Gerald D. Hines, founder and chairman of the real estate firm Hines, passed away at 95 on Aug. 23. His son, Jeffrey C. Hines, who had been running the firm as president, will assume the role of chairman and CEO.
Hines, founded as a one-man firm in Houston in 1957, develops, owns, and manages residential and commercial properties worldwide. The company is currently active in 225 cities and 25 countries, with over 4,800 employees across all of its branches.
Hines has developed over 907 real estate projects across the world, including 100 buildings over 25 stories tall—among them the tallest office towers in Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Italy. Significant projects include a number of Houston landmarks—One Shell Plaza, The Galleria, Pennzoil Place, Bank of America Plaza, JPMorgan Chase Tower, and Williams Tower, as well as 53rd at Third in New York, 101 California in San Francisco, Porta Nuova in Milan, and EDF Tower in Paris.
Gerald D. Hines also partnered with a number of prominent architects for the company’s projects, including Lord Norman Foster; I.M. Pei and Harry N. Cobb; Cesar Pelli; Robert A.M. Stern; Frank O. Gehry; Jean Nouvel; Phillip Johnson; and John Burgee.
His leadership in sustainability has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Green Building Council, and Global Green USA, as well as similar organizations in South America, Europe, and Asia. He was the 2002 recipient of the Urban Land Institute’s Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development and is an honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
“Beyond his significant, impactful career and his pioneering contributions to architecture, sustainability, and the built environment, Dad felt his greatest achievement is the team of dedicated professionals who have, and will continue to, carry on his legacy of peerless quality, integrity, and innovation,” stated Jeffrey C. Hines.
Hines is survived by his wife, Barbara, as well as four children, 15 grandchildren, and one great-grandson.
