Gerald Douglas Hines (August 15, 1925August 23, 2020) was an American real estate developer based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. He was the founder and chairman of Hines, a privately held real estate firm with its headquarters in that city. At the time of his death, the company had assets in 25 countries.

Early life and education

Hines was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

,Houston History: "Who's Who - Gerald D. Hines"
retrieved April 15, 2015 on August 15, 1925, to Gordon and Myrte (née McConnell) Hines. His parents had moved to Gary from Nova Scotia in 1923. Hines was descended from British loyalists who fought in the Revolutionary War.Digital Houston Library: "Interview with Gerald Hines" Interviewed by Paul Hobby
December 13, 2007 He graduated with a bachelor in mechanical engineering from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

in 1948. He was then employed by American Blower Corp, and was subsequently transferred to

. After working at the company for several years, he went to work for Texas Engineering.

Career

Shortly after moving to Houston in 1948, Hines formed an engineering partnership and started a fledgling real estate business on the side. He established Gerald D. Hines Interests in 1957; its early projects included warehouses and small office buildings. Edgar L. Muller was his architectural engineer in the early years in an office Hines built on Richmond Avenue. His first large-scale commercial development came in 1967 when

Shell Oil Company Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...

hired Hines to construct a new downtown Houston headquarters.

The Galleria The Galleria, stylized theGalleria and also known as the Houston Galleria, is an upscale mixed-use urban development and shopping mall located in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, United States.Pennzoil Place Pennzoil Place is a set of two 36-story towers in Downtown Houston, United States. designed by Philip Johnson/John Burgee Architects from a concept by Eli Attia, a staff architect with the firm. Completed in 1976, it is Houston's most award-winni ...

, Transco Tower (now Williams Tower), and more than 900 developments would follow. The firm proceeded to branch out into Europe after the

fall of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...

there in 1989. It consequently completed projects in Spain, Italy, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Hines also served as chairman of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas covers the Eleventh Federal Reserve District, which includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico, a district sometimes referred to as the Oil Patch. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is one of 12 ...

from 1981 to 1983. Hines was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2001 for global leadership in engineering advancements that set the standard for innovative and efficient design in the commercial building industry. Hines subsequently passed control of the company to his son Jeffrey in 1990. A 2005 report by the Lipsey Company, recognized Hines as one of the largest real estate firms in the world, with operations throughout the U.S. and across the globe. Many of the firm's buildings were designed by well-known architects, including

I. M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the po ...

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, Frank Gehry, and Robert A.M. Stern. At the time of his death, the Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired, and managed for third parties includes more than 1,900 properties representing approximately of office, living/housing, mixed-use, industrial/logistics, hospitality, medical, retail, and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With controlled assets valued at approximately $144.1 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. As of 2016, his net worth equaled US$1.3 billion.

Philanthropy

Hines donated $7 million to the University of Houston's College of Architecture, which renamed the college the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture. He was one of the primary contributors in the construction of the Chabad Jewish Community Center in

Aspen, Colorado Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...

Personal life

In 1952, he married Dorothy Schwarz (died 2017) of the Schwarz family, founders of

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toys; they have two children: Jeff and Jennifer,Houston Chronicle: "Hines a towering influence on Houston landmarks - Hines is a towering influence on Houston landmarks From the Galleria to downtown skyscrapers, developer Gerald Hines reflects on triumphs" By Nancy Sarnoff
June 10, 2007 and divorced in 1980. In 1981, he married German-born painter Barbara Fritzsche, who had grown up in Australia, the daughter of

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

survivors. Together they had two children: Serena and Trevor. Hines died on August 23, 2020, at his home in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. He had celebrated his 95th birthday just over a week before his death.

Awards

* 1979: Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

* Hines has an

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as ...

competition and award named in his honor: the ULI/Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition. * 2000:

Honor Award The National Building Museum promotes excellence in architecture, engineering, construction, planning, and design. In furtherance of that mission, the Museum instituted an annual Honor Award in 1986 to recognize individuals and organizations that ...

from the National Building Museum * 2002 Urban Land Institute J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionary Urban Development * 2004: The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award from the

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings and sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States ...

* 2008: the first Visionary Leadership in Real Estate Development Award, a lifetime achievement award from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

* 2009: with his wife Barbara, the Guardian of the Human Spirit Award from the

Holocaust Museum Houston The Holocaust Museum Houston is located in Houston's Museum District, in Texas. It is the fourth largest holocaust museum in the U.S. It was opened in 1996. The Boniuk Center houses Holocaust Museum Houston's Education Department, including f ...

References

External links

WebsiteEmporis: Developments of Hines
* Hines, Gerald and Paul Hobby
Gerald Hines Oral History
Houston Oral History Project, December 13, 2007.
Interview with Gerald Hines 2013
William R. Jenkins Architecture and Art Library, University of Houston Digital Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hines, Gerald D. 1925 births 2020 deaths People from Gary, Indiana Businesspeople from Houston Purdue University College of Engineering alumni American chief executives Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American real estate businesspeople American philanthropists American people of British descent Hines Interests Limited Partnership