CHG International was an American

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to other ...

that rose to prominence in the 1980s, primarily in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. The company was formed in 1971 by

Henry Griffin Henry Griffin (1786 – 5 April 1866) was an eminent Irish people, Irish Anglican bishop in the mid 19th century. He was born in 1786 in Wexford and educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was the Incumbent (ecclesiastical), incumbent at List ...

and

Clint Hergert Clint may refer to: * Clint (name), a given name and a surname Places * Clint, North Yorkshire, a village in England * Clint, Texas, a town in the United States Fictional characters * Clint Barton, a superhero in American comic books published ...

and began buying up property in

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

in 1976. By 1980, the company had become the largest landowner in Downtown Seattle, with more than 40 properties valued at $1.4 billion. CHG signed a development agreement with the

Washington State Convention Center The Seattle Convention Center (SCC), formerly the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC), is a convention center in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It consists of two buildings in Downtown Seattle with exhibition hall ...

in 1983 to fund private development at the proposed convention center, in exchange for

air rights In real estate, air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the Earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by oth ...

on several downtown parcels. The deal collapsed in December 1984, when CHG filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

after its primary lender, Westside Federal Savings and Loan, backed out. The state government eventually bought out CHG's share of the development agreement.

References

{{US-company-stub 1971 establishments in Washington (state) Property management companies Defunct real estate companies of the United States