HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Gerald D. Hines celebrated his 95th birthday last week.
Mr. Hines founded his real estate company in Houston in 1957. Over the decades his firm’s skyscrapers have become defining features of city skylines worldwide. His hotels and residences offer places for rest and reflection, while his public plazas and retail centers create inviting spaces for community life.
A few years ago, Houstonian Rusty Bienvenue, then executive director of the American Institute of Architects, called Hines the world’s “most important” developer. “We’re fortunate that he calls Houston home and has done some of his best projects here,” Bienvenue said. “Most architects study his Pennzoil Place and the Galleria in architecture school. He understands a commercial building is not just a container. If you make it beautiful, it will draw in a higher rent value.”
Consider Pennzoil Place in downtown Houston. Hines rejected the era’s architectural sameness with this bold design: two trapezoidal towers clad in dark glass. Completed in 1975 and designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, Pennzoil Place was named Building of the Decade by New York Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable. The building even attracted pop artist Andy Warhol, who visited Houston to photograph it.
Pennzoil Place proved a critical point: corporate tenants will pay a premium to occupy buildings with outstanding architecture. The project sent ripples through the industry and helped raise the architectural bar in cities around the world.
Hines operates in 205 cities across 24 countries. To date, the company has developed, redeveloped, or acquired 1,393 properties totaling 459 million square feet.
Not bad for an Indiana native who arrived in Houston with a slide rule, an engineering degree from Purdue, and only a few dollars in his pocket. Early on he lived at the YMCA while getting established and gradually built a portfolio of smaller projects across the city.
Around 1970, he took on two major developments nearly at once: The Galleria and the One Shell Plaza office tower. The 50-story One Shell Plaza, now known as 910 Louisiana, was far taller than anything he had attempted before. By succeeding with both projects, he passed a rigorous double test—earning international recognition and substantial commercial success.
Houstonians embraced these new landmarks. Families flocked to the three-level Galleria for shopping and its ice-skating rink, and many took pride in working at One Shell Plaza.
The Hines company continues to shape Houston’s built environment. The firm’s 47-story Texas Tower in downtown is roughly halfway to completion, and a new outdoor plaza designed by HOK is being developed at the 75-story Hines building adjacent to the city’s theater district.
A few years ago at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., the late President George H.W. Bush offered praise for Mr. Hines, saying, “Gerald Hines envisioned Houston as a city of beautiful buildings.”
Indeed, Gerald D. Hines has helped build many such places, leaving a lasting imprint on Houston and cities around the world.
Aug 18, 2020 Realty News Report Copyright 2020
File: Gerald D. Hines turned 95
File: Gerald D. Hines turned 95 last week. He founded the real estate firm in 1957.
