NEW ORLEANS (February 18, 2016) – New Orleans-based real estate developer HRI Properties, LLC has changed the roles of its owners, designating co-founder Pres Kabacoff as the chairman of the board and current president Tom Leonhard as both president and chief executive officer. Eddie Boettner continues to serve as chief administrative officer.
“In 1982 when the late Edward B. Boettner (1933 – 2000) and I formed HRI, we were a small company that began by revitalizing vacant historic buildings in the New Orleans Warehouse District. HRI Properties has grown into an important enterprise that employs nearly 2,000 people, operates in 16 states and has completed more than 70 large-scale projects totaling more than $2.5 billion,” said Kabacoff, the company’s largest shareholder. “Today, HRI is poised to become a key player in the national real estate market. Our growth and rapid expansion stresses the importance of clarifying roles so that our leadership team allocates duties and responsibilities that maximize our respective areas of strength. Tom Leonhard has earned national respect for his executive ability in building a disciplined organization, attracting top managerial talent, providing financial acumen and inspiring a tremendous esprit within HRI,” said Kabacoff.
“Pres Kabacoff has played the central role in forging our mission to create diverse, vibrant and sustainable communities,” said Leonhard. “As chairman, he’ll continue leading efforts as HRI expands in top Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) around the country, including Portland, Minneapolis, Dallas, Nashville, Philadelphia, Miami and Chicago, to name a few. His national leadership in spearheading new projects remains pivotal to our success.”
Leonhard is a fourth generation New Orleanian who graduated from Jesuit High School in 1985. In 1988, Mr. Leonhard joined HRI Properties as an accounting intern while attending the University of New Orleans where he secured an undergraduate degree in Finance and later a Master in Business Administration with a real estate concentration. Since that time, Leonhard has grown within the organization by holding several roles in the development and financing arms of the company. Leonhard became president in 2001 and was named a partner in the firm in 2006. Leonhard is responsible for all of HRI Properties’ operations that include the ownership and management of 23 hotels and 43 apartment buildings in 16 states, with revenues in excess of $220 million annually. Headquartered in New Orleans, with multiple satellite offices around the country, the company is growing rapidly with seven projects under development in five states creating 870 hotel rooms and 484 apartments totaling $438 million in funding.
“The future is very bright for HRI Properties,” said Leonhard. “I am honored to lead such a strong organization based in my hometown. All 2,000 of our employees are committed to our mission of revitalizing cities by creating diverse, vibrant and sustainable communities. HRI Properties is a leading national real estate company that creates and sustains exceptional urban places and experiences. I expect the company to double in size to $2 billion of assets under management by 2018. Our unique niche of repurposing historic properties into large-scale mixed-use projects in urban areas represents a compelling opportunity in today’s competitive real estate market.”
