Kevork Hovnanian was born in Kirkuk, present-day Iraq, in 1923. He was the oldest of four sons born to Stepan K. Hovnanian, a refugee from Armenia who had settled in Iraq. Stepan Hovnanian operated a construction business in Kirkuk which held contracts with oil companies in the region.
Career
Hovnanian took over the family's construction business after his father became ill. The company eventually employed more than 12,000 people in Iraq. However, Hovnanian fled to the United States in the aftermath of the 1958 Iraqi Revolution, which overthrew the monarchy of Faisal II of Iraq. Most of his family also moved to the United States. In 1959, Kevork and his three brothers - Hirair Hovnanian, Jirair Hovnanian and Vahak Hovnanian - each contributed $1,000 dollars, in addition to $20,000 which they borrowed from Peter S. Vosbikian, to found Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. in a trailer in Toms River, New Jersey. Hirair, Jirair and Vahak left the company by 1969 to found their own enterprises. Hovnanian and his company earned a reputation to selling low costcondos and townhouses, many to first time young homeowners and families. A typical two-bedroom, two bathroom Hovnanian home built in the early 1980s cost approximately $30,000 because Hovnanian eliminated amenities such as communal swimming pools, which other builders used to attract potential buyers. In a New York Times interview in 1983, Hovnanian explained his reasoning for marketing low cost homes in developments without community amenities, "There are limited recreation facilities going in because people have little time for socialization." Hovnanian Enterprises had built and sold more than 30,000 homes and condos by 1989. An additional 200,000 residences were sold between 1989 and 2009, as the company expanded its construction to include luxury homes, mid-priced homes and retirement communities. It remains one the United States' largest builders of "active adult homes", which are sold under the name of Four Seasons communities. Kevork Hovnanian stepped down as president of Hovnanian Enterprises in 1989, and was succeeded by his son, Ara K. Hovnanian. He remained chief executive until his retirement in 1997, and was also replaced as CEO by Ara Hovnanian. However, he remained the chairman of the company's board of directors until his death in 2009. The company relocated its corporate headquarters to a new building on the banks of the Navesink River in Red Bank, New Jersey, in 2006.
He was survived by his wife of 60 years, Sirwart ; daughters, Sossie Najarian, Esto Barry and Lucy Kalian and Nadia Rodriguez; and son, Ara Hovnanian. He was also survived by two of his brothers, Hirair and Vahak, both of whom live in Middletown, New Jersey, and 13 grandchildren. The president of the New Jersey Builders Association, Michael H. Karmatz, called Hovnanian an "industry vanguard" following his death.
