Sage Partners co-founder Tommy Van Zandt dies

Thomas “Tommy” Van Zandt, a “greatly respected” commercial real estate executive and entrepreneur who was involved in many large property developments in Northwest Arkansas, died Monday (Sept. 16). He was 65.

According to his obituary, his death marked 15 years to the day since his return home from spinal cord rehab following a life-altering accident that left him a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. Following the 2009 ice storm, Van Zandt fell from a ladder while cleaning debris in the backyard of his Fayetteville home and was immediately paralyzed from the neck down.

In 2005, Van Zandt co-founded Sage Partners, which has grown into a leading commercial real estate brokerage in Northwest Arkansas and joined the Cushman & Wakefield alliance in 2018. His obituary shows his most important “deal” was his recent negotiation of space for his church, Christ Church in Fayetteville.

Tom Allen, president of Cushman & Wakefield / Sage Partners in Rogers, met Van Zandt in college. He was older, but they were in the same fraternity, Phi Delta Theta.

“He’s just the most remarkable and inspiring person to work with,” Allen said. “He was just a joy to be around. Before his accident, his injury, he was the same person, very active and very good at what he does professionally. But as a person, a very caring person. After his accident, he was never like, ‘Woe is me.’ He was never like, ‘Why me?’ That was what the Lord had in plans for him, and he rolled with the punches and never questioned what his situation was. He had a great attitude and proceeded on with life as best as he knew how.”

Allen got to know Van Zandt while working in commercial real estate and during Allen’s time at Hunt Ventures. In 2016, Hunt Ventures, Capital Properties and Sage Partners merged, keeping the name Sage Partners.

“At that point, during the negotiations to merge and thereafter, Tommy and I became very close,” Allen said. He added that Van Zandt “was very well respected in the real estate community of the DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) area. That’s where he cut his teeth, so to speak, in the real estate profession out of college and going there. Then, he decided to come home and came to Fayetteville and started working here. Even up until he passed away, he was greatly respected as someone who knew real estate, and he would be someone that I would ask questions for advice. He was always anxious to participate and to help…

“He was always wanting to help everybody else. He was always looking to see if you were OK,” said Allen, adding that Van Zandt would often follow up with people via phone calls throughout the day to see how they were doing. “He was genuine about it. He wanted to know everybody at the company. He wanted to know their name, what they did, and if we ever hired somebody that he wasn’t aware of…he was wanting to know, ‘Who is that person? I want to get to know them.’ He took a great interest in people, just out of a genuine desire to get to know people.”

Van Zandt was born July 24, 1959, in Little Rock to Annella Humphreys and Jerry Bryan Van Zandt. He spent his formative years in Fort Smith and attended the University of Arkansas. After graduation, he moved to Dallas to pursue a career in the oil industry before transitioning to commercial real estate. In 2000, he and his young family moved to Arkansas and built a business in Fayetteville.

He was preceded in death by his father. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Robyn, two sons, mother and sister.

The funeral will be 2 p.m. Monday (Sept. 23) at Christ Church, located in the former Sears store at Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville. Burial will follow at Fairview Memorial Gardens in Fayetteville. Nelson-Berna of Fayetteville is handling arrangements. Memorials can be made to The Robyn and Tommy Van Zandt Award for Nursing c/o University of Arkansas Foundation Gift Administration, 481 S. Shiloh Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72704 or to Christ Church.

Link here for the obituary.