The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report the Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 1 the Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report
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The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 1 The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 A LETTER FROM THE CEO – OUR LEGACY – 2020 RESULTS – BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE 25 2020 FINANCIALS WARD VILLAGE The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 2 A LETTER FROM THE CEO To My Fellow Shareholders 2020 marked the tenth anniversary of The Howard Hughes Corporation, a year that showcased the value of our assets and the strength and resiliency of our company. Despite the economic conditions dictated by the global pandemic, we were able to achieve strong full-year results across our portfolio—a reflection of the exceptional quality of our communities, our unique business model, and the dedication of our people. Across the country, our team was determined to continue to drive the success of our company and ensure that our employees, residents, tenants, customers, and visitors remained safe. The year also introduced an exciting new chapter for HHC with the announcement of a new leadership team. Jay Cross has joined as our president, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with him in leading the company forward. Jay is an industry veteran with vast experience executing on large-scale, mixed-use DAVID R. O’REILLY, APRIL 2021 projects that are proven catalysts for urban development. He will enhance our ability to leverage strong market demand, accelerate growth within our core assets, and deliver on our vision for the mixed-use urban centers of tomorrow. The success that we had in 2020 highlights the great value inherent in our master planned communities (MPCs), the benefits of control that we maintain within them, and their ability to perform during all economic cycles. Our company’s generational assets, diversified income stream, strong balance sheet, and self-funding business model enabled us to successfully navigate through an unprecedented year. We have emerged stronger and are a beneficiary of the accelerating trends towards the exact type of live/work/play communities that we offer. We kept a long-term, cohesive view of our businesses, making strategic decisions and proactively taking critical steps to protect and advance our company’s interests. We ended 2020 with the strongest liquidity position in our company’s history. With an extremely capable team in place, we are poised to accelerate development across our portfolio to meet market demand and take full advantage of the opportunities in our unique and extremely well-located properties. Our master planned communities are irreplaceable assets, located in low-cost states that continue to attract individuals and companies from across the nation. Our MPCs provide safety, security, sought-after urban amenities, and walkability integrated into wide-open spaces—all of which today are more important than ever—and continue to be ranked among the best places to live in the country. On RCLCO’s 2020 list of the top-selling master planned communities in the country, Summerlin ranked third, and was the top-selling MPC in Nevada. Bridgeland ranked ninth on the list and was the highest-ranked MPC in Texas. The Woodlands and Columbia were recognized as the #1 and #8 Best Cities to Live in America by Niche, and Summerlin was named MPC of the Year by the National Home Builders Association. This type of recognition speaks to the quality of our master planned communities and demand for the excellent homes within them—a testament to the great legacies of innovation on which our company is built. The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 3 OUR LEGACY Decades of Innovation The Howard Hughes Corporation is only ten years old but the master planned communities at the core of our portfolio continue the work of four innovative placemakers whose collective legacy forms the bedrock of our organization: James Rouse, George Mitchell, Victoria Ward, and Howard Hughes. The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 4 JAMES ROUSE James Rouse, known as the grandfather of the master planned community, is responsible for some of the most successful communities and retail districts in the nation, including the renowned MPC of Columbia, Maryland. Grounded in his belief in economic, social, and racial equality, Rouse’s influence on the American urban landscape has reshaped how people live, work, and play. With visionary foresight, he reimagined how communities could be designed and built to create, in his words, “a garden for growing people.” He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 in honor of his “uplifting work in American cities.” If you look at the needs and yearnings of people, you begin to discover the things that would be convenient, pleasurable, that would lift human spirit, that would add to human excitement. JAMES ROUSE GEORGE MITCHELL Inspired in part by the work of Rouse, the energy businessman George Mitchell acquired more than 28,000 acres of land in the Piney Woods of Southeast Texas with a vision of creating The Woodlands—a community where people and nature could coexist in a sustainable manner. Today, The Woodlands is home to over 118,000 residents and is one of the most acclaimed MPCs in the country. Considered by many as the father of sustainable development, George Mitchell established the Houston Advanced Research Center—a research institution located in The Woodlands that is dedicated to sustainability practices and the Texas Energy and Climate Change Program. The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 5 VICTORIA WARD Driven by a profound love for her homeland, Victoria Ward embraced Mālama ʻĀina, the Hawaiian tradition of nurturing and restoring the land. She envisioned her vast 100-acre estate as a natural sanctuary where the community could come together to connect with each other and celebrate culture and the beauty of the island of Oahu. Operated for multiple generations under the ownership of Victoria Ward Limited, the area became known as a flourishing gathering place between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. The legacy continues today, as the location is home to Ward Village—a community dedicated to honoring the distinct history of its land and remaining at the forefront of sustainable development. Courtesy of Frank Hustace III If you have a workforce that enjoys each other, they trust each other, they trust management, they’re proud of where they work, then they’re going to deliver a good product. HOWARD HUGHES HOWARD HUGHES The name Howard Hughes has long been synonymous with an unyielding passion for excellence, creativity, and a relentless pursuit of innovation. From drill bits to aviation, film and real estate, the Hughes family legacy includes the acquisition of a 25,000-acre parcel along the western rim of the Las Vegas valley, which would later be developed into the award- winning Summerlin master planned community—named for Jean Amelia Summerlin, the matriarch of the Hughes family. The legacy of these four iconic figures continues to drive us today as we envision and build the cities of tomorrow. While each had separate passions that inspired them, their innovations and the companies and communities they built provide the foundation of HHC and our opportunities for growth ahead. The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 6 2020 RESULTS The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 7 2020 RESULTS MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITIES After a lull at the start of the pandemic, we saw a surge in demand in our MPCs following the reopening of most local economies in April and May, resulting in strong full-year MPC earnings before tax (EBT) of $209 million. We were ultimately able to continue the momentum experienced in recent years and exceed the results we projected at the beginning of the year, prior to the pandemic. New home sales within our MPCs increased 10% compared to 2019 with a total of 2,724 new homes sold as homebuyers moved out of densely populated, high-cost states and into our amenity-rich, walkable urban communities. These results were further fueled by broader macro factors such as historically low interest rates and the growing acceptance of working from home, which increased the need for larger living spaces. The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 8 MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITIES Summerlin Where People and Businesses Thrive In Summerlin, our results were impressive with a continued increase in the pace of home sales and price-per-acre. New home sales were 8% higher in 2020 versus 2019 and were 21% higher in the fourth quarter of 2020 when compared to the same quarter in 2019. In addition, the price-per-acre of Summerlin’s residential land grew to $772,000 per acre in 2020— an increase of $113,000, or 17%, when compared to 2019. Homebuyers continued to migrate to the low-tax, business-friendly state of Nevada from high-cost states such as California, and specifically to the high-quality lifestyle of Summerlin. In addition to strong homebuyer demand, the leasing rate of our latest multi-family property, Tanager, continued to exceed our expectations and ended the year 99% leased after just over a year in operation. These results signify the strong desire, from both renters and homebuyers, to live in Summerlin. The year included the opening of 10 new neighborhoods— including several in Summerlin West, the MPC’s newest region—as well as the opening of 15 new stores and restaurants in Downtown Summerlin. THE RIDGES 8% INCREASE IN NEW HOME SALES 17% INCREASE IN PRICE-PER-ACRE OF RESIDENTIAL LAND 15 NEW STORE AND RESTAURANT OPENINGS DOWNTOWN DOWNTOWN SUMMERLIN The Howard Hughes Corporation 2020 Annual Report 9 MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITIES Houston Region Award-Winning MPCs, Exceptional Quality of Life In our Houston region, The Woodlands, The Woodlands Hills, and Bridgeland all performed exceptionally well during 2020.