Murray H. Goodman

Murray H. Goodman (born 1925) is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and founder of Goodman Properties (also known as The Goodman Company). He is Lehigh University's most generous living benefactor, and the Goodman Campus and 16,000-seat Goodman Stadium are named in his honor.

Murray H. Goodman
Born1925 (age 95–96)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationLiberty High School (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Alma materLehigh University
OccupationReal Estate Developer
TitleFounder and Chairman, The Goodman Company
Spouse(s)Joanie Mellor Goodman
Children5
Websitewww.thegoodmancompany.com

Early life

Murray Goodman was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[1] He was educated at Liberty High School there.[1]

Goodman served in the USAAF for 2.5 years.[2] He then received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Lehigh University graduating in 1948, and was captain of the basketball team in 1947.[2]

Career

The Goodman Company, headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, was founded in 1960 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It has actively and successfully developed regional malls and power centers throughout Pennsylvania, Florida, New Jersey, Virginia, and Ohio for over five decades. Founder and Chairman Murray H. Goodman began his career as a general contractor, constructing institutional buildings and developing supermarkets, service stations and small shopping centers in eastern Pennsylvania. The company was an early pioneer in the development and management of regional and super-regional malls with more than 24 million square feet of commercial space.

Mr. Goodman is a long-time member and trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers. He has previously been ranked as one of the leading developers and managers of shopping malls by Shopping Center World, a highly regarded trade publication.

The company is no longer building any ground up projects, but is seeking to buy existing retail properties in Florida, Texas, Nevada, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Tennessee and New Hampshire.[3]

In 1980, he developed The Esplanade on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.[4] Since 2004, it changed its name to 150 Worth.[4] In 2014, it Goodman sold it for $146 million.[4]

Goodman has developed, owned and managed over 18 million square feet of shopping malls from Neptune, New Jersey, to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.[5]

Philanthropy

The Goodman Campus, one of three at Lehigh University, is named in his honor, Goodman having donated 550 acres in Saucon Valley in 1983 to build a sports complex, including the 16,000-seat Murray H. Goodman Stadium.[6][7] He is Lehigh's most generous living benefactor.[3]

Personal life

Goodman is married to Joanie Mellor Goodman, they have five children, and live in Palm Beach, Florida.[3][5] They originally lived in Pennsylvania.[8] In 2009, Goodman listed his apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York, at $32.5 million, but sold it to Benjamin Steinbruch two years later for $18.875 million.[5][9] In 2015, he sold Turtle Lane Farm, his family's "lavish equestrian property" in Wellington, Florida for $9.675 million.[10][11]

In 2013, their daughter Marley Goodman, a real estate agent and former member of the U.S. Equestrian Team, married Brett Overman, President and CEO of National Disaster Solutions and Zip's Car Wash, also of Palm Beach, at the Mar-a-Lago Club, and Rabbi Solomon Rothstein officiated.[12]

They also have a son, Malcolm Goodman.[8]

References
  1. "The Goodman Company – A History of Shopping Center Excellence". thegoodmancompany.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. "Murray H. Goodman: Executive Profile & Biography – Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. "Joanie and Murray H. Goodman 1948* - Giving". giving.lehigh.edu. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. "150 Worth, Neiman Marcus building sell for $146 million". palmbeachdailynews.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  5. "Duplex in Über-Prim 960 Fifth Asks $32.5 M.; Last Sold for $1.4 M. in '81". observer.com. 17 December 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  6. "Lehigh - Murray H. Goodman". history.lehighsports.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  7. "Murray H. Goodman Stadium - Driving Directions - About Lehigh - Lehigh University". www1.lehigh.edu. Archived from the original on 14 April 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  8. Cara Nissman (25 January 2006). "Town & Country – The Goodman Family, at home on the range or on the island, enjoys the best of both worlds" (PDF). Palm Beach Illustrated: 127–133. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  9. Polsky, Sara (21 January 2011). "Fifth Avenue's Dog-in-Suit Co-op Sells at Massive Discount". Curbed NY. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  10. "Murray H. Goodman". therealdeal.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  11. Vicky Moon (2004). A Sunday Horse: Inside the Grand Prix Show Jumping Circuit. Capital Books. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-931868-41-9. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  12. "Marley Goodman, Brett Overman". palmbeachdailynews.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
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