Colleagues remember John DeWolf, Howard Hughes’ Columbia leader

Colleagues remembered John E. DeWolf III, who led Howard Hughes Corp.’s efforts to turn downtown Columbia into an urban style downtown, as a visionary, with a unique talent for communicating ideas and keeping the ups and downs of development in perspective.

DeWolf, 63, died Wednesday after fighting cancer for the past two years. The company’s regional president of Columbia, he had continued to work on the proposed redevelopment, which calls for 14 million square feet of building, until a recent hospitalization.

“The downtown Columbia project is a super-ambitious plan,” said Greg Fitchitt, senior vice president of development at Howard Hughes, adding that the project faced some skepticism. “He had the vision to say, ‘No this project should be built.’”

DeWolf was generally a reserved man, Fitchitt said, but he could turn on the charm when necessary. Despite being weak from cancer treatments and losing his hair as a result, DeWolf made sure to be at the groundbreaking in April for 6100 Merriweather Drive, which will be cybersecurity firm Tenable Inc.’s headquarters.

Gov. Larry Hogan, who successfully battled cancer, attended the ceremony. DeWolf joked with the crowd, Fitchitt said, that he promised his wife he’d rub Hogan’s head for good luck. But before he did that he wanted to alert security to what he planned on doing so they wouldn’t drag him away.

“He was a very quiet guy by nature. He really rallied to the occasion,” Fitchitt said.

Vanessa Rodriguez, director of marketing at Howard Hughes Corp., recalled meeting with DeWolf on her first day on the job. An event the company hosted in Columbia before she was hired fell short of her new boss’s expectations. DeWolf, who Rodriguez described as a “purpose-driven leader,” made it known he had high standards.

“Vanessa, we don’t do things badly here at Howard Hughes,” Rodriguez remembered DeWolf telling her.

As a non-linear thinker, she said, DeWolf liked to make a point by telling a story. That resonated with Rodriguez, who considers herself a storyteller and views her role as being responsible for conveying the story of the company’s vision for downtown Columbia.

During regular breakfast meetings DeWolf and Rodriguez would not only discuss the day-to-day operations but what was on the horizon and the project’s possibilities. DeWolf valued arts and culture, she said, and was particularly proud of his work with Merriweather Post Pavilion.

“He always said that he liked to do big things,” Rodriguez said.

As the father of three daughters, DeWolf supported ambitious women, she said. DeWolf loved having “incredible, energetic” women on his team, she said. But he also urged his employees to have a solid work/life balance, and in a recent conversation reminded Rodriguez to make sure she was taking care of herself.

“He was incredibly gracious and understanding of working women with very small children,” she said.

Gabriel Chung, vice president of development at Howard Hughes, recalled DeWolf as a visionary. He had the rare ability, Chung said, to see a broad vision for a project like Columbia while still having knowledge of the details necessary to make sure the project was being done right. It’s rare to find that combination, he said, of someone who can balance vision with minutia.

“He was able to communicate to anyone what his vision was about and carry it out,” Chung said.

During his leadership of the project Howard Hughes delivered the first new residential building in downtown Columbia, The Metropolitan, in a decade. He also oversaw transferring ownership of the concert venue Merriweather Post Pavilion to the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission in 2016, the transformation of the Frank Gehry designed office building into a Whole Foods grocery store,  and the start of construction on the 12-story, 320,000-square-foot office building at 6100 Merriweather Drive.

DeWolf’s career in retail and real estate development spanned 40 years after he graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor of science in 1977 and a juris doctorate degree two years later. He started as real estate counsel for The Pyramid Cos. of Syracuse, New York, according to Hughes, before joining the Melville Corp., which is now CVS.

He also worked for retailer The Limited, first as real estate counsel and later as co-director of the real estate department. During a top year at that firm his team completed 700 expansions for brands that included Abercrombie & Finch, Express and Victoria’s Secret.

DeWolf also served as executive vice president of real estate/strategic initiatives for New York & Co. as well as leadership roles with New England Development, Woolworth Corp. and The Disney Stores Inc.

He is survived by Susan B. DeWolf, his wife of 40 years, and four children — Jennifer D. Farber (Leo A. Farber), Rebecca DeWolf (Mike MacGregor) John E. DeWolf IV and Melissa D. Kaufmann (Sam Kaufmann) — and five grandchildren.