ENTREPRENEURIAL AMERICAN LEADERSHIP AWARD

Bill Struever and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse (SBER)

Date: January 2007

ISSUE AREA: Highlighted Inidividuals & Communities

Over its 30 year history, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse (SBER), led by Bill Struever, has amassed a portfolio of some of the most stunning and sustainable urban transformations in the country. Since its founding, SBER has been the catalyst for change both in individual projects and in entire neighborhoods, following their unique philosophy of the ‘triple bottom line’ - market returns and profitability; creating a community; and enhancing and protecting the environment. They are particularly well-known for their work in adaptive reuse and brownfield redevelopment, understanding the importance and value of simultaneously celebrating the urban fabric, and redefining the urban experience.

SBER has been restoring urban landmarks and preserving the infrastructure that defines America’s traditional downtown centers since 1974. The company, started by brothers Bill and Fred with friend Cobber Eccles, worked its first year as a general contractor out of a pick-up truck. The leaders quickly realized that single projects would never have as much impact as developing neighborhoods and entire cities, and moved into development with high value placed on the idea of ‘context.’

Bill Struever and the company took this idea of context and began by restoring and adaptively reusing housing along Charles Street and in other Baltimore neighborhoods. During this time, SBER also became proficient mixed-use development in the early days, leading it to increasingly bigger projects and its eventual involvement in the transformation of many of the major sites along the Baltimore Harbor and throughout the city. James Rouse, who built Harborplace and helped redevelop the Inner Harbor, called in SBER in the early 1990’s to take charge of the area and work on brownfield cleanup and related development.

SBER has since been a major force in the revitalization of the City of Baltimore, especially in the area around the Harbor in neighborhoods such as Locust Point, Harbor East, Brewers Hill, and Fells Point. For example, they have restored and revitalized many old factories including the Can Company and the National Brewery, turning almost 300,000 and 737,000 square feet respectively into office and retail space. The company’s current offices are located in one of their major projects, Tide Point, which was a former Procter & Gamble soap factory.

In many other neighborhoods around Baltimore, SBER is completing complex and vibrant mixed-use residential and commercial developments, continuing to adaptively reuse structures already in place and build on historical assets. These developments have not only upgraded neighborhoods, but have stimulated economic development and job creation in areas that were facing intense job loss and disinvestment. In Fells Point alone, a designated Empowerment Zone, SBER has invested over 1.5 billion dollars and has created 2,500 jobs, with another 10,000 expected by the end of the decade.

SBER’s vision and innovative development has also been brought to other cities across America. For example, SBER is involved in large-scale mixed-use development along the Providence waterfront; is working with the RedSox on the restoration of Fenway Park and redevelopment of the surrounding area in Boston; and is developing public space through design and programming along the man-made Bull River in Durham. One of SBER’s newest projects is the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in Washington, D.C. Partnering with P.N Hoffman, to form Hoffman-Struever Waterfront LLC, the team will redevelop the 42 acres of the Southwest Waterfront and its marina. The project will transform the waterfront into a vibrant and unique mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood with new access and connections to the water. Additionally, the project will spur new jobs, tax revenues to the District, opportunities for Local Small Disadvantaged Businesses, and will support and grow local and national retailers, offices, and residential rental and condominium units - luxury and affordable. The partnership’s goals are to work in the spirit of collaboration with the community to create places where people want to gather and can live and work in a vibrant urban fabric.

Over the years, Bill Struever has won many awards for his work, including recognition from all levels of government. He and many of his over 350 employees are involved in community groups and community service around the city, continuing their dedication to the community after the work day ends. From its humble beginnings, SBER has grown tremendously and currently has more than 16 million square feet and nearly 5 billion dollars of total investment costs in projects completed or under development. Their approach to creating livable communities that capture the diverse character of historic assets and their investment in sustainable urban life has reshaped the way that people live, work, and play in urban settings.