This month, the Atlanta Business Chronicle honored one of the Council for Quality Growth’s “founding fathers” by awarding him with their Visionary Award at their 2014 Best in Atlanta Real Estate Awards. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, “vision” is defined as the ability to remove the rose-colored glasses clouding our perception and then determining ways to improve the situation at hand, and Mr. Weeks’ “unequaled grasp of the growth and development issues facing metro Atlanta, as well as the public policy and private development approaches that can effectively deal with them” made him a perfect fit as a recipient of this award.
Ray was one of the original founders of the Council for Quality Growth when it was founded in 1985, and served as its first president (although that position has now been renamed “Chairman of the Board”). He was also the 1999 recipient of the Council’s Button Gwinnett Tribute, an award that has now been replaced by the Four Pillar Tribute. According to Michael Paris, Council President and CEO Michael Paris:
“Ray was a visionary in seeing the council as creating a different avenue for enhancing communication, as well as providing a platform for information-sharing and education, between the development community and elected officials.”
Ray’s vision and leadership cannot be overlooked in the Metro Atlanta region. He took the helm of A.R. Weeks and Associates when his father died in 1983, and the company continued to expand under his leadership to become the largest build-to-suit warehouse and suburban office developer in the Southeast. He led the company through a $115 million IPO in 1994 (Weeks Corp.) when he took the firm public, and Weeks Corp. merged with Duke Realty to become Duke-Weeks Realty Corp. in 1999. In 2001, Ray left Dukes-Weeks to form Weeks Properties Group and remained with that company until 2008, when we co-founded Weeks Robinson Properties with former Council Chairman Forrest Robinson. He now serves as the Chairman of Weeks Robinson Properties.
However, his leadership extends beyond these three development corporations. In 2005, he was hired by then-Mayor Shirley Franklin to serve as the first chairman of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership; he led the development of the TAD for the BeltLine and acquired many crucial properties for the project. The BeltLine’s current successes would likely not have been possible without Ray’s leadership and vision.
In addition to the Button Gwinnett Tribute and the ABC’s Visionary Award, Ray has earned recognition from many organizations for his contributions to the Metro Atlanta Region, including:
- 2012 – Frank Carter Community Achievement Award (Urban Land Institute, Atlanta chapter)
- 2007 – “Distinguished Conservationist of the Year” award (Georgia Conservancy)
- 2007 – Carter/Mathis award for Outstanding Contribution to the Community (National Association of Industrial & Office Properties)
- 2000 – Harry West Golden Glasses award (Atlanta Regional Commission)
- 1999 – Zell Miller Public Policy award (Georgia Economic Developers Association)
The Council would like to thank Ray for his ongoing commitment to the Metro Atlanta region and would like to congratulate him on this well-deserved honor.
To read the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s spotlight on Ray Weeks, click HERE.