Real estate developer Bruce Stark — who left his stamp on Hawaii with the building of residential condominiums, offices and retail space beginning in 1966 — died Thursday at age 82.

Stark’s developments include the Royal Iolani, the Admiral Thomas, the Wailana at Waikiki, Yacht Harbor Towers, Waikiki Trade Center, Waterfront Plaza and One Waterfront Towers. He left Hawaii for Las Vegas in 1998, complaining of the high cost of doing business in the islands.

Stark died at his home in Las Vegas of natural causes, said friend and attorney Bill McCorriston.

Stark’s career of real estate development and acquisition spanned six decades — and as far as Las Vegas; San Diego; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Mexico — continuing until his death.

Stark also maintained his penthouse apartment at One Waterfront Towers, which he built in Kakaako. At 400 feet, the towers were the tallest buildings in Hawaii when completed in 1990 until they were dethroned by Nauru Tower in 1992.

“It’s kind of remarkable,” McCorriston said. “He was the first visionary for Kakaako.”

McCorriston pointed to Stark’s purchase of the Honolulu Ironworks site as an example of how the developer overcame impediments.

Honolulu Ironworks “was just a shambles, with tin-roof places,” owned by Keith Kranz, who had filed for bankruptcy, McCorriston said. “Bruce was consummating the sale and was about to lose financing for it. We filed to lift the stay of bankruptcy, so we could proceed with the sale.”

Stark had 14 flatbed trucks standing by the day of the hearing. When the order was granted at 4 p.m., Stark “tore down the whole thing,” so there would be no appeal, McCorriston said. “That was the pragmatic side of Bruce Stark.”

In its place, Stark in the 1980s developed Restaurant Row, now Waterfront Plaza, within walking distance of downtown.

“He was 15 to 20 years ahead of himself,” McCorriston said. “His vision is being fulfilled now.”

Stark attributed much of his success to the people around him. That included longtime friend and architect Warner Boone, who designed Restaurant Row.

Boone deviated from boxy downtown towers with his design, using curves and unique layouts, McCorriston said.

“That was Bruce; he wanted to be different, to put some pizzazz into the architecture,” McCorriston said.

His developments won architectural, landscaping and design awards.

But hard work also helped Stark achieve success. “It was common for him to work 12- to 18-hour days,” McCorriston said.

Born in upstate New York in 1935, Stark earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Buffalo and was appointed to the Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I.

He served in the Navy, reaching the rank of lieutenant. While stationed in Hawaii, Stark noted its beauty and abundance of opportunity, McCorriston said.

After being honorably discharged, Stark returned to the islands in 1963, worked for an architectural and engineering firm, then for Dillingham Corp., developing three major projects.

His Hawaii developments did not all go smoothly. He or his companies filed for bankruptcy more than once, including in July 2009 in a dispute with the homeowners association at the Canterbury Place condominium in Waikiki. Stark developed the building and owned the retail space on the street level. He fought with the condo association over maintenance fees and at one point called the condo owners “pirates.”

When he left Hawaii for Las Vegas in 1998, Stark said he would never again consider developing in Hawaii. “Who wants to own anything in Hawaii today? You’d have to be insane to own anything because it’s just going down, down, down.”

Stark said business could be done for less than half the cost in Las Vegas. He worked in real estate acquisition in Las Vegas until his death.

Stark is survived by wife Carol; son Jeffrey; and two sisters, Noreen and Charleen.