Anthony “Tony” E. Mansour Sr., who was best known for developing El Dorado Hills, a master-planned community near Sacramento, California, passed away on June 5. He was 84.
Born in Jerusalem, Mansour and his family left the country in 1948, the year the Israeli Declaration of Independence was signed. His family initially relocated to Beirut, Lebanon. They then immigrated to the United States when he was 20.
After establishing roots in Southern California, Mansour, who was known to be proud of his Palestinian ancestry, attended Los Angeles City College, Woodbury College, and the University of Southern California. He later opened several thriving businesses in Los Angeles and was reportedly known by many in the city for ABC Premiums, a discount appliance and electronics store that featured popular, exclusive sidewalk sales.
A Los Angeles Times obituary stated that Mansour experienced his biggest success during that time when he became the sole provider of Hitachi TVs for video game start-ups. One of them became Atari’s famous table tennis-themed video game, Pong.
Mansour was considered to be a visionary by many who knew him. Wayne Ratkovich, founder of Los Angeles-based The Ratkovich Co. and a ULI Foundation Governor, was a close friend of Mansour’s for nearly 50 years.
“A gifted and unique entrepreneur, he succeeded in every walk of life as retailer, a real estate developer and as a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather,” said Ratkovich who is a longtime member and former chairman of ULI Los Angeles. “In Sacramento, he made his mark with the successful development of the new community of El Dorado Hills. In that process, a very close relationship with ULI was formed. It was truly an honor to be known as friend of Tony Mansour.”
Mansour began his foray into commercial real estate by developing small projects in Southern California as well as in Denver and the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He formed an investment group in 1979 with his sights set on the El Dorado Hills community outside of Sacramento.
Debbie Manning, president and CEO of the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce, describes Mansour as an insightful man who touched many lives.
“Tony Mansour, a visionary leader, purchased 8,000 acres known as El Dorado Hills, in 1979,” said Manning. “Tony had the desire, the work ethics and the community involvement to see his vision of the beautiful community that we all know as El Dorado Hills today.”
Mansour’s goal was to construct a world-class, master planned golf community. It is based on his admiration of European villages. Many say his vision for the neighborhood transformed the area.
“Tony set the bar high with his projects and was rightfully proud of them,” said Joseph Coomes, of Counsel, Best Best & Krieger LLP, who was instrumental in forming the Sacramento ULI District Council and the recipient of its first Visionary Award, which was named for him. “He looked to ULI for examples of outstanding developments and also engaged a ULI Advisory Services Panel back in 1986. Many of the recommendations from the ULI report were reflected in Tony’s developments which included both Serrano and the El Dorado Hills Town Center.”
The El Dorado Hills Town Center consists of approximately 2.5 million square feet of retail and office space designed with a European flair. Mansour gained the entitlement back in 1988 for a 3,500-acre planned community which is now known as Serrano.
He sold primarily the residential parts of the community in 1989 for $65 million to a group of developers and business professionals in Sacramento, according to the Mansour Company website. He then focused on the El Dorado Hills Town Center which is the retail hub of the local community.
“Tony was the man with both imagination and wisdom,” said Manning. “Thank you, Tony, for all you did for our community.”
“The passing of Tony Mansour is a great loss to our local ULI Chapter and to the ULI Councils Tony served on,” said Larry Kelley, former chair at ULI Sacramento. “Tony was instrumental in the growth of the Sacramento ULI Chapter. He recruited and mentored. He led by example and was a true visionary. He was responsible for much of the El dorado Hills community development, a master planned community in El dorado County. Tony planned and developed the award winning Town Center which brought much needed retail to the growing community. This mixed use development includes diverse retail entertainment, and housing. Tony was a risk taker, a visionary and creative developer who is responsible for creating projects which adhered to the ULI principals and value. He will be greatly missed by everyone that knew him, but his creations will live for all to enjoy.”
Mansour is survived by his loving wife, Sandra; his sons, Louis (Carie Ann), Jack (Carolyn) and Anthony, Jr. (Amanda); his adoring grandchildren and great-grandchildren; his sister, Jeanette Nuss; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews. Mansour was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Lily Hazbun.
A celebration of life was held in Los Angeles in June. Another service is being planned in El Dorado Hills. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to be made in Mansour’s memory to The Four Homes of Mercy, an organization which provides rehabilitation and other services for people with special needs.
