Gerald D. Hines, an Indiana engineer who became a towering figure in real estate development by collaborating with world-renowned architects on projects from Barcelona to Beijing and in his adopted hometown of Houston, died Sunday in a family home in Connecticut. He was 95.
Hines, which launched its one-man shop in Houston in 1957, developed billions of dollars worth of real estate around the world, influenced generations of builders and left a lasting mark on the world’s top cities.
The founder and chairman of the Hines company was one of the first developers looking to hire architects, proving that tenants would flock to top-quality buildings, even in a down-market. He took the bar for commercially intangible goods by showing that quality and financial success are mutually achievable.
A pivotal point in his career that gave him access to new markets and deep-pocket investors came in the mid-1960s when his firm co-founded the 50-story One of Shell Plaza of Houston and the Galleria shopping center. developed.
Hines continued to shape the downtown skyline with a series of notable towers: Pennzoil Place, the former Bank of America building and 600 Travis (also known as JPMorgan Chase Tower), Houston’s tallest building on 75 stories .
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When his firm Williams Tower (formerly Transco Tower) was completed in 1983, the 64-story building was the longest structure outside a central business district in the United States. The building has an adjoining three-acre park with a 64-foot water wall, a helicopter and a revolving beacon of light on top of the peak of the roof.
Hines developed friendships with many of the architects who designed his buildings. For his 90th birthday, he joined seven of them to discuss design and development at a public architecture forum at Huston’s Hobby Center. Hines sat next to A. Eugene Kohn, Henry Cobb, John Burgee, Cesar Pelli, Robert AM Stern, Jon Pickard and Art Gensler who talked about the great influence of Hines on commercially immovable property. The event attracted an audience of more than 2,000.
“Our best work was for Gerry Hines,” said Burgee, who along with the late Philip Johnson designed several buildings for Hines, said on the forum.
Paul Goldberger, a Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic, contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a former columnist for the New York Times and the New Yorker, told the Houston Chronicle in 2015 that he viewed Hines as the opposite of real estate developer and now-president Donald Trump .
“If Donald Trump is one extreme, Gerry Hines is quite on the other end,” Goldberger said. ‘He is ridiculous, thoughtful, understated and unpretentious. He’s kind of the un-Trump. ”
Hines has long been a proponent of building more homes in downtown Houston. The company is building its second apartment tower there. The building, a 46-story tower called the Preston, is underway at 414 Milam near Preston. Hines is also building Texas Tower, a 47-story office building on the 800 block of Texas Avenue, where the company plans to relocate its global headquarters.
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Born on August 15, 1925 in Gary, India, Hines attended Purdue University with a degree in mechanical engineering. He took a job at American Blower Corp. and was later transferred to Houston. A few years later he joined Texas Engineering.
Hines bought his first Houston building on Anita Street in Midtown, long replaced by townhomes. In the 1960s, he developed about a dozen buildings on Richmond Avenue.
He was known for an obsession with small details and big challenges. He sought out difficult developments, knowing that others would prevent them.
One Shell Plaza was the heaviest reinforced concrete structure in the world when it was completed. The Galleria, built on what was then a prairie, was modeled after the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele of Milan. The ice rink was added to increase lease on the basement floor by attracting traffic there.
In 1990, Hines handed over the reins of the company to his son, Jeffrey Hines. The company expanded worldwide, venturing to Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Projects follow in Spain, Italy, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
The Hines company has built a portfolio of $ 133 billion in assets under management in 25 countries, including $ 71 billion for which Hines serves as an investment manager. The company has more than 4,800 employees.
In 1997, Hines donated $ 7 million to the School of Architecture at the University of Houston, which now bears his name. He remained active as he got older and was an avid skier until the 1980s.
In his second marriage, Hines married Barbara Fritzsche in 1981. The couple has two children, Serena and Trevor. Hines and his first wife, Dorothy Schwartz, had two children, Jeff and Jennifer, before they divorced.
Hines is survived by his wife, Barbara, his four children, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Hines will be laid to rest in a private family ceremony in Aspen, Colo. A celebration of his life will be held at a future date if it is safe to meet.
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