Carrying the legacy forward: howard hughes' david o'reilly named 2026 recipient of zonda's legends award

Recognized for leadership in long-term community building, O'Reilly will be honored at Future Place and featured in BUILDER Magazine

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Zonda today announced David O'Reilly, chief executive officer of Howard Hughes, as the 2026 recipient of its master planned communities Legends Award, to be presented by BUILDER Magazine live at the Future Place conference at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, Sept. 28-30.

"The Legends Award recognizes leaders who do more than build communities; they carry a vision forward for generations," said Jeff Meyers, CEO of Zonda. "David O'Reilly and the Howard Hughes team have demonstrated what thoughtful, long-term community building can achieve across a portfolio of communities that have shaped their markets, enhanced daily life, and created lasting value over time."

Why O'Reilly and Howard Hughes?

O'Reilly has served as CEO since the end of 2020, following his 2016 arrival at the company as chief financial officer. Under his leadership, Howard Hughes has continued to advance a portfolio of some of the nation's most recognized and enduring master planned communities while positioning its next generation of growth in key markets.

• Summerlin: One of the nation's most established and top-selling master planned communities, known for long-term planning, scale, and lifestyle-driven placemaking.
• The Woodlands: A foundational community in the Howard Hughes portfolio, now building on its remarkable legacy with new culinary, hospitality, residential, and lifestyle offerings.
• Bridgeland: One of the country's top-selling master planned communities, with strong residential momentum and a growing commercial core.
• The Woodlands Hills: A growing North Houston-area community near Conroe and Willis, Texas.
• Ward Village: A leading urban master-planned community in Honolulu, with strong condominium demand and continued neighborhood evolution.
• Merriweather District: A mixed-use destination bringing new energy to Downtown Columbia.
• Teravalis: A next-generation Arizona community planned at significant scale and projected to become one of the largest master-planned communities in the country at full build-out.

"This recognition is especially meaningful because community building is a team sport," said O'Reilly. "At Howard Hughes, we are stewards of extraordinary places that were built over decades by people with real vision and conviction. Our responsibility is to carry that legacy forward with the same long-term mindset."

He added, "What sets a great master plan apart is not any one building, amenity, or moment in time. It is the discipline to make decisions in the right sequence, at the right standard, and with an understanding of how people actually live. When you get that right, each decision strengthens what comes next. That is how great communities create lasting value, but more importantly, it is how they give people a better way to live."

"David's leadership has helped sharpen the way we think about community building across the Howard Hughes portfolio," said Drew Davis, chief operating officer of Howard Hughes Communities. "He brings a rare combination of long-term capital discipline and genuine respect for the human experience inside a community. That balance shapes how we plan, sequence, and operate our communities every day, with a focus on creating places that continue to grow stronger over time."

The recognition comes at a time when the housing and development industries are increasingly focused not only on building more homes, but on creating more resilient, connected, and enduring communities.

O'Reilly and the Howard Hughes Communities team will be honored at the Future Place conference and featured on the cover of the Q3 edition of BUILDER Magazine with the "Carrying the Vision" feature story by Leah Draffen.

Previous winners of the Legends Award include Syd Kitson of Kitson & Partners, Adrian Foley of Brookfield Residential, Rex Jensen of Lakewood Ranch, Fred Balda of Hillwood Communities, Larry Johnson of Johnson Development, Emile Haddad of FivePoint Holdings, and Bob McLeod of Newland.

Visit ZondaHome.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information.

About BUILDER

BUILDER is the No. 1 resource—via its award-winning journalism and industry events—for anyone involved in new-home construction. Primarily focused on the single-family sector, BUILDER strives to help home builders manage their operations, large and small, more efficiently and profitably. Residential construction pros turn to BUILDER for housing-related news, market analysis, design trends, M&A deals, building product coverage, and more. builderonline.com

About Zonda

Zonda is the trusted source of homebuilding data, insights, and marketplaces that help housing professionals make smarter decisions, connect with homebuyers, and sell homes more effectively. We help builders, developers, building product manufacturers, mortgage lenders, and other housing professionals navigate every stage of the homebuilding lifecycle. Our mission is to advance the homebuilding industry because we believe better homes mean better lives and stronger communities. Together, we are building the future of housing. Learn more at zondahome.com.

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SOURCE Zonda