Howard Hughes Corporation (referred to simply as “Howard Hughes”) is a large residential and commercial real-estate development firm. Howard Hughes plans and develops planned communities, individual developments, and operates properties.

In New York, a judge halted a Howard Hughes development citing meetings between the company and the Landmarks Preservation Commission to provide political cover and quid pro quo. In Columbia, Maryland, after a halt on new building in the city due to school overcrowding, Howard Hughes backed an equity agenda for school busing to alleviate overcrowding and open new areas to development. Howard Hughes Corporation has noted in investment-marketing material its opportunity to control cities and operate with monopoly-like control. ¹

History

Howard Hughes Corporation began in 2010 when General Growth Properties emerged from bankruptcy and spun off a separate entity, the Howard Hughes Corporation. ² Howard Hughes began with 34 assets in 18 states. ³ Howard Hughes develops master planned communities, strategic developments, and operates properties. ⁴

Development

By 2023, Howard Hughes Corporation operates in eight communities in six states. ⁵ Howard Hughes owns 6.6 million square feet of office space, 2.7 million square feet of retail space, and over 5,500 multi-family housing units. ⁶ Howard Hughes maintains 38,000 acres of land. ⁷

Howard Hughes Corporation operates in Texas, Maryland, Hawaii, New York, Nevada, and Arizona. ⁸ In Texas, Howard Hughes has residential and office properties in Bridgeland, The Woodlands, and The Woodlands Hills. ⁹ In Maryland, Howard Hughes owns residential, office, and retail locations in Columbia. ¹⁰ Howard Hughes owns property in the planned community of Ward Village in Honolulu, Hawaii. ¹¹ In New York, Howard Hughes owns multiple properties in the Seaport area of New York City. ¹² In Nevada, it possesses properties in the planned community of Summerlin as well as the Las Vegas Ballpark. ¹³ In 2021, Howard Hughes began a new large-scale planned community in Phoenix’s West Valley. ¹⁴

Controversies

New York City

In January 2023, a New York Supreme Court judge ordered construction of a Howard Hughes project in New York City’s South Seaport area halted, citing accusations of “quid pro quo” and meetings that provided political cover between Howard Hughes and the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). ¹⁵ In his ruling which halted development, Judge Arthur Engoron stated the LPC abused its discretion by diverging from prior practice without explaining why. ¹⁶

Columbia, Maryland Busing

In 2016, Howard Hughes Corporation convinced the Howard County, Maryland council to provide a $90 million subsidy to build in Columbia. ¹⁷ Schools in Columbia were overcrowded due to dense building in the city, and new building permits were halted. ¹⁸

Hughes proposed a solution: the government would bus students between school districts and among racial and socioeconomic groups so as to help promote equity (and allow for more building). ¹⁹ Students bussed from the suburbs to Columbia’s inner core could raise test scores downtown, help with overcrowding, and raise home values for developers. ²⁰ Additionally, developers could argue there were not enough minorities at higher-ranked schools in order to justify building more dense apartment housing in those areas. ²¹

Howard Hughes Corporation began sponsoring a podcast by a former Republican turned equity champion who argued that zoning laws were outdated and that the principle of equity necessitated dense housing and school redistricting. ²² In June 2019, the Howard County Public School System produced a report on equity noting that the graduation rate in the county for blacks was 89 percent—on par with the national rate for whites and higher than the national graduation rate in the country. ²³

Howard Hughes Maryland president Greg Fitchett wrote to county officials asking them to consider supporting school district boundary adjustments to address educational equity and segregation. ²⁴ Lobbyists were hired and ads began running which touted busing as a way to solve an equity and segregation problem. ²⁵ Fitchett convinced them of the role developers could have in reducing inequity and busing legislation was eventually passed. ²⁶

In 2015, the Baltimore Sun stated that Howard Hughes Company “does not have a history as a developer of affordable housing” and none of its downtown Columbia housing was affordable. ²⁷ In 2017, Howard Hughes agreed to begin building affordable housing, but its projects are largely paid for by federal tax credits and vouchers. ²⁸ Howard Hughes Corporation has used the tagline: “HHC: The Opportunity to Control Cities” and described its business as being a “dominant residential land owner in markets with superior demographics” where it could exert “monopoly-like control.” ²⁹

Arizona

The Howard Hughes proposed planned community in Phoenix’s West Valley, known as Teravalis, consists of 37,000 acres. ³⁰ As of December 2022, plans called for 100,000 new homes for 300,000 residents and 55 million square feet of commercial space. ³¹ Under Arizona law, new developments must show they can provide enough water for a 100-year supply. ³² Officials are studying whether the proposed development can meet the water-supply law threshold, as former Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt (D) stated he does not believe development is viable on this scale. ³³

1. Howard Hughes Corporation. “The HHC Opportunity.” 2020 Q4 Presentation.2020. Accessed February 19, 2023. https://static.seekingalpha.com/uploads/sa_presentations/430/63430/original.pdf; “Control the City (Columbia).” Dr. Chao Wu. April 13, 2021. Accessed February 19, 2023. https://chaowu.org/2021/04/13/control-the-city/.
2. “Annual Report.” Howard Hughes Corporation. 2010. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://investor.howardhughes.com/annual-reports.
3. “Annual Report.” Howard Hughes Corporation. 2010. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://investor.howardhughes.com/annual-reports.
4. “2021 Report: HHCommunities.” Howard Hughes Corporation. 2021. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://investor.howardhughes.com/annual-reports.
5. “About HHC.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://investor.howardhughes.com.
6. ““About HHC.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://investor.howardhughes.com.
7. “About HHC.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://investor.howardhughes.com.
8. “Regions.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/.
9. “Texas.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/texas/.
10. “Maryland.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/maryland/.
11. “Hawaii.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/hawaii/.
12. “New York.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/new-york/.
13. “Nevada.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/nevada/.
14. “Arizona.” Howard Hughes Corporation. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://www.howardhughes.com/regions/arizona/.
15. Belle Lin, Sarah. “Construction in Historic South Seaport Blocked by NY Supreme Court After Finding Alleged ‘Quid Pro Quo’ and ‘Political Cover.’” The Villager. January 16, 2023. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.amny.com/news/construction-historic-seaport-district-ny-supreme-court-quid-pro-quo-and-political-cover/.
16. Belle Lin, Sarah. “Construction in Historic South Seaport Blocked by NY Supreme Court After Finding Alleged ‘Quid Pro Quo’ and ‘Political Cover.’” The Villager. January 16, 2023. Accessed January 16, 2023. https://www.amny.com/news/construction-historic-seaport-district-ny-supreme-court-quid-pro-quo-and-political-cover/.
17. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 241.
18. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 241.
19. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 242.
20. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 242.
21. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 242.
22. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 242.
23. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 243.
24. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 244.
25. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 245-250.
26. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 249-251.
27. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 251.
28. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 251.
29. Luke Rosiak. “Race to the Bottom.” (New York: Broadside Books, 2022), 252.
30. Hinsche, Kate. “Here’s How Water is Holding Up Arizona’s Largest-Ever Planned Community.” The Real Deal – Real Estate News. December 31, 2022. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://therealdeal.com/2022/12/31/heres-how-water-is-holding-up-arizonas-largest-ever-planned-community/.
31. Hinsche, Kate. “Here’s How Water is Holding Up Arizona’s Largest-Ever Planned Community.” The Real Deal – Real Estate News. December 31, 2022. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://therealdeal.com/2022/12/31/heres-how-water-is-holding-up-arizonas-largest-ever-planned-community/.
32. Hinsche, Kate. “Here’s How Water is Holding Up Arizona’s Largest-Ever Planned Community.” The Real Deal – Real Estate News. December 31, 2022. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://therealdeal.com/2022/12/31/heres-how-water-is-holding-up-arizonas-largest-ever-planned-community/.
33. Hinsche, Kate. “Here’s How Water is Holding Up Arizona’s Largest-Ever Planned Community.” The Real Deal – Real Estate News. December 31, 2022. Accessed January 15, 2023. https://therealdeal.com/2022/12/31/heres-how-water-is-holding-up-arizonas-largest-ever-planned-community/.