Harold Brown

Harold Brown, whose real estate career spanned seven decades and developments ranging from Boston hotels and office buildings to multifamily projects, has passed away at the age of 94.

Brown retired last year from Allston-based Hamilton Co., which owns 5,600 apartments and 2 million square feet of commercial space, and turned the company’s leadership over to his son, Jameson Brown, and co-CEO Andrew Bloch.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean conflict, Brown developed more than 10,000 residential units during his career. Shunning the luxury apartment sector, The Hamilton Co. focused on more moderately-priced projects such as the $100 million Packard’s Crossing project in Brown’s native Allston.

A foray into downtown tower development embroiled Brown in a legal battle mixing Boston politics and real estate during the 1980s. Former Massachusetts Senate President William Bulger returned a $240,000 payment from his law partner, Thomas Finnerty, after it was revealed that Finnerty had accepted a $500,000 consulting fee from Brown related to approvals for the 31-story 75 State St. office tower. In a civil suit, Brown claimed that he made the payment after officials threatened to hold up the permitting process. Bulger said the payment was a loan for unrelated legal work, and the U.S. Attorney’s office declined to file charges.

Brown’s career spanned five real estate cycles and his company sometimes made contrarian bets, focusing on retail acquisitions in 2014 while taking a conservative approach to multifamily apartment in the recent building boom. “The multifamily and office markets are becoming so high and the demand for commercial real estate is getting heavier. [Retail] will be the only thing left within the realm of reason,” Brown told Banker & Tradesman in 2014.

In the same interview, Brown, whose first commercial venture was a doughnut shop in Davis Square, identified Somerville as the local community with the most upside in all real estate categories. The Hamilton Co. acquired and redeveloped a warehouse property at 2 Union Square and redeveloped it into a location for Philadelphia-based Urban Axes in 2013.

He founded The Hamilton Co. Foundation in 2011, which donates up to $1 million a year to community groups.

Services are planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Kehilath Israel, 384 Harvard St., Brookline. Donations may be made to the Franciscan Children’s, 30 Warren St., Brighton, 02135 or to the West End Boys and Girls Club, 105 Allston St., Allston, 02134.