1957 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is licensed by Georgia Real Estate
Commission and begins his real estate career.
1959 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. begins working for Q.V. Williamson
and Company as a salesman.
1960 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is hired by T.M. Alexander, Sr., and
T.M. Alexander Jr., as Sales Manager at Alexander & Associates, Inc.
1960 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. receives his Broker’s License.
1962 – Alexander & Associates becomes Alexander-Dawson & Associates,
Inc. where Harold A. Dawson Sr. serves as President of the company for the next
seven years.
1964 – 1965 – Alexander-Dawson & Associates developed University
Plaza Apartments. University Plaza Apartments were luxury apartments in the Atlanta
University Center where students, faculty, newly arriving Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta
Braves lived and where the famous Birdcage Restaurant was located.
1964-1965 – Alexander-Dawson & Associates developed Harris Manor
Subdivision, beautiful luxury homes on Peyton Road in Southwest Atlanta. Atlanta
Civic Enterprise assisted with the financing of Harris Manor Subdivision in 1965,
as well as University Plaza in 1996.
1969 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. incorporates Harold A. Dawson Company,
Inc. (HADCO)
1970 to 1973 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is appointed by Atlanta Mayor
Massell to the Atlanta-Fulton County Joint Planning and Zoning Board on November
17, 1970. Harold Sr. is re-appointed to the Board in March1972 and served as Chairman.
1971 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. becomes a Graduate of “Leadership Atlanta”,
Seminar Program of Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
1972 to 1989 – First appointed in 1972 by Georgia Governor Jimmy
Carter, Harold A. Dawson Sr. is the first African-American in Georgia History to
become a member of the Georgia Real Estate Commission. Mr. Dawson serves the Commission
as a Member, then as Vice Chairman, and later becomes the first African-American
to be elected Chairman.
1970 to 1972 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. serves as the President of
the Empire Real Estate Board, known today as the Empire Board of Realtists.
1971 – HADCO manages London Towne Houses, a 200 Unit 221D3 HUD
Cooperative Development in SW Atlanta for 31 years. Several major renovations took
place during this period.
1972 – HADCO manages 603 Unit Kings Ridge Apartment, one of the
company’s first major management contracts and one of Atlanta’s first upscale apartment
developments for African-Americans with many amenities.
1977 to 1979 - Harold A. Dawson Sr. serves as President of the
National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inc. (NAREB). He was the 10th President
of the Real Estate Trade Association.
1984 to 1985 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. serves as President of the
National Association of Real Estate License Law Officials, the first and only African-American
to serve as President.
1988 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is honored by the National Association
of Real Estate Brokers during the Salute to the 20th Anniversary of Fair Housing
on April 18th.
1989 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is appointed Member to the Georgia
World Congress Center Authority by Georgia Governor Joe Frank Harris at the time
the Georgia Dome was about to be financed and built.
1991-1997 – HADCO entered into a contract with Resolution Trust
Corporation to manage and dispose of thousands of real estate assets worth hundreds
of millions of dollars located in 41 states in the United States. HADCO was the
only African-American firm to be designated as an Asset Manager.
1992 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. joins Harold A. Dawson Company, Inc.
1992 – HADCO completes development of Northside Plaza, the first
mixed-use residential development located on the Southwest side of Downtown Atlanta,
two blocks from the Georgia Dome and across the street from Vine City MARTA rail
station.
1994 & 1995 – HADCO completes the re-development of Cascade Citi-Center,
a $7.5 million, eight acre site on Cascade Road at Donnelly Avenue in Atlanta, GA
with a 100,000 square foot shopping Center. The development included demolition,
renovation and new construction of a Super Kroger Store.
1996 – HADCO develops City Plaza, a$25 million, 400,000 square
foot mixed-use development that includes 164 apartments, a 350-car parking facility
and 25,000 square feet of retail space. CP becomes the first mixed-use luxury apartment
development in Atlanta’s South Central Business District, and is the first major
development in Atlanta history that is owned, developed, leased and managed by an
African- American Real Estate and Development Firm.
1997 – City Plaza is honored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle
as the Best Residential Development of the year.
1997 – HADCO completes the development of Fulton County DFACS building
and Grady Health Center at the Bankhead MARTA Station, a health and human services
campus style development complex on a 10 acre site in Atlanta, GA.
1999 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. is interviewed by National Public Radio
(NPR) on Atlanta’s “New Urbanism.”
1999 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is interviewed twice by the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution regarding HADCO’s 30th Anniversary.
1999 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. and HADCO are honored at Clark Atlanta
University by The Atlanta Tribune where Harold is inducted into the “20th Century
Minority Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.”
1999 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. and Harold A. Dawson Jr. are awarded
the Drum Major for Justice Award presented by Southern Christian Leadership Conference/Women
(SCLC/W).
1999 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. and HADCO are honored by the Atlanta
Tribune and inducted into the 20th Century Minority Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.
2000 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. is one of the 11 African-American Men
featured in the February 2000 edition of Business to Business Magazine as, “An apostle
of a dream of prosperity, justice and equality.”
2000 – HADCO is honored by the Atlanta Business Chronicle at its
2000 Best in Atlanta Real Estate Awards Dinner.
2000 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. and HADCO receive the Developer of
the Year Award from the National Organization of Minority Architects.
2000 – HADCO completes the 100,000 square foot office building
for Fulton County Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) located on
Roosevelt Highway.
2001 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. is featured in the March 2001 edition
of the Real Estate Forum publication. The article, which is entitled “The New Breed
of Developers,” features professionals who redefine urban real estate.
2001 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is awarded the Private Sector Award
by the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC) Atlanta Chapter.
2001 – Harold A. Dawson, Jr. is profiled by Georgia Trend Magazine
as one of the “40 Stars Under 40” for the magazine’s October edition.
2002 – HADCO and its Centennial Hill Development Partners (CHDP)
complete the development of the Museum Tower at Centennial Hill, a $60 million mixed-use,
167-unit, 26 story luxury condominium tower located across from Atlanta’s Centennial
Olympic Park.
2003 – HADCO is awarded Corporation of the Year by Atlanta Business
League.
2003 - HADCO is named Georgia Family Business of the Year by Georgia
Trend Magazine.
2003 – HADCO completes the development of Heritage Pointe Town
Homes, the 42-townhome community adjacent to Turner Field near Downtown Atlanta.
2003 – HADCO completes the development of Collier Pointe Town Homes,
the 138-unit townhome community across from the Hamilton E. Holmes MARTA Station.
2003 – HADCO partners with Carter to develop Phase II of Lindbergh
City Center’s Residential Component
2003 – HADCO partnered with Bank of America Community Development
Corporation to develop Centerpoint. Centerpoint is a $100 million development in
Downtown Baltimore, MD encompassing a city block. It includes a 17 story tower,
2 new mid rise buildings, nine restored buildings which HADCO developed into 392
apartments, 30,000 square feet of retail space and a 410 space parking garage.
2003 – Harold A. Dawson Sr. is installed by and interviewed by
History Makers. History Makers is based in Chicago, Illinois and is made up of African-Americans
who have made significant contributions to the history of this Country. History
Markers’ profiles are on the World Wide Web-Site.
CIRCA 2003 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. is appointed to the Georgia World
Congress Center Authority by Governor Sonny Perdue.
2004 – HADCO and Bank of America win the Greater Baltimore Committee’s
Bridging the Gap Award for Business Partnerships and Strategic Practices for their
work on the development and redevelopment of Centerpoint in Downtown Baltimore,
MD.
2004 – HADCO is awarded 1st Place for the 2003 Development of Centerpoint
in Baltimore, MD by Baltimore Business Journal (2004)
2004 – HADCO completes the development of Decatur Renaissance Centre,
a $55 million mixed-use, transit oriented office, retail and residential complex,
located one block from the Decatur MARTA Station in Downtown Decatur, GA. The Centre
includes Decatur Renaissance Condominiums, a 168-unit residential and retail development
comprised of six stories and 5,500 square feet of retail space.
2005 – Harold A. Dawson Jr. becomes President and Chief Executive
Officer for Harold A. Dawson Company, Inc.
2005 – HADCO & Lane Company begin construction on development of
Eon Condominiums at Lindbergh City Center at the Lindbergh MARTA Station.
2006 - The Dawson Company established the Dawson Real Estate Fund,
L.P.
2006 – Demolition is completed and new construction begins on Lindmont,
the $250 million housing development of Dawson & Lane Companies diagonally across
from Lindbergh City Center and the Lindbergh MARTA Station.
2006 – HADCO completes the development of Uptown Square, the first
residential component at Lindbergh City Center. Uptown Square is comprised of 3
buildings and 362 apartments. Lindbergh City Center is a $500 million mixed-use
Transit Oriented Development (TOD) at the Lindbergh MARTA Station in Atlanta, Georgia’s
Buckhead Community.
2007 – Harold A. Dawson Company, Inc. (HADCO) goes through a rebranding
process that illuminates the future goals and aspirations of the Company. The Company
is renamed The Dawson Company.
2007 – The Dawson Company and partners move forward on the development
of the “Super Block,” diagonally across from Centerpoint in Baltimore, Maryland.
Development cost is approximately $250 million.
2007 – Cincinnati City Council & County Commission approves “The
Banks” one billion dollar mixed-use development of Dawson and Carter to move forward.