HOUSTON – (Realty News Report) – Julio Laguarta, a leader in the Houston real estate industry and former president of the National Association of Realtors, passed away on Jan. 3. He was 86.
Laguarta was a key figure in assembling 32 downtown blocks in early 1970s for Texas Eastern, one of the most significant urban land assemblages ever completed in the state of Texas. Today, the property is the site of Houston Center and other landmarks near the George R. Brown Convention Center.
In the early 1960s, he joined with partners to found Laguarta, Gavrel & Bolin, a real estate firm focused on land brokerage.
He held a number of real estate industry leadership roles over the years, including: President of the Houston Association of Realtors (1967); President of the Texas Association of Realtors (1975); President of the National Association of Realtors (1982); President of CCIM (1973); President of the Gulf Coast Society of Industrial Realtors (SIOR) (1970) and co-founder Houston Realty Breakfast Club (1967).
Laguarta was a key figure in the creation of Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University.
Laguarta, born in Galveston, moved to Houston at an early age and attended West University Elementary School and Pershing Junior High before graduating from Lamar High School in 1951. He was a graduate of the University of Texas.
