William M. Grace

William M. Grace (September 10, 1934 – April 25, 2004) was a building developer who played an important role in bringing casinos to the Midwest.

Biography Grace was born on a farm near Burlington Junction, Missouri. He received a B.S. and later an MBA from the University of Arizona in 1959. He taught at both the University of Arizona and later Arizona State University while working as a field engineer for Reynolds Aluminum in Phoenix. He then moved back to Missouri and in 1966 he founded W.M. Grace Construction and W.M. Grace Development Company initially headquartered in St. Joseph, Missouri, but later headquartered in Arizona. In 1970 Grace established branch offices in Denver, Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona with the latter becoming the corporate office. The company designed, built and/or leased shopping centers, office buildings, banks, hotels, casinos, apartments and industrial facilities throughout the central and western United States. The Woodlands has subsequently closed. Money from these and other business activities are now used by the W.M. Grace Foundation.