Nelson Rising

Rising was born in Queens, New York, and grew up in Glendale, California, where he attended Glendale High School, where he was an All-CIF football player in 1959. He received a scholarship to UCLA, where he received his B.A. in economics and graduated with honors in 1963. In 1967 he attended UCLA Law School, where he earned his Juris Doctor.

Rising's professional career began as an associate at O’Melveny & Myers. During this time, he took a leave of absence from the firm, to work as a campaign manager for John Tunney’s United States Senate campaign in 1970. His real estate career officially began in 1973 when he became president of the 5,000-acre Coto de Caza resort community in southeast Orange County. Throughout the growth of his real estate career, Rising stayed involved in California politics, serving as chairman of Tom Bradley’s campaign for mayor in 1973, 1977, and 1981 and Bradley’s campaign for governor in 1982. Rising developed projects throughout the United States and became a senior partner at Maguire Thomas Partners.[2] Web. 22 June 2012 . Rising was responsible for the Library Square development, which included the U.S. Bank Tower and the Gas Company Tower. He was partner-in-charge of both the Library Square development as well as Playa Vista, one of the largest and most complicated multipurpose developments in the history of Los Angeles.[3]

In 1994, Rising became CEO of Catellus Development Corporation.[4] Throughout the 11 year tenure he witnessed the company evolve from a railroad land company, to a diversified development company and eventually become a real estate investment trust. During his tenure, investors were granted a compounded return of 538%. There is now a street named after Nelson Rising in Mission Bay, San Francisco called Nelson Rising Lane. Rising was named Dealmaker of the Year in 2005 at San Francisco’s Business Times’ annual Real Estate Deals of the Year event. Rising stayed busy as Chairman of the Grand Committee. He was then appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. as Chair of the dissolution authority of the Community Redevelopment Agency in February 2012. Currently, Rising is chairman and CEO of Rising Realty Partners, LLC.,[5] chairman emeritus of the Real Estate Roundtable and chairman of the Grand Avenue Committee. He was also named chair of Governor Jerry Brown’s three-member panel to dissolve the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency. Rising serves on the board of directors and executive committee of The Irvine Company and the boards of the Trust Company of the West and Foley Timber & Land Company as well. Additionally, he is a member of the board of trustees and executive committees of the California Institute of Technology[6] and the W.M. Keck Foundation[7]

Nelson Rising is married to Sharon Lynne Sanders. They married in 1963, in Fresno, California. They have three children, Christopher, Corinne and Jonathan Mathew Rising. He and his wife reside in La Cañada Flintridge, California.[8]