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VISION AND A TWINKLE

Jim Wilson, who thought life was beautiful and malls should be too, is dead

By Edmund Mander

James (Jim) Winfrey Wilson Jr., CSM, considered a mall pioneer for the Southeastern U.S. and one of the industry’s more colorful players, died Sept. 21 at a Montgomery, Ala., hospital following a battle with cancer. He was 71.

Wilson, an ICSC past chairman and a trustee, developed more than 100 projects, totaling 20 million square feet, during his tenure as president and CEO of Montgomery-based Jim Wilson & Associates. But it is the quality of those malls as much as their quantity for which Wilson is known, and he was never afraid to deviate from conventional wisdom when it came to shopping center design. In particular, he was a big proponent of the “galleria” concept, building malls that were not just functional but beautiful, too, says David E. Hocker, CSM, chairman and CEO of David Hocker & Associates and a past chairman.

“He was always on the leading edge of new concepts,” said Hocker, who recalls attending the 1985 opening of Wilson’s Riverchase Galleria, in Birmingham, Ala. “People thought, ‘Has Jim lost his mind putting all that glass in?’ ” Hocker said. But the skeptics soon learned that the vision could not have been more sane, Hocker says. The mall is now Alabama’s primary tourist attraction.

Among the other premier shopping centers Wilson built are The Mall of Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, Metro Center, in Jackson, Miss., and The Shoppes at EastChase, in Montgomery. Wilson also built power centers and lifestyle centers, as well as mixed-use projects, offices and homes.

His mall-opening parties were events to remember, says Hocker, one of many colleagues and friends who recall Wilson’s gregariousness and gaiety. “He had a great sense of humor, always a lot of fun, a great person to be around,” said Hocker.

But Wilson was taken very seriously when it came to his profession, Hocker says. “When he spoke, everyone listened.”

And he was as dedicated to the welfare of the industry as to his own business, ICSC colleagues say. He was chairman of ICSC for the 1979-’80 term and served as a trustee from 1974 to 1976. In the spirit of ICSC’s founding members, Wilson was ever ready to share his skills and advice. “I found Jim to be helpful to me in sharing his knowledge of our business,” Hocker said.

He was equally generous with his wealth, says James E. Maurin, chairman of Covington, La.-based Stirling Properties and himself a past chairman. Wilson became a major benefactor of Tulane University, which he attended on a football scholarship and from which he graduated in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. He also was a member of the board of directors of the National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame, as well as a 2005 inductee into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Wilson started his real estate career in 1958, first joining the Chambliss Agency and then moving to Aronov Realty, where he stayed from 1962 to 1971. He founded Colonial Properties with Ed Lowder in 1972. “Jim was a terrific entrepreneur who contributed in many important ways to our industry and his community,” said Owen W. Aronov, president of Aronov Realty.

Wilson founded his own company in 1975 and built many of the earliest and biggest malls in the Southeast, according to Maurin. “He was truly one of the pioneers,” Maurin said.

Wilson worked almost up to his last minute. A week before his death he attended the opening of his company’s Shoppes at River Crossing, in Macon, Ga., an event replete with the festivity that was Wilson’s trademark, despite his serious condition. “He loved a production, a shopping center opening and all the pageantry that went with that,” said Kay Yarbrough, director of marketing and public relations at Jim Wilson & Associates. “He used to call himself P.T. Barnum.”

It was this playful side that appealed to John M. Hart, founder and chairman of Simsbury, Conn.-based Hart Realty Advisors. “He [Wilson] had a great sense of humor,” Hart said. Wilson, Hart and their friend, the late Daniel W. Donahue, all agreed during a conversation in 1984 that credit for their success went to their fathers. So that June, Wilson had the other two bring their fathers to his Destin, Fla., vacation home, where they, along with Wilson’s own father, celebrated “Dads’ Day” — a celebration that actually lasted three days. (Donahue, chairman of Costa Mesa, Calif.-based development firm Donahue Schriber, died in December 2002.)

Wilson’s humor shone through even in his darkest moments, including business woes during the recession of the early 1990s and serious illness later, says John T. Riordan, a former president of ICSC. “He didn’t let anything get him down,” Riordan said. “Like so many others, he lost a lot of money in the 1990s but was able to rebuild his fortunes. Very serious illnesses, including a liver transplant, didn’t stop him.”

Wilson is survived by his wife of 47 years, Wynona White Wilson, four children and 12 grandchildren. Two sons, James III and Will, continue to run the firm. “Jim Wilson was probably one of the most loved people in the whole industry,” said Maurin. “He’s going to be sadly missed.”