CHICAGO -- William "Bill" A. Alter, founder of Chicago-based developer The Alter Group, passed away Friday, August 8 in his Winnetka home of complications from Alzheimer's. He was 78. Named one of the most influential people of the 20th Century by National Real Estate Investor magazine, Alter’s company developed more than $1 billion of space over a half century.

Alter's Realty Company of America began building homes for post-war, first-time buyers and their growing families became The Alter Group, with offices in Phoenix and Atlanta and private holdings worth $758 million.

In 1959, Alter developed the first residential community for middle-income minority buyers, Kingston Green in Markham, IL. With Olympian Jesse Owens as his national spokesman, Alter brought the dream of home-ownership to hundreds of disenfranchised families.

Dubbed the "sky broker", Alter was known throughout his native Chicago for using a twin-engine plane to scout land sites. Said son Michael, who succeeded his father as president in 1995, "his was a uniquely American story."

Over the decades, The Alter Group began developing millions of square feet of speculative office, industrial, research-and-development space in a variety of business parks. A recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Urban Land Institute in Chicago, Mr. Alter helped create the now widely copied concept of the professionally planned industrial park.

Additionally, he pioneered build-to-suit development, an alternative project-delivery method in which the developer assumes full responsibility for turnkey, custom-designed corporate facilities. Some of these projects include Nextel in Bremerton, WA, and Temple, TX; AOL in Dulles, VA; Kaplan University in Fort Lauderdale, FL; Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation in Orlando, FL; and The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies in Phoenix, AZ.

Chicago projects include the Amalfi Hotel; the Chicago History Museum modernization; The CORE Center, the nation’s first outpatient facility for the treatment of HIV-related diseases; and the Fornelli Hall renovation for student residences in the landmarked Pittsfield Center across from Millennium Park.

Additionally, Alter began the development of the 187-acre mixed-use Riverwalk Arizona, one of the largest developments on Native American land in the nation.

Alter is survived by his wife, Evelyn. He was the father of Michael, Harvey, Jennie, Jonathan, and the late Rhonda Alter, and had two step children, Nicky Bliwas and Tony Winski, and 13 grandchildren.

Chapel Services were held Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 12:30 PM at Shalom Memorial Funeral Home, 1700 W. Rand Road, Arlington Heights. Interment was at Shalom Memorial Park. Donations may be made to Keshet, 617 Landwehr Road, Northbrook, IL 60062; Weizmann Institute of Science, 180 North Stetson Avenue, #84, Chicago, IL 60601; or the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 North Michigan Avenue, Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60602-7633.

The Alter Group, nationally headquartered in Chicago and with regional headquarters in Atlanta and Phoenix, was ranked the ninth-largest U.S. commercial developer by the Commercial Property News in April. The group's healthcare development wing, Alter+Care, was ranked ninth largest in that area by Modern Healthcare magazine in March. The firm’s portfolio includes more than 1,500 acres in Chicago, Atlanta and Phoenix, as well as hundreds of acres in selected cities country-wide. For information, visit www.altergroup.com or call 800-637-4842.