Nelson Rising, California CRE Titan, Dies at 81

Nelson Rising, the real estate executive, prolific developer and civic leader who did much to shape two major California cities during a prolific 50-year career, died Feb. 9 at 81.

Nelson Rising, founder of Rising Realty Partners and former CEO of Catellus Corp. Photo: Business Wire

Rising was instrumental in some of the era’s most prominent projects. As CEO of Catellus Corp. in the 1990s and early 2000s, he oversaw what may have been his signature accomplishment: Mission Bay, the 300-acre redevelopment of a site on San Francisco Bay. In 2005, Catellus was acquired by Prologis in a $5.2 billion deal.

That followed his role from 1983 to 1994 as a senior partner at Maguire Thomas Partners, when he was instrumental in the development of the tallest building in Los Angeles: Library Tower, the 72-story downtown office building since renamed US Bank Tower. Now owned by Silverstein Properties, the trophy tower is the third tallest building west of the Mississippi.

The project was enabled in part through Rising’s innovative acquisition of the air rights associated with Los Angeles Central Library. At Maguire Thomas, Rising also did much to create the master-planned Playa Vista project on a vast parcel near Los Angeles International Airport that was one of the city’s last undeveloped sites.

Real estate industry leaders and public officials and civic leaders recalled Rising’s contributions. “Everyone knew, when a deal got complicated or difficult, they had to go to Nelson,” said John Cushman, chairman of global transactions at Cushman & Wakefield and a friend for 40 years, in a statement. “Some of the biggest buildings in America are standing today because Nelson had a hand in it. We worked together to bring Downtown LA the Library Tower, Gas Company Tower, Wells Fargo Center, and numerous other projects in California and across the country.”

Starting in 2008, Rising served for two years as president & CEO of MPG Office Trust, Inc., an owner of Los Angeles office space, before the company was acquired by Brookfield. The executive launched the final phase of his career in 2012 with the debut of Rising Realty Partners, a diversified, Los Angeles-based investor-operator. Now led by Rising’s son Christopher, the firm has a diversified 5 million-square-foot portfolio spanning five states.

Mover and shaker

In addition to his business accomplishments, Rising was a political mover and shaker for decades. His passing brought tributes from top elected officials. “From Mission Bay to projects that helped revitalize Downtown Los Angeles, Nelson Rising spearheaded iconic developments that transformed neighborhoods across California,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement. “Nelson cared deeply about California and Californians, and his dynamic leadership and problem-solving brought together stakeholders from across the board to accomplish monumental feats.

By his 30^th birthday, Rising was already politically influential. Just three years out of UCLA School of Law, where he was managing editor of the law review, he managed John Tunney’s successful campaign for U.S. Senate. That experience preceded Rising’s role as a producer of “The Candidate,” the 1972 Oscar-winning political satire starring Robert Redford.

Rising’s closest political alliance was with Tom Bradley, the five-term Los Angeles mayor. For each of Bradley’s mayoral campaigns, Rising served as campaign chairman, and he also served in that role in 1982, when Bradley came within 90,000 votes of becoming the first Black governor of California.

Along with business and political activities, Rising was also active in a variety of philanthropic endeavors. He was chair of the Real Estate Roundtable’s think tank, chairman of a downtown Los Angeles revitalization initiative called the Grand Avenue Committee, a trustee of the California Institute of Technology, chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and a board member of the W.M. Keck Foundation.