Lowe Enterprises

With the vision of building a multi-disciplined real estate organization with the depth to prosper through any real estate cycle, Bob Lowe forms Lowe Enterprises.

Lowe begins development of The Gant, a 123-unit condominium project in Aspen which the firm still manages today.

ITT Levitt retains Lowe as its development and workout manager for $85 million in assets nationwide. The firm gains valuable workout experience and establishes a foundation in asset management. This assignment brings together the team that becomes the senior management of Lowe for years to come.

Brea Place is a 1.7 million square foot mixed-use development which includes 1.1 million square feet of Class A office space, 350,000 square feet of promotional retail space and a 229-room Embassy Suites Hotel. Developed in public-private partnership with the Brea Olinda Unified School District on a former high school site, the project received national awards for its financing structure which resulted in the funding of a modern new high school at no taxpayer expense.

Sales commence at the award-winning 900-acre Klahanie planned community in the Seattle area. Lowe completes the master plan for the project, and later acquires the property. The 3200 dwelling unit development, which also includes 120,000 square feet of commercial/retail space, is completed over the next eleven years.

In a joint venture with The New England, through Copley Real Estate Advisors, Lowe purchases 112 acres of land and 2.6 million square feet of existing industrial buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including the historic 7th Street Produce Mart. The portfolio also includes the site which becomes the 32-building Alameda Trade Center, the only Foreign Trade Zone in downtown L.A. The final building in the portfolio is successfully sold in mid-2000.

Having previously served as investment manager for a British pension trust, Lowe signs its first U.S. investment management contract with a state pension fund and enters the domestic investment advisory business. This sets the stage for the acquisition of over $4.5 billion of real estate to date on behalf of investment clients.

Lowe is named asset manager for the 2 million square foot Renaissance Center in Detroit and for the $800 million development portfolio of H.F. Ahmanson & Co, which has assets nationwide. These assignments come at the height of a significant real estate downturn and further enhance Lowe’s reputation as a leading workout manager.

The Reserve receives final approval of its entitlements. This 780- acre project in Indian Wells, Calif., comprised of 246 homesites and a championship golf course, goes on to become one of Lowe’s most successful high end golf resort development ventures. The Reserve earns numerous awards including and Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute and a Gold Nugget from the Pacific Coast Builders Conference.

Lowe acquires the landmark Hotel del Coronado on behalf of a pension fund client. It remains the firm’s largest single acquisition to date. Over the course of Lowe’s management, a $55 million renovation is completed, including restoration of the original Victorian building, re-design of guestrooms and the addition of two seaside restaurants as well as structural reinforcement. At the same time, Lowe successfully processes a master plan for redevelopment of the site to add a conference center, spa and additional luxury guestrooms. With approvals in place, the hotel is sold in late 2003.

Arden Realty, a Los Angeles based REIT, names Lowe development manager for the 1.3 million square foot Howard Hughes Center in West Los Angeles. Lowe successfully completes three speculative office buildings totaling 820,000 square feet, and a 160,000 square foot build-to-suit project for Univision.

Lowe Enterprises earns the national Developer of the Year Award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties in recognition of the quality of its projects, its leadership in the industry and its active support of local communities. Lowe’s hospitality subsidiary, Destination Hotels & Resorts, is named the 3rd largest independent hotel management company in the country.

Lowe has a record year with $750 million of new investments nationwide, $2 billion in resort and planned community properties under development, $850 million of commercial properties under development and $640 million of real estate sales activity at its resort and planned community properties.

Lowe's real estate, investment and hospitality groups team to complete the $400 million acquisition and rehabilitation of the Hilton Washington Hotel.