacker and played two more seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before ending my career in 1987. Have you stayed connected to the Longhorns football program? I would say that it’s hit or miss. Some people stay pretty close, especially if you are around Austin. I go back and watch about one or two games a year 20 the bend magazine
and every three or four years I’ll take a tour of the athletic facilities. I’ll talk to the coaches and see the athletic director; just show my face and say hello. For me, football was a wonderful time. It was a lot of work, a lot of sacrifices, and a lot of surgeries, too. I have had shoulder surgeries and had my knee replaced. Football is something that I did, but now I have moved on to other things.
How did you get involved with Real Estate development? I got my degree in advertising, but because of football, it’s hard to get a six-month job in the offseason. So I went and got my real estate license and then my broker’s license and ended up going into commercial real estate. So I pretty much transitioned right into commercial real estate. After about ten years, I got into developing. That just transitioned
[the lifestyle magazine of the coastal bend}
What does the future hold for Islands of Rockport? Phase I has been an incredible success, and we are planning now Phase II, which will hopefully break ground in a year. We are going to put in a wider canel and have a center with nice, high-end townhomes. There will be more of a resort-style hotel and we will do a mini marina. The area will be gated and more like a town center.