Tom Cousins
Encyclopedia
Thomas Grady Cousins is a prominent real estate developer, sports supporter and philanthropist, primarily based in Atlanta, Georgia
.
(B.B.A.) in 1952 from the Terry College of Business
at The University of Georgia
in Athens
. He and his father started their real-estate company in 1958. During the 1960s, Tom Cousins moved from real-estate to property development and sports franchising.
He developed buildings such as the CNN Center
, the Omni Coliseum
, 191 Peachtree Tower
, the Pinnacle Building in Buckhead
and the first phase of the Georgia World Congress Center
. He and competitor John Portman
completely remade downtown Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s.
He also helped revive and redesign the home course of golfing great Bobby Jones
, East Lake Golf Club
, which had fallen into disrepair. He hired Rees Jones
(no relation to Bobby) to redesign the golf course, which has since hosted the PGA Tour
's season ending Tour Championship several times, and become one of the leading golf courses in Atlanta. This was part of a greater revitalization of the East Lake
neighborhood around the golf course.
He retains air rights
over the CNN Center parking deck in Atlanta's massive railroad gulch.
He stepped down as head of Cousins Properties
in January 2002.
Based on the results of the East Lake Foundation project, Cousins, with partner Warren Buffett, created the Purpose Built Communities organization which is currently attempting to replicate the project at a site in New Orleans.
. At the time Atlanta did not have pro-ball facilities, but Cousins was building a local arena complex. Cousins also owned the Atlanta Flames
until he sold them in 1980 for approximately $16 million to a consortium from Calgary.
In 1993 Tom Cousins was the recipient of the Bill Hartman Award which recognises former varsity athletes from the University of Georgia who have demonstrated excellence in their profession. On March 8, 2010, Cousins was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Atlanta Sports Awards for his role in promoting sports in Atlanta.
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
.
Commercial career
Cousins graduated with a Bachelor of Business AdministrationBachelor of Business Administration
The Bachelor of Business Administration is a bachelor's degree in Commerce and business administration. In most universities, the degree is conferred upon a student after four years of full-time study in one or more areas of business concentrations; see below...
(B.B.A.) in 1952 from the Terry College of Business
Terry College of Business
The C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business is the business school at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. The Terry College is the flagship business school in the state of Georgia and one of 16 schools and colleges at the oldest state-chartered public university in the...
at The University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
. He and his father started their real-estate company in 1958. During the 1960s, Tom Cousins moved from real-estate to property development and sports franchising.
He developed buildings such as the CNN Center
CNN Center
The CNN Center is the world headquarters of the Cable News Network . The main newsrooms and studios for several of CNN's news channels are located in the building...
, the Omni Coliseum
Omni Coliseum
The Omni Coliseum, usually called The Omni, from the Latin for "all," or "every," was an indoor arena, located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Completed in 1972, the arena seated 16,378, for basketball and 15,278, for ice hockey...
, 191 Peachtree Tower
191 Peachtree Tower
One Ninety One Peachtree Tower is a 50-story skyscraper in Atlanta, Georgia. Designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects and Kendall/Heaton Associates Inc, the building was completed in 1990 and is the fourth tallest in the city, winning the BOMA Building of the Year Awards the next year, repeating in...
, the Pinnacle Building in Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
and the first phase of the Georgia World Congress Center
Georgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center or GWCC is the major convention center in Atlanta. It is the fourth-largest convention center in the United States at 3.9 million ft2 and hosts more than a million visitors each year. At the time opened in 1976 the Georgia World Congress Center was the first state...
. He and competitor John Portman
John Portman
John C. Portman, Jr. is an American architect and real estate developer widely known for popularizing hotels and office buildings with multi-storied interior atriums....
completely remade downtown Atlanta in the 1970s and 1980s.
He also helped revive and redesign the home course of golfing great Bobby Jones
Bobby Jones (golfer)
Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones Jr. was an American amateur golfer, and a lawyer by profession. Jones was the most successful amateur golfer ever to compete on a national and international level...
, East Lake Golf Club
East Lake Golf Club
The East Lake Golf Club is located in the neighborhood of East Lake which is in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. East Lake Golf Club was the home club of the legendary golfer Bobby Jones. It is also the permanent home of The Tour Championship.-History:...
, which had fallen into disrepair. He hired Rees Jones
Rees Jones
Rees Jones is an American golf course architect.He was born in Montclair, New Jersey the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer Robert Trent Jones, Jr...
(no relation to Bobby) to redesign the golf course, which has since hosted the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
's season ending Tour Championship several times, and become one of the leading golf courses in Atlanta. This was part of a greater revitalization of the East Lake
East Lake (Atlanta)
East Lake is a neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, situated in DeKalb County.It is the eastern-most of the 238 neighborhoods in the City of Atlanta . East Lake is bordered by:* Knox St./Pharr Rd. and the Decatur neighborhood of Oakhurst to the north;* 1st St...
neighborhood around the golf course.
He retains air rights
Air rights
Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights....
over the CNN Center parking deck in Atlanta's massive railroad gulch.
He stepped down as head of Cousins Properties
Cousins Properties
Cousins Properties, Inc. , headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is a real estate investment trust, and one of the oldest publicly traded real estate companies in the country. It was formed in 1958 by Tom Cousins and has been publicly traded since 1962. It became a real estate investment trust in...
in January 2002.
Philanthropic works
In 1995 Cousins founded the East Lake Foundation in Atlanta. The Foundation partnered with the Atlanta Housing Authority to build a mixed-income apartment block in a local low-income area with a high crime rate and put additional resources into education options and job provision for the tenants. Columnist Leonard Pitts Jnr. noted that these changes saw "violent crime down 96 percent" and "78 percent of kids passing the state math test when only 5 percent could do it before".Based on the results of the East Lake Foundation project, Cousins, with partner Warren Buffett, created the Purpose Built Communities organization which is currently attempting to replicate the project at a site in New Orleans.
Sporting franchises
In April 1968 purchased the Hawks basketball team and moved them from St Louis to Atlanta, renaming them the Atlanta HawksAtlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
. At the time Atlanta did not have pro-ball facilities, but Cousins was building a local arena complex. Cousins also owned the Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
until he sold them in 1980 for approximately $16 million to a consortium from Calgary.
In 1993 Tom Cousins was the recipient of the Bill Hartman Award which recognises former varsity athletes from the University of Georgia who have demonstrated excellence in their profession. On March 8, 2010, Cousins was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Atlanta Sports Awards for his role in promoting sports in Atlanta.
Further reading
- House by House, Block by Block: The Rebirth of America's Urban Neighborhoods Alexander Von Hoffman.