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Melvin 鈥淧ete鈥� Mark Jr., one of Portland’s most important 20th-century real-estate executives, died Thursday at age 91.

Mark was the second generation of what has become one of Portland’s largest and most respected real estate and development firms.

Mark moved to Portland in 1951 with his wife, Mary Kridel. His father, Melvin Mark Sr., had purchased the Loyalty Building, and the family firm continued to acquire a number of historic properties, including the Cascade Building, Yeon and Builder’s Exchange.

The firm now has 50 employees and owns or manages 3.1 million square feet of commercial space. The companies are now led by CEO Jim Mark, Pete’s son.

Pete Mark, whose nickname was bestowed by his sister, Lois, became managing partner of the family firm in 1965, when his father, Melvin Mark Sr., died.

Pete Mark developed Columbia Square, which was completed in 1979, and Crown Plaza, a 280,000-square-foot building that provided a boost to downtown revitalization. He also played a key role in keeping Portland’s downtown healthy, Jim Mark said.

鈥淎s downtowns were failing all across the county, the public sector and the private sector joined hands to try to attract people to downtown Portland,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e were sort of the first downtown to figure out you need to have attractors downtown.鈥�

Pete Mark joined other civic leaders to persuade Nordstrom to keep its anchor store in downtown Portland.

Mark served on the boards of Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Oregon Convention Center, among other civic organizations.

鈥淗e really believed in collaboration and getting things done with other people,鈥� Jim Mark said.

Today, Melvin Mark Companies is a fourth-generation family business. In addition to CEO Jim Mark, who took over in 2000, Pete’s son-in-law Scott Andrews is president of Melvin Mark Brokerage Co., and grandsons Peter and Paul Andrews are commercial brokers.

鈥淗e was a family man first,鈥� Jim Mark said. 鈥淗e was passionate about this company, and the people at the company were like family to him.鈥�