Geo.
H. Rucker Realty Corp.
In 1906 Geo. H. Rucker Company, a general partnership, was formed by George H. Rucker and two of his brothers-in-law, Ashton C. Jones, Sr. and N. A. Rees. Mr. Rucker was Clerk of the Court for Alexandria (later Arlington) County, which was a very small rural area at that time. The premise behind the formation of the company was that real estate was a good investment given the area's proximity to the federal seat of government, which should lead to rapid growth and development. To complement the real estate activity, the business was expanded to include mortgage banking, insurance sales, leasing and property management and commercial real estate development.
Messrs. Rucker and Rees passed away before 1925, leaving descendants to run the business along with Mr. Jones. Mr. Rees' interests were eventually bought out by Mr. Jones so that by the mid-1930s, the business was owned two-thirds by the Ashton Jones, Sr. family and one-third by the Morrell Stone family, Mr. Stone being the son-in-law of George H. Rucker.
In the early 1960s, the assets and operations of the business had grown to the point that a corporate structure seemed the preferred form for some of its development activity. A series of corporations were established which resulted, through various renamings and mergers, in the single corporate entity, Geo. H. Rucker Realty Corporation.
Only part of the assets of the original general partnership were contributed to this corporation, and Geo. H. Rucker Company General Partnership is still in existence today.
By 1960 Ashton Sr.'s sons, Ashton C. Jones, Jr. and Jack R. Jones, and their families owned two thirds of the corporation. Messrs. Jones and Jones had been active in the management of the business since the 1930s.
In the early 1980s, the active management of the corporation was gradually passed down to the next generation, with the addition of outside professional management.
Geo. H. Rucker Realty Corporation is still active in the ownership of commercial and residential real estate, management and development, but in the process of transferring the management to the current generation, none of whom had the experience of their forefathers, it was decided to withdraw from certain areas of the business. As a result of this decision, the Geo. H. Rucker Insurance Agency, the Geo. H. Rucker Mortgage Corporation and the residential and commercial brokerage and property management operations were sold. In April 2001 the brokerage and property management operations were reacquired when the company elected Subchapter S Corporation status.
The overall development goals of the corporation are long-range and conservative. With this approach, projects can be put on hold if necessary to await the next window of opportunity. The corporation's primary business interests are located in Northern Virginia and Maryland, with the exception of one Wendy's restaurant located in Washington, D. C. Real estate investments include two warehouses (118,000 sf), three retail centers (285,000 sf), thirteen fast food restaurants (real estate only, triple net leases), four office buildings (88,000 sf) and commercial land being held for development.
The day-to-day management of the corporation is handled by President & Chief Executive Officer Richard Wolff and Vice President Charles Mason along with the active assistance of the Chairman of the Board Michael Rucker and the Board of Directors and, of course, a support staff currently numbering four. With the exception of stock owned by Mr. Wolff, the rest of the corporation is privately held in family hands.