Some time ago, I was representing for sale a 33-unit Brookline building. Potential buyers would inevitably ask, “Why are they selling?” My reply was that the owner was 95 and holding the building wasn’t part of his five-year strategic plan. It was true. He was probably the most ambitious 95-year-old I’ve run across.
While that senior seller was getting out of real estate, it’s not the case for a lot of other experienced investors. In fact, while their peers may be reaching the mandatory retirement age in other professions, these guys seem to be getting a second real estate wind. Some are even working on the most ambitious projects of their careers.
Take, for example, Don Chiofaro. He graduated from Harvard in 1966, and nearly 50 years later, he’s trying to build skyscrapers on one of the most challenging sites in the city. Ed Zuker, who started Chestnut Hill Realty in 1969, is nearing the approval to build hundreds of new apartments at his Hancock Village apartment complex, and I’m pretty sure that when he does get it, it will make him the largest residential landlord in Brookline. Ron Druker, just shy of 70, is developing a 308,000-square-foot property in the South End.
Another investor I know, Charlie, started renovating historic buildings in Beacon Hill in 1966. Today, he has an impressive portfolio which includes at least 23 buildings. Forty-seven years after closing on his first home, he says real estate investing is a hobby and he doesn’t know how to retire from a hobby. He’s 75 and considers himself a buyer.
Age apparently hasn’t had an impact on David Zussman’s eye for opportunity. David founded the “roots” of the Boston Development Group in 1956, but it wasn’t until 2000 that he saw potential in the real estate around the Bulfinch Triangle. Since then, he has purchased five buildings in the area and is currently constructing a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use development there, known as The Merano. Additionally, David tells me he is involved in one of his most ambitious projects to date, the site of the former Cleveland Circle Cinema. That location is on the Brookline/Brighton line and BDG is working out the permitting for a mixed-use development containing several hundred thousand square feet.
Still Growing
Franklin Simon, the founder of The Simon Cos., might also be drinking from the fountain of youth. He is described on the company’s website as not only “a highly decorated World War II veteran,” but a leader who “remains active in all aspects of the company’s operations.” He’s 89 and when I called his office at a time that would be after hours for many, he was still there, going over some specifications for upgrading one of his office buildings. Franklin says he’s “still trying to grow the company,” which includes being involved in acquisitions, development and managing properties for other entities. I asked, if I were to call in five years where would he be? He replied, “I hope I’m still here at my desk, signing 15-year leases.”
The Boston investor who ages like fine wine is Harold Brown. Harold filed bankruptcy in 1991, when he was 66. Since then, however, he has been among the most active investors and developers in the Hub. Noting his many projects in various parts of the city, a 2006 Boston Magazine article referred to Brown as “The Comeback Kid.” That was seven years ago when he was in his early 80s. A short time afterwards, the economy might have slowed, but Harold didn’t. In the midst of one of the toughest economic climates in recent memory, he made his largest purchase, spending $129 million for a 383-apartment complex in Brookline. When I spoke with Harold several weeks back, he said he had been offered $200 million for Dexter Park, but would never sell. This year, at 88, Harold Brown has closed on more than $100 million of area real estate this year and the year’s not over. It is said, he can identify, finance and close on a building in the time it takes for a Millennial to find the remote control.
So, if you happen to see Methuselah walking around Boston anytime soon, don’t act too surprised. Chances are he’s bird-dogging a few development opportunities.
David Bates is a broker with Gibson/Sotheby’s International Realty and author of The Bates Real Estate Blog, www.BatesRealEstateReport.com.
