Cousins Properties history

REITs had been created by Congress in 1960 as a way for small investors to own real estate in a manner similar to mutual funds.

1961: The company is incorporated.

1964: Company named largest homebuilder in Georgia.

In 1965, the company built an office building in downtown Atlanta.

1966: Company begins building its first retail project—Cambridge Square on Ashford-Dunwoody Road.

In October 1966 Tom Cousins was approached by attorney Bob Troutman, who owned the air rights over the Western and Atlantic Railroad yard in downtown Atlanta. As a result, Cousins bought the St Louis Hawks in 1968 and moved them to Atlanta, where they played at the Georgia Tech fieldhouse.

Moreover, in 1970 he formed a REIT called Cousins Mortgage-Equity Investments, which went public, raising $42.5 million.

1972: Work completed on The Omni Arena

Finally, in conjunction with out-of-town developer Maurice Alpert, Cousins erected what he thought would be the final piece in making his parking deck a paying concern: the construction of the Omni International, a multi-use office, hotel, and recreation complex, which opened in 1975.

1976: Omni International Complex opens (today's CNN Center).

He was successful in convincing the state General Assembly to build a convention center, the Georgia World Congress Center, close to the Omni. It opened in 1977 but it did little to salvage the project.

He sold off the REIT in 1979 to focus his attention on his core business.

Two years earlier he had sold his interest in the Atlanta Hawks and in 1981 would sell the Atlanta Flames.

1982: Cousins sells much of its retail holdings to focus on office development.

In 1987, Tom Cousins formed the Cousins Foundation and funded it with stock in the company.

According to a 1990 Georgia Trend profile, "The REIT represented a radical departure for Cousins in every way.

In 1992 the REIT would gain a listing on the New York Stock Exchange and complete the largest stock offering in company history, netting $58 million.

When the office building sector showed signs of recovery, Cousins in 1995 returned to that business as well.

In 1996 it acquired an office building in Charlotte, North Carolina, to enter that market.

1998: The Pinnacle opens in Buckhead.

In 1999 Cousins entered the Texas market by acquiring a half-interest in Faison-Stone, a Dallas-based full-service real estate company that concentrated on leasing and managing class "A" office properties.

After the agency merged with WPP Group PLC, London, in 2000, he left and joined Cousins' board.

In 2001, DuPree resigned as Cousins' president, maintaining that he needed a break after working "nonstop for 20 years" in real estate.

In January 2002 Stone stepped down and returned to Texas to run the REIT's operations in that state.

In 2004, the company partnered with Jim Wilson and Associates, Inc. to develop The Avenue at Carriage Crossing.

THE AVENUE CARRIAGE CROSSING Completed in 2005, this was Cousins’ first large-scale Avenue.

2006: Bank of America Plaza sold to BentleyForbes for $436 million.

2007: Terminus 100 opens in Buckhead.

In 2012, the building was sold at a foreclosure auction for $235 million.

In 2013, the company acquired Park Oak Central Tower.

In 2016, the company sold 191 Peachtree Tower for $268 million.

In 2017, the company sold the American Cancer Society Building in Atlanta for $166 million.