Tom Cousins Has Died

Welcome to The Breakdown by King Williams, a newsletter covering Atlanta's hidden connections to everything else. I am a documentary filmmaker, journalist, and podcast host based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tom Cousins, the developer best known for his work with the East Lake Golf Course, the Omni Hotel, the CNN Center, 191 Peachtree Street, and his real estate firm Cousins Properties, has passed away. He was 93. 

Cousins was born on December 7th, 1931, in Atlanta. He grew up between Decatur and Rome, Georgia, before attending the University of Georgia, graduating in 1952. In his post-collegiate career, Cousins would serve in the United States Air Force, becoming a First Lieutenant. After serving in the Air Force, Cousins would return to Atlanta and start a real estate company with his father in 1958. By 1962, the family would take the company public, listing the company on the stock market. The company today is valued at $4.6 billion, making it one of the largest local real estate firms.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Cousins and local architect turned developer Jon Portman came to dominate and define the Atlanta real estate market. The two became the fundamental developers of downtown Atlanta, setting the standards for commercial buildings in the city. Cousins was also known for his work in bringing professional sports to Atlanta.

Cousins brought the St. Louis Hawks to Atlanta and was the owner of the city’s first NHL team, the Atlanta Flames, before selling them to an investment group from Calgary, Canada, in 1980, becoming the Calgary Flames. Both teams played at the Cousins-built Omni Arena, next to the Cousins-built Omni International Complex, later renamed the CNN Center.

• For more on the history of professional hockey in Atlanta, please read my previous newsletter: Could Forsyth County get an NHL team?...Should they?

In 1987, the Cousins Foundation was established. During the late 1980s, Cousins became more civically involved, eventually focusing on the East Lake Community, which was known for crime and its nickname "Little Vietnam” from the 1970s through the 1990s. 

In 1993, Cousins purchased the East Lake Golf Club, the course situated next to “Little Vietnam.” This acquisition became a two-pronged effort for Cousins: first, to revamp the once-renowned golf course where legend Bobby Jones played; second, to address the troubled housing project, East Lake Meadows.

In 1995, Cousins founded the East Lake Foundation, which became the nonprofit arm to tackle issues not addressed by the Atlanta Housing Authority, which began tearing down and renovating the struggling housing project, with demolition starting in 1997. By the early 2000s, the redevelopment of East Lake Meadows and the successful renovation of the East Lake Golf Club put Cousins on the national stage. The past 30 years have served as an open-source model for for-profit community redevelopment. Now, 30 years later, East Lake is a part of the PGA Tour Championship circuit, drawing thousands to Atlanta each year and millions more in revenue.

The redevelopment of the East Lake Meadows public housing project, alongside the charter school, accompanied by Drew Charter School and the East Lake YMCA, has led to a new type of redevelopment strategy known as “The East Lake Model”. This model has led to the birth of the ancillary organization Purpose Built Communities, an organization with direct ties to Cousins, Cousins Properties, the East Lake Foundation, former Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, and former Atlanta Housing Authority director Renee Glover.

This model of mixed-income housing, in combination with charter schools and a commercial entry point, has been replicated in cities across the US. The model would not be without its detractors, as the model relied heavily on a public-private model that relied on heavily devalued public land, a relatively low-income, low-politically robust set of residents, and heavy private investment to work.

Criticisms of the East Lake Model

The East Lake Model’s strategy would be anchored by a very selective process of evaluating and maintaining low-income residents. Less than 10 percent of East Lake Meadows residents returned to the “new” East Lake, and even fewer stayed in the coming years. While Drew Charter School, a success, has been under fire for its effects on pricing out low-income students by increasing rental and owned housing in the area.

Drew Charter School is a community school that prioritizes local students, with any overflow being placed in a lottery system. Additionally, Cousin’s net worth would be significantly impacted by the purchase of East Lake Golf Course. What was purchased at below market prices has become an asset that could potentially fetch millions of dollars if ever placed up for sale. Despite this, others still celebrate Cousins, as his efforts can be seen as the entry point of community-focused development in Atlanta. A strategy that most developers in Atlanta have, albeit to varying degrees, embraced in differing capacities.

Cousins would step down from the day-to-day operations in 2002 as the company’s CEO and then from the board in 2006. For the last 20 years, Cousins Properties has maintained its presence in the large-scale development scene, operating primarily within the Sunbelt from Georgia to Arizona. While Cousins himself semi-retired from public life, he continued to appear at a handful of events, speeches, sporting events, and key interviews.

Tom Cousins was a titan of industry. He was the blueprint for so many in major league Atlanta real estate. The work he’s done for decades has defined and then reshaped what was considered capable in Atlanta. If there’s a Mount Rushmore of real estate in Atlanta, then you can be assured Tom Cousins has his face in it. Cousin's success and his brashness have been one of the biggest influences on the culture of real estate in Atlanta.

Cousins leaves behind a legacy steeped in Atlanta’s history. His work built the city’s skyline and downtown Atlanta in the era of white flight and rampant suburbanization. His 1980s and 1990s properties served as the stepping stones for the 2000s and 2010s Atlanta real estate world—his investment in sports made Atlanta a national player in the NBA and NHL. But his philanthropic efforts in East Lake Meadows have made him a case study in colleges, a north star for developers, beloved by leaders, and non-profits across the country. Tom Cousins was 93.

The Atlanta real estate community will remember Tom Cousins for many years.

-KJW