Homart Development Company

Homart Development Company
Name	Homart Development Company
Type	Subsidiary (former)
Industry	Real estate development, shopping mall development
Founded	1959
Fate	Acquired by Grosvenor Group?

Homart Development Company Homart Development Company was a major United States shopping mall developer and real estate subsidiary notable for creating regional and community shopping centers across the United States. Founded in the late 1950s, it became associated with a large corporate retailer and later was divested during a period of consolidation in the real estate investment sector. Homart's portfolio included enclosed malls, open-air centers, and mixed-use redevelopment projects that shaped suburban retail patterns during the postwar era.

History

Homart originated during a period of rapid suburbanization alongside companies such as Sears, Roebuck and Company, J.C. Penney, Marshall Field's, Macy's, and Montgomery Ward. The firm expanded during the 1960s and 1970s amid competition from developers like Taubman Centers, Rollins], [, Simon Property Group, Macerich, and Crown American. Its growth coincided with transportation investments exemplified by the development of Interstate 94, Interstate 90, Interstate 35, Interstate 80, and regional airports like O'Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. During the 1980s, Homart navigated market shifts influenced by events such as the 1987 stock market crash and policy changes like the Tax Reform Act of 1986. By the 1990s, competition from firms including Westfield Group, Taubman Centers, GGP Inc. (formerly General Growth Properties), and Simon Property Group reshaped retail real estate. High-profile contemporaries and tenants included Nordstrom, Sears Tower-area retailers, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, and regional chains such as Belk and Dillard's.

Business Model and Operations

Homart's model emphasized development, leasing, and management, coordinating with national retailers such as Sears, Roebuck and Company, J.C. Penney, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Sears Tower-area anchors to secure long-term tenancy. The company executed master planning with inputs from architectural firms like Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Gensler, Perkins and Will, HOK, and Kohn Pedersen Fox. Financing structures drew on capital markets institutions including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup. Project delivery often involved partnerships with construction companies like Turner Construction Company, Clark Construction Group, Bechtel Corporation, and Fluor Corporation. Homart utilized market analysis tools produced by entities such as Urban Land Institute, National Association of Realtors, RealtyTrac, and census data from the United States Census Bureau to site new centers.

Major Projects and Developments

Homart developed numerous notable properties and redevelopment schemes in coordination with municipal governments such as City of Chicago, City of Los Angeles, City of Dallas, City of Atlanta, and City of Houston. Major projects included regional malls proximate to transit corridors like those near Interstate 55, Interstate 45, and Interstate 10. Tenant rosters frequently featured Target Corporation, Walmart, Best Buy, Sears, Roebuck and Company, J.C. Penney, Macy's, and specialty retailers such as The Limited and Gap Inc.. The firm also engaged in adaptive reuse projects akin to conversions seen at Southdale Center, Mall of America, and Tysons Corner Center. Design and retail programming drew on trends set by venues such as King of Prussia Mall, Aventura Mall, South Coast Plaza, Galleria (Houston), and Beverly Center.

Corporate Structure and Ownership

Homart operated as a subsidiary aligned with a major national retailer's corporate structure paralleling arrangements used by firms like Kmart Corporation and Target Corporation for their real estate arms. Its governance involved corporate boards comparable to those at Sears, Roebuck and Company, Montgomery Ward, Macy's, Inc., Federated Department Stores, and May Department Stores Company. Strategic decisions were influenced by investment committees and institutional investors such as BlackRock, The Blackstone Group, Berkshire Hathaway, Vornado Realty Trust, and Brookfield Asset Management. Transaction advisors often included Ernst & Young, KPMG, Deloitte, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Financial Performance and Acquisition

During cycles of retail expansion and contraction, Homart's valuation reflected trends that affected peers like General Growth Properties, Simon Property Group, Westfield Group, Taubman Centers, and Macerich. Capital events in the 1990s and early 2000s involved mergers and acquisitions dynamics akin to those surrounding Burlington Stores, Sears Holdings Corporation, and large portfolio sales brokered by firms such as CBRE Group, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, and Marcus & Millichap. The eventual disposition of Homart's assets paralleled transactions executed by Vornado Realty Trust and The Rouse Company in which institutional buyers acquired mall portfolios amid changing retail fundamentals driven by entities like Amazon (company), eBay, Walmart, and shifts toward omnichannel retailing promoted by Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation.

Legacy and Impact on Retail Real Estate

Homart's legacy is comparable to the influences of Simon Property Group, Taubman Centers, Westfield Group, GGP Inc., and Macerich on American shopping patterns, suburban development, and mall typologies. Its projects informed retail planning practices used by municipal planners in Phoenix, Arizona, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dallas, Texas, Atlanta, Georgia, and Los Angeles, California. The company's development strategies intersected with academic research from Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley on urbanism, zoning, and commercial land use. Homart's portfolio influenced later redevelopment trends including mixed-use infill projects, transit-oriented developments associated with agencies such as Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York), Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and sustainability initiatives advocated by U.S. Green Building Council.

Category:Real estate companies of the United States