OVERVIEW
The Howard Hughes Corporation’s mission is to be the preeminent developer and operator of master planned communities and mixed use properties. We create timeless places and memorable experiences that inspire people while driving sustainable, long-term growth and value for our shareholders. We specialize in the development of master planned communities and ownership, management and the redevelopment or repositioning of real estate assets currently generating revenues, also called operating assets as well as other strategic real estate opportunities in the form of entitled and unentitled land and other development rights, also called strategic developments. We are headquartered in Dallas, Texas and our assets are located across the United States.
Unlike most real estate companies which are limited in their activities because they have elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, we have no restrictions on our operating activities or types of services that we can offer. We believe our structure provides the greatest flexibility for maximizing the value of our real estate portfolio. As of December 31, 2011, our consolidated debt equaled approximately 17.9% of our total assets and we had $227.6 million of cash on hand.
Our master planned communities have won numerous awards for, among other things, design and community contribution. We expect the competitive position and desirable locations of our assets (which collectively comprise millions of square feet and thousands of acres of developable land), combined with their operations and long-term opportunity through entitlements, land and home site sales and project developments will drive our long-term growth.
We are pursuing development opportunities for a number of our assets that were previously postponed due to lack of liquidity resulting from deteriorating economic conditions, the credit market collapse and the bankruptcy filing of our predecessors, we are also developing plans for other assets for which plans had not yet been developed.
We currently operate our business in three segments: Master Planned Communities, Operating Assets and Strategic Developments. Financial information about each of our segments is presented in Note 15 to our audited financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We were incorporated in Delaware in 2010 to receive certain assets and liabilities of GGP, Inc., formerly known as General Growth Properties, Inc. (“GGP” and collectively with its subsidies, our “predecessors”) in connection with our predecessors’ emergence from bankruptcy. We completed our spin-off from GGP on November 9, 2010.
Overview of Business Segments
Master Planned Communities. Our Master Planned Communities segment primarily consists of the development and sale of residential and commercial land, primarily in large-scale projects. After acquiring our partner’s 47.5% economic interest in The Woodlands Operating Company, L.P. and subsidiaries, TWCPC Holdings, LP and subsidiaries and TWLDC Holdings, L.P. and subsidiaries (collectively “The Woodlands”) on July 1, 2011, we now wholly own our four master planned communities (The Woodlands, Summerlin, Bridgeland and Maryland). Our master planned community in Maryland includes four separate communities that are collectively referred to as the “Maryland Communities.”
Our Master Planned Communities include over 14,000 acres of land remaining to be sold. Residential sales, which are made primarily to home builders, include standard and custom parcels as well as high density (e.g., condominium, town homes and apartments) parcels designated for detached and attached single- and multi-
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