Frederick M. Hubbell was only 17 years old in 1856 when he made his first real estate transaction, the purchase of 640 acres of land in Woodbury County. That single transaction eventually led to the development of one of the largest real estate companies in Central Iowa, and that business celebrated its birthday last week.

Hubbell Realty marked its 150th anniversary April 21, and its chairman, Jim Hubbell III, said the principles his great-great-grandfather instilled in the company are still alive and well today.

“He always thought and acted with the long-term future in mind,” Hubbell said. “His vision mandated we look long-term as well, which guaranteed a smooth transition from generation to generation.”

The Hubbell name is one that saturates the history of Des Moines. In 1866, Frederick Hubbell helped establish the city’s first streetcar company. The next year, he established Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa, the state’s first insurance company. In 1871, Hubbell organized Des Moines Water Company, selling it to the city in 1919. Hubbell Avenue was opened through northeast Des Moines in 1900, costing Hubbell $95,000.

Jim Hubbell said that when his great-great-grandfather died in 1930 at the age of 91, he left a legacy of community involvement that still permeates the company.

“Everything he did, he helped the city of Des Moines prosper,” Hubbell said. “And that is a big part of what we see as our responsibility: to participate and help the community move ahead and improve.”

In the area of community involvement, the company’s focus has been on education, the arts and supporting Hubbell Realty associates in their giving and involvement. The company and its associates have given generously to organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Rebuilding Together, the March of Dimes and Nurturing a Student’s Vision, a program through the Des Moines Arts Festival that encourages area schoolchildren to create works of art and rewards schools with financial donations toward the purchase of art supplies.

“Our focus has always been on Iowa,” Hubbell said. “And we encourage everyone in our organization to give back, and we do what we can to facilitate that.”

Since it’s founding, the company has grown into more than just a realty firm. It now encompasses Hubbell Homes, CB Richard Ellis/Hubbell Commercial, Hubbell Development and Management, and Hubbell Renovations. Rachel Flint, public relations manager for Hubbell Realty, said the company’s diversification is intentional, making it a full-service provider for its customers.

“We want to be a one-stop shop,” Flint said.

Hubbell became the company’s president in 1983, a year before what he calls the company’s signature project, Kaleidoscope at the Hub, opened its doors.

“It is right in the middle of everything,” he said. “It is the center of the skywalk system, and many people may not remember the work we did to make that happen. It was very complex. It sits in the middle of seven skywalk connections.”

Another project he is particularly proud of is the renovation of the Hubbell Building, at 904 Walnut St., into a residential complex. The 10-story building was one of the first “skyscrapers” built in Iowa in the early 20th century. The Hubbell family has owned the building since it was completed in 1913.

“It was empty and functionally obsolete as an office building,” Hubbell said. “So the question was, do we tear it down, let it deteriorate further or convert it and change its use? Obviously, we chose the latter.”

Hubbell said, due to the Hubbell Building’s place in the family’s history, the company had an emotional attachment to it, so it never crossed anyone’s mind to do anything else but renovate it, and in February, the project was completed.

“It was very exciting for us to give another 50 years of life to that building,” Hubbell said. “We even got it on the national registry as a historic site. Today, it is 70 percent rented, and we expect that number to be 100 percent by the end of the year.”

The company also worked to have Spaghetti Works building, 310 Court Ave., designated as a historic landmark.

Everything is looking good for his company, Hubbell said. In 2002, Hubbell Realty relocated to its new corporate headquarters at 6900 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines, and most recently, it purchased the Copper Creek Golf Course.

The company also recently began work on residential projects it calls “conservation communities.”

“These are not your traditional subdivisions,” Hubbell said. “The houses are clustered closer together, the lots are smaller, the streets are narrower and there are no curb and gutters.”

He said the unused ground left over from these changes to typical subdivision design would be turned into a common area totaling somewhere between 25 and 45 percent of the total development. This type of development, Hubbell said, is much more environmentally friendly in many ways.

“For one, you have more green space,” he said. “And secondly, instead of having runoff to a gutter and sewer pipe, which eventually ends up in the river, this takes the runoff and moves it to the green space. This helps improve water quality significantly.”

The communities will also feature biking and walking trails to invite and encourage exploration of natural areas, as well as native plants in landscaping to reinvigorate the natural ecosystem.

The company is “moving green into what they do,” Hubbell said, even in commercial developments.

“This is a whole different way of organizing a development,” he said. “We are the first to do this in a major way in this area, and this is very good for the community.”

The company currently has plans to develop four such projects over the next 10 years, Hubbell said.

Hubbell is also optimistic because of the employees of his company, who he said are young, energetic and don’t need a lot of direction.

“We’re a young company,” he said. “A lot of our associates are in there 20s and 30s, and they are more the type who don’t ask for permission, they ask for forgiveness later, which is the type of people we want to surround ourselves with.”

It’s also a good time to be in Des Moines, Hubbell said, because of the recent strength of several major companies that have come to the city.

“We’ve been blessed with good companies and good people all coming together at the right time and place,” he said. “It is a very good time for us.”

The company’s success is the result of a little luck and a lot of hard work, Hubbell said, and the future is bright.

“The next 10 to 20 years will be every bit as exciting as the last 20,” he said. “It’s always been a family company, but it has never depended on just one person, and I think that has made us strong.”