Though it has been almost two months since Greg Hamm was let go from the Howard Hughes Corporation, it still doesn’t feel like we’ve had closure on this chapter in the redevelopment of Columbia’s Town Center. After three years of marshalling the redevelopment process in the face of his own company’s bankruptcy and a cadre of local activists determined to stop him, we got to know Greg pretty well. His sudden firing took many, except perhaps the senior management of Howard Hughes, by surprise. Suddenly the go to guy was gone.
I like Greg, he is a likeable fellow. I suspect that even his adversaries would admit to certain grudging respect for the guy. Whatever his perceived failings were inside his newly formed company, you’d have to acknowledge that he did a good job of getting the community on board with a new vision for Columbia
When he took the reins of the redevelopment effort three years ago, I wrote a column welcoming him to HoCo. It seemed appropriate to write another one marking his departure.
You can read this month’s column here.
