Former American shopping center development company
Homart Development Company, a Chicago-based subsidiary of Sears, was one of the largest builders of shopping centers and malls in the United States from 1959 to 1995.
As retail development in the United States shifted away from downtowns with the growth of suburbia after World War II, some major department stores such as Sears moved into the business of developing malls in which to place new anchor tenant locations.[1] Homart Development Company was founded in 1959 for the purpose of building regional shopping malls for Sears.[2] The "Homart" brand name had been used by Sears for many years before the development company was founded.[3]
Seminary South Shopping Center in Fort Worth was their first project.[4][5]
By 1971, Homart was operating nine regional shopping locations, and had numerous others in development.[6] It became the nation's second largest mall developer,[7] and by 1992 it was reported that Homart had developed 80 malls with over 75,000,000 square feet (7,000,000 m2) of retail space.[8] By 1994, it was also operating 36 of those developed malls.[9]
In November 1994, Sears announced that it planned to sell off Homart as part of a restructuring.[10]General Growth Properties completed an acquisition of Homart in late 1995 in a transaction valued at $1.85 billion, then one of the biggest real estate deals in history.[11][12][13] Homart also owned a number of office buildings which were also sold in 1995.[14]
Management
Sears executive Emory Williams was the first president of Homart. Warren G. Skoning was appointed president in 1967,[15] and elected as chairman in 1974.[16] Also serving as vice-president of real estate development for Sears, Skoning was involved in the development of the Sears Tower.[17][18][19] W.E. Lewis was named president in 1974 when Skoning became chair.[16]
Edwin Homer, former president of Chrysler Realty, joined as president in 1980, later became chair and CEO, and served until his retirement in 1984.[20][21][22] Homer diversified Homart's portfolio by developing office properties and community centers, in addition to malls, and also sold some of Homart's malls to generate additional profit for Sears.[21]
In 1985, Michael J. Gregoire was named president and COO, and he also became chairman in 1987.[23][24]
Notable projects
Notable shopping centers developed by Homart include:
An open-air mall which opened in March 1962. It was sold by Homart in 1985. It was renovated and enclosed, and reopened as the Fort Worth Town Center in 1987,[25][26][27][28][29] and then as "La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth" in 2004.[30]
The Nanuet Mall in Rockland County New York opened in 1969- 101 stores anchored by Sears and Bambergers, (first enclosed mall in the county and about 25 miles from Manhattan).
References
^White, John R. & Gray, Kevin D. Shopping Centers and Other Retail Properties: Investment, Development, Financing, and Management p.61-62 (1996) (ISBN978-0471040026)
^Suchman, Diane R. Managing a Development Company (Urban Land Institute 1987)("Homart was established in 1959 for the purpose of developing regional shopping malls.")
^Jim Zarroli (April 19, 2009). "Retail Real Estate Braces For Sell-Off". National Public Radio. Retrieved March 7, 2010.("General Growth made a number of high-profile acquisitions of shopping malls in every part of the country. Some of General Growth's biggest included: the $1.85 billion acquisition of Homart Development Co. from Sears Roebuck in 1995, said to be one of the largest real estate transactions in history at the time")
^"Warren G. Skoning, Sears official, dies". Chicago Tribune. February 22, 1980. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2010.("Mr. Skoning was co-chairman of the building committee for Sears Tower and had much of the responsibility for the construction of the mammoth skyscraper...")
^Kowinski, William Severini. The Malling of America (2000 ed.) (ISBN978-1401036768)(Kowinski incorrectly identifies Homer as "Ernest," but notes his appearance at an ICSC conference in the early 1980s: "There was affable Ernest Homer, head of Homart, the developing arm of Sears — the largest retailer and biggest advertiser in the country — who handed out a business card that was also bigger than anyone else's.")
^Nagelberg, Alvin (September 13, 1971). "Woodfield Mall: Land Price Boom". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2010.("Woodfield Mall, the world's largest shopping center, opened last week in Schaumburg, 25 miles northwest of Chicago")
^^ Jump up to: a b "Vista Ridge Mall celebrates grand opening in Lewisville". Dallas Morning News. 1989-10-05. "Vista Ridge Mall, a joint venture by Homart Development Co., Herring Marathon Group Inc. and JCP Realty Inc., celebrated its grand opening Wednesday in Lewisville. Located on Stemmons freeway, Vista Ridge was completed under a two-phase development with national and local stores, restaurants, a 12-cinema complex and upon completion, six major department stores. The shopping center is currently anchored by Sears Roebuck and Co. and Dillards Department Stores."
