James Winfrey Wilson III, an Alabama business leader whose company, Jim Wilson & Associates, spearheaded some of the state’s most recognizable commercial real estate developments, has died at age 59.

Wilson died in his home in Montgomery on March 11, the company announced. A cause of death was not released.

Wilson and his brother Will expanded JWA, the company formed by their father, Jim Wilson Jr., who died in 2006.

The company, formed in 1975, began building an average of four malls a year. In 1986, the $300 million Riverchase Galleria, billed as the largest shopping center in the Southeast, opened after JWA bought 58 acres and Harbert Corp. bought 78 acres of land where the mall now stands.

JWA also developed the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge; EastChase in Montgomery; and Redstone Gateway business park in Huntsville.

The firm also invested in start-ups and established operating companies, including A&W Enterprises and 42 Equity. In addition, JWA created two residential communities in Montgomery – Wynlakes, a 1,000-acre golf course community, and New Park, a 1,000-acre mixed-use development.

Wilson also served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama system where he was Chair of the Athletics Committee, and as President of the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital Authority.

Wilson graduated from the Montgomery Academy and earned a degree in business administration at The University of Alabama, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

After graduating college in 1985, Wilson moved to New York City where he worked in commercial real estate at Manufacturers Hanover and met his wife, Susie Forst. The couple married in 1987, in Rye, New York.

After the wedding, Wilson went to work for his father.

“Jim was a dynamic leader and an impactful philanthropist. He used his time and resources to make life better for so many,” a company statement read.

“Jim will be remembered for his unrivaled charisma, unfiltered humor and unfettered love of his family and friends. Jim was kind, fun, boisterous, and just like his father, an expert in the art of celebration. If you were with Jim Wilson III, you were having a great time.”

Wilson is survived by his wife of 35 years, Susie; two daughters, Lillian Pascale and Wesley Clingman; mother, Wynona Wilson; siblings, Elizabeth Hunter, Winston Reese and Will Wilson; sons in law, Matthew V. Pascale and James F. Clingman IV; and five grandchildren, JW and Nate Pascale, Lucy, Wyn and Fully Clingman.

The funeral will be March 15 in Montgomery.