Real Estate Industry Deaths in 2021
Top row: David Barclay, Gene Martinez, Ben Lambert, Steven Goodstein. Middle row: Arne Sorensen, Eugene H. Webbs, Bill Lee, Eli Broad. Bottom row: Sol Arker, Sylvia Deutsch, Gene “Taxi King” Friedman Donald Elliott
The year is drawing to a close and it is time to remember some of the titans and icons of the real estate industry who will no longer be with us for the next year.
This annual memoriam is organized by date of death and contains links to obituaries published in The Real Deal.
David Barclay, giant of the British hospitality industry, died on January 13th after a brief illness. He was 86 years old. Barclay and his twin Frederick Barclay own The Telegraph, Ritz Hotel, and other real estate investments. The two began converting former guest houses into hotels in the 1960s and dominated the industry.
Gene Martinez, Compass sales director and former recruit, died suddenly of a stroke on January 19 at the age of 60. Martinez’s move from competing brokerage firm Corcoran to the then meager upstart Compass was a turning point in the tug-of-war between the two firms for talent.
Ben Lambert, who led Wall Street to the real estate market, died on January 30th at the age of 82. The Eastdil founder struggled with the unruly stepchild of retail, which before the 1970s was commercial real estate. The art student who became a fabric seller and investment banker is just one example of the many areas of life that newcomers to the real estate industry came from.
Steven Goodstein, a developer largely responsible for building Battery Park City in the 1980s, died on February 13 of pneumonia at his South Florida home at the age of 81. Goodstein’s parents immigrated to the city from Poland and started a construction company that became a dynastic presence in New York real estate. One of the most notable developments during his tenure was the Fifth Avenue Tower near Bryant Park.
Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International, died on February 15 fighting pancreatic cancer. He was 62 years old. Marriott Executive Chairman JW Marriott Jr. described Sorenson as “an exceptional leader – but he was also an exceptional person.” He was responsible for the chain’s expansion, including the $ 13 million acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Eugene H. Webbs, an industry leader who led the redevelopment of Harlem, died on April 7th. He was 102 years old. In 1968, Webbs co-founded Webb & Brooker, the brokerage company that would become one of the most successful in the Uptown neighborhood. Renaissance Plaza was one of the company’s most significant projects. Debs also helped found the Carver Federal Savings Bank, which remains one of the largest black-owned banks in the country.
Bill Lee, founder of commercial real estate giant Lee & Associates, died on April 5 at the age of 78 after a long battle with cancer. Lee founded his eponymous company, known for its unique profit-sharing model, in the late 1970s and grew it into the statewide company it is today.
Eli Broad, the billionaire developer, philanthropist, and founder of KB Home, died on April 30 at the age of 87. Broad founded the Detroit-focused housing company that became KB Home in the 1950s. The native New Yorker later forged some of Southern California’s most famous developments, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, called Broad the “most influential private citizen of his generation”. Over the course of his life, the developer donated nearly a third of his $ 7 billion fortune to a number of causes.
Sol Arker, head of the Arker Companies, died of cancer on May 17 at the age of 73. Vicki Been, New York City’s Assistant Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, described Arker as “a visionary leader and tireless advocate for affordable housing.” Arker founded his company in 1949 with his father, Holocaust survivor Aron Arker. The company now has more than 10,000 affordable units across the city.
Sylvia Deutsche, the first woman to head the New York Planning Commission, died on June 21 in Monroe Township, New Jersey. She was 96 years old. The German was decisive for the reinterpretation of Times Square as the world knows it today.
Ronald Goerler Sr., founder of Jamesport Vineyards and plumbing supplier Crest / Good Manufacturing Company, died on August 30th at the age of 95. Of the dozen of wineries along Long Island’s North Fork, Jamesport Vineyards was the fifth.
Gene “Taxi King” Friedman, the Russian-born entrepreneur who became the most prolific holder of New York taxi medallions before a dramatic downfall, died on October 24th after a heart attack. He was 50 years old. Freidman used some of his taxi assets to build a sizeable real estate portfolio.
Alexander Garvin, town planner and key figure in the reconstruction of Ground Zero, died on December 17th. He was 80 years old. The Yale professor was a native New Yorker who was also responsible for the Atlanta Beltline and the cultural changes that went with it.
Richard Rogers, the visionary architect whose work shaped the cityscape of Paris and London, died on December 18th. He was 88 years old. His work has been described as a “unique interpretation of the fascination of modernity for the building as a machine”.
Donald Elliott, who was chairman of the town planning commission from 1966 to 1973, died on December 23 at the age of 89. His legacy as an urban planner includes dividing the city into parish districts to locate and promote civic engagement. Elliott has been described as a “realist who believed in making a city more livable”.
Contact Raji Pandya