Humberto “Bert” Lopez Inducted into Tucson Legends at CCIM Annual Meeting

TUCSON, Arizona — Humberto “Bert” Lopez was inducted into the CCIM Tucson Real Estate Legends Tuesday at the CCIM Annual Forecast Meeting. The induction takes place each year to honor those “legends” who have built the commercial real estate community in Tucson from its early beginnings.

The following presentation was read at the induction, presented by Jim Marian, CCIM, of Chapman Lindsey Commercial Real Estate and George Larsen, CCIM, of Larsen Baker:

Bert Lopez was born in Nogales as an “anchor baby” from Mexico. At times, his family relied on welfare to survive. His father died when he was 11 years old.  His high school counselor said “Humberto, you’re not college material…”  For a while, he was a field worker…

Maybe we should build a border wall….

But rather than build a wall or feel sorry for a poor Nogales kid who was forced to go to work when he was 11 years old, we are here to celebrate the human spirit that sometimes compels a young man to rise from these desperate circumstances to the pinnacle of his profession.

This is Humberto Lopez’ story

About that beginning:  It’s all true.  Bert worked to support his family starting in 1957, the year his father died, because his family needed him to. When the family moved to Nogales, Arizona, he attended Nogales High School while working 44 hours per week at a Nogales grocery store.

When he was told he was not college material, he found a way to attend Cochise College.  He proved his guidance counselor wrong when he graduated from the University of Arizona in 1969 with a degree in accounting.

Right out of college, he landed a job with accounting firm Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Los Angeles.  He married his college sweetheart, Czarina.

About that time, Bert read a book that changed his life:  It was “How I turned $1,000 into $1,000,000 in real estate” by William Nickerson.  He kept working as an accountant at Deloitte, but he thought he could do some real estate investing on the side.

He borrowed $1,000 for his first deal. It was a single-family lot in Nogales…. he paid $3,500 for it (those were the days).  Six months and one day later, he sold it for $7,000.  He was on his way.

Bert joined the National Guard to meet his military Selective Service commitment.  He found himself serving with other business executives who had that same commitment, so he organized them into an investment partnership…. and this was the start of the Lopez real estate empire.

By the time Bert was 29 years old, though still employed by Deloitte, Bert was making more money syndicating apartment buildings than the senior executives at Deloitte.  His real estate partnerships extended throughout the Southwest.

By 1975, it was time to cut his ties to Deloitte and fly solo.  He brought along his great friend and co-investor/partner Glenn Toyoshima, CPA and founded HSL Properties.

He was also busy raising a family, with wife Czarina and daughter’s Iovanna who came along in 1970 and Iliana, who blessed their lives in 1986.  Those were heady years for HSL Properties; he was right in the middle of California’s booming real estate market.

By 1980, Bert Lopez had already achieved that pinnacle of success.  He was on top of his game, with a beautiful wife and two young children.  He had enough money.  He thought maybe he should retire back to Tucson and play golf.

He bought a classic home in El Encanto (where he and Czarina still live) and settled into “retirement”.

Thank goodness golf is a time-consuming game and Bert is an impatient person.  Retirement lasted just a few months!

From his new base in Tucson, HSL Properties has become a legend in Tucson real estate.  His company has formed more than 200 different partnerships and joint ventures that have helped our community grow.

Bert is an informed risk taker and was an early believer in downtown Tucson.  He bought the Santa Rita Hotel (now the TEP building) in 1977, along with a number of other properties in subsequent years, making HSL the largest downtown property owner.  He kept his faith in downtown through a lot of lean years.  Now, almost 40 years later, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for Tucson’s downtown core.

He has owned and operated over 25,000 apartment units during his career. He current operates approximately 11,000 units, of which about 9,000 are located in Tucson.

He has developed and revitalized over 2,000 hotel rooms for our tourist trade. He survived multiple real estate meltdowns that many of his peers never recovered from.  His companies employ over 1,000 Tucsonans in his hotel and apartment operations and through his construction activities.

And he gives back generously to our community and to the country that gave him the opportunity to succeed.  Bert and Czarina do not publicize all the charities they and their family and businesses support…. but their contributions are in the multiple millions of dollars.  Bert has served on many nonprofit boards, including as Chairman of the U of A Foundation, the United Way, the YMCA and the Catholic Foundation.  He has also served on the board of a number of New York Stock Exchange listed corporations, including Pinnacle West and Arizona Public Services (APS).

He has been honored by many organizations, including as Father of the Year and Man of the Year. His HS Lopez Family Foundation continues the tradition of giving back to the community, with his hope that the Foundation will continue for many decades into the future.

Now semi-retired, with his nephew, the equally brilliant Omar Mirales at the helm of HSL Properties, and his old friend Glenn Toyoshima riding shotgun, Bert can reflect on his journey from a bag boy in a Nogales supermarket to a legend in the commercial real estate industry and an example of the opportunity to succeed that our country should make available to all of our children.

Maybe that wall isn’t necessary…

Tucson CCIM Real Estate Legends welcomes Humberto S. Lopez!