COMPANY·HISTORIES
SIC 6552

Land Subdividers & Developers, Except Elsewhere Classified

How the companies in this industry began, and the forces that shaped them.

34companies1883–1996founding years34still active0no longer operating
§ 01

The industry over time

Companies foundedEconomyTechnologyEnvironmentHistory
FoundedNewhall Land and Farming Company
1883
FoundedCalMat Co.
1891
FoundedMarks and Spencer p.l.c.
1894
1903
TechnologyThe Wright brothers achieve powered flight.
FoundedHankyu Corporation
1907
1914
EconomyWorld War I begins; global trade reorders.
FoundedAmfac/JMB Hawaii L.L.C.
1918
FoundedJ Sainsbury plc
1922
FoundedHelmerich & Payne, Inc.
1926
1929
EconomyThe stock market crashes; the Great Depression spreads worldwide.
FoundedSouthern Union Company
1932
1939
EconomyWorld War II begins; wartime production surges.
1945
EconomyThe war ends; a long global expansion begins.
FoundedMitchell Energy and Development Corporation
1946
1947
TechnologyThe transistor is invented.
FoundedCheung Kong (Holdings) Limited
1950
1958
TechnologyThe integrated circuit is demonstrated.
FoundedDel Webb CorporationFoundedSimon Property Group, Inc.
1960
FoundedAMREP Corporation
1961
1962
EnvironmentSilent Spring launches the modern environmental movement.
FoundedJohn Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc.FoundedOlympia & York Developments Ltd.
1969
1971
EconomyThe dollar leaves the gold standard; currencies float.
1973
EconomyThe OPEC oil embargo triggers a global shock.
FoundedGIB Group
1974
1975
TechnologyThe personal-computer era begins.
1979
EconomyA second oil crisis drives inflation higher worldwide.
1981
TechnologyThe IBM PC launches and sets a standard.
1984
TechnologyApple ships the Macintosh; the GUI era begins.
FoundedMeritage Corporation
1985
1987
EconomyBlack Monday: markets fall sharply around the world.
1989
HistoryThe Berlin Wall falls; global markets open up.
FoundedCatellus Development Corporation
1990
1991
TechnologyThe World Wide Web is released to the public.
1993
TechnologyThe Mosaic browser brings the web to everyone.
1995
TechnologyWindows 95 launches; the internet goes mainstream.
1997
EconomyThe Asian financial crisis rattles global markets.
EnvironmentThe Kyoto Protocol sets the first climate targets.
2000
EconomyThe dot-com bubble bursts.
2004
TechnologySocial media and Web 2.0 take hold.
2007
TechnologyThe iPhone launches the smartphone era.
2008
EconomyThe global financial crisis freezes credit worldwide.
2010
TechnologyCloud computing goes mainstream for business.
2015
EnvironmentThe Paris Agreement sets global climate targets.
2020
EconomyThe COVID-19 pandemic upends the global economy.
2022
EconomyInflation spikes; central banks raise rates sharply.
2023
TechnologyGenerative AI reaches mainstream business use.
§ 02

The companies

Newhall Land and Farming Company →
Active · founded 1883
The Newhall Land and Farming Company is one of the oldest and most famous business operations in the state of…
CalMat Co. →
Active · founded 1891
CalMat Co.
Castle & Cooke, Inc. →
Active · founded 1894
Castle & Cooke, Inc.
Marks and Spencer p.l.c. →
Active · founded 1894 · United Kingdom
Marks and Spencer p.l.c.
Lefrak Organization Inc. →
Active · founded 1905
Lefrak Organization Inc.
Hankyu Corporation →
Active · founded 1907 · Japan
Hankyu Corporation is one of Japan's largest private railway operators.
Kingfisher plc →
Active · founded 1909 · United Kingdom
Based in London, Kingfisher plc is a major European retailing and property group.
Amfac/JMB Hawaii L.L.C. →
Active · founded 1918
Chicago-based but exclusively Hawaiian in activity, Amfac/JMB Hawaii L.L.C.
Perini Corporation →
Active · founded 1918
Ranked in the top ten percent on Engineering News Record's 1992 list of the top 400 contractors, Perini Corporation…
J Sainsbury plc →
Active · founded 1922 · United Kingdom
Supermarkets, hypermarkets, and other grocery outlets clustered tightly in the south of England form the nucleus of…
Starrett Corporation →
Active · founded 1922
Starrett Corporation is a construction manager or general contractor of buildings, mainly in the metropolitan New York…
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. →
Active · founded 1926
Helmerich & Payne, Inc.
Tractebel S.A. →
Active · founded 1929 · Belgium
Tractebel S.A.
Southern Union Company →
Active · founded 1932
Southern Union Company is a publicly owned international holding company for public utilities and other energy-related…
The Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation →
Active · founded 1944
The Edward J.
Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation →
Active · founded 1946
Mitchell Energy & Development Corporation is one of the Houston-Galveston area's leading real estate developers and one…
Park Corp. →
Active · founded 1948
Founded by Raymond P.
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited →
Active · founded 1950 · Hong Kong
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited is among Hong Kong's leading property and investment development companies.
Del Webb Corporation →
Active · founded 1960
Once known for its hotels and casinos, Del Webb Corporation is one of the largest residential developers in the United…
Melvin Simon and Associates, Inc. →
Active · founded 1960
Melvin Simon and Associates Inc.
Simon Property Group, Inc. →
Active · founded 1960
Simon Property Group, Inc.
Talley Industries, Inc. →
Active · founded 1960
Talley Industries Inc.
AMREP Corporation →
Active · founded 1961
AMREP Corporation is the largest builder of housing in the state of New Mexico, and the 80th largest builder in the…
The Koll Company →
Active · founded 1962 · United States
Founded in 1962 by visionary developer Donald M.
John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc. →
Active · founded 1969
John Q.
Lennar Corporation →
Active · founded 1969
Florida's largest home builder and one of the largest residential builders in the country, Lennar Corporation began as…
Olympia & York Developments Ltd. →
Active · founded 1969 · Canada
Of the many developers who fell victim to the real estate depression beginning in 1989, none was bigger or more highly…
Desc, S.A. de C.V. →
Active · founded 1973 · Mexico
Desc, S.A.
GIB Group →
Active · founded 1974 · Belgium
GIB Group, Belgium's top retailer, is active in four sectors: supermarkets and hypermarkets; do-it-yourself (DIY) home…
Vistana, Inc. →
Active · founded 1980
Vistana, Inc.
Meritage Corporation →
Active · founded 1985
Meritage Corporation, formerly Monterey Homes Corporation, is a leading homebuilder in the United States, designing,…
CITIC Pacific Ltd. →
Active · founded 1990 · Hong Kong
In less than a decade, CITIC Pacific Ltd.
Catellus Development Corporation →
Active · founded 1990
The largest private landowner in California, Catellus Development Corporation is a diversified real estate operating…
Kerry Properties Limited →
Active · founded 1996 · Hong Kong
Kerry Properties Limited is one of the most prominent companies in the enormous network of companies owned or…
Build It Today

Starting a land subdividers & developers, except elsewhere classified company now

Each week we rebuild one of these stories for today's tools and capital.