Financial, Investment
and Tax Planning
Michael H. DeLap,
EQUITAS
sines 8a Professio al
Ao.e4,z,e4
MST, CFS
TAUBMAN HONORED
NASD Registered Principal
Registered Investment Advisor
Registered Broker/Dealer Member: NASD/SIPC
Clearing firms: Bear Stearns and Pershing LLC
33045 Hamilton Court E., Suite 105
Farmingon Hills, MI 48334
Phone 248-363-2548 800-863-1778
e-mail: mdelap@equitasusa.com
Joe Mel em Computer Services
Your Independent Technology Partner
•Network design & installation
•Software design & programming
'Server setup & administration
•Hardware troubleshooting & repair
Over 24 years of experience making computers do the right thing.
Small Business ...Call 248-755-1257... I-lome office
915510
e°1 /*
1 St Call
I9
c61°14
°
4'9e
Computer So utions
i i=1116On-Site
Repairs • Upgrades • Training
GREAT RATES
"v6I
248-515-5702
Certified / References
of
926830
• Computer Repairs — Upgrades — Replacements
• Infections Treated — Antivirus —*CounterSpy
• Cable/DSL Internet Connection Sharing • EBAY, Yahoo, Stocks and AOL
• Computer Purchase Consulting • Training and Installation
• Wireless and Wired Networking Help
iPod and iTunes Support
The Computer Person 'LLC. • 248-655-9010
sup porttfhecomputeepersonnet
LEARN HOW TO ORGANIZE & AUTOMATE YOUR HOME OFFICE
"Your home office organization solution"
$ Pay Bills Electronically Automate Your Checkbook $ Organize Files
$ All You Need is a Computer and MONEY AND ME $
e-
exp eit
0*P. O.„,
inatit As complacttti, We ant.
Customized Plans— Maximized Value
.
KE i [WITS INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
from page 39
Dearborn and Twelve Oaks Mall in
Novi, soon to be expanded with 30
stores, including a newly announced
Nordstrom, a popular Seattle-based
retailer.
"Last year, our mall tenant sales aver-
aged $477 per square foot, the highest
in the industry," Taubman said.
Those sales climbed 7.2 percent in the
first quarter of this year; Taubman
would love to see that important meas-
uring stick of retail performance hit
$500 for 2005.
Revenues for Taubman Centers in
2004 were $431 million, an 11.7 per-
cent increase over 2003. The mall occu-
pancy rate was 89.6 percent, and the
total return to shareholders was 51.7
percent, with the company stock averag-
ing $27-$29 per share.
The company survived a hostile
takeover bid by an Indiana organization
and lost some mall management con-
tracts to other firms, but is now focusing
on partnerships with companies like
theh Southfield-based Forbes Co. and
Gordon Group to develop new proper-
ties, especially with unique tenants and
upscale stores. The new Partridge Creek
Fashion Park is being developed in
Clinton Township.
Taubman Centers recently announced
the new Taubman Asia organization,
based in Hong Kong, to develop centers
around the Pacific, with the first being a
$20 billion mega-mall deal slated for
South Korea. "I'm off to China soon
with my son Robert to introduce our
new Asia director to everyone and see
for myself what that market is all
about," said Taubman.
Taubman stepped down as chairman
of Taubman Centers at the same time he
relinquished his chairmanship of the
Sotheby's auction house, although he
still owns 28 percent of the former and
controlling interest in the latter.
Those steps were necessary after his
price-fixing conviction, for which he also
paid a $7.5 million fine. He steadfastly
maintains his innocence of conspiring to
fix commission rates on sales of fine art.
Taubman's philanthropy even extend-
ed into his prison stay. Before he was
released, he gave money to a few of his
fellow inmates to help them fight their
legal battles.
His son Robert of Bloomfield Hills is
chairman, president and CEO of
Taubman Centers. Another son,
William of Bloomfield Hills, is executive
vice president. He also has a daughter,
Gayle Kalisman of New York.
Taubman has been married for 23
years to his second wife, Judith Mazor
Taubman, 60, a former Miss Israel
whom he met on a blind date.
A Risk Taker
The Life Achievement Award seems a
fitting tribute for Taubman because he
has been credited with many innova-
tions in terms of buildings, layouts, con-
struction methods and leases.
"Shopping center expansion was a
simple -matter of taking advantage of the
rise of the suburbs, which were gaining
momentum in the 1970s," he said. "A
big factor was the paving of the nation's
roads after World War II. That led to
vistas to the malls. The rise in the subur-
ban malls also was due to some city
planners who resisted downtown mall
proposals in order to protect local retail
merchants."
Envisioning the future in real estate,
Taubman said, "we have to keep making
progress because the U.S. population is
growing at a rate of about a million peo-
ple a year, and we must provide shop-
ping space for them."
He reasons, "We're all in this together
because almost everyone is in the real
estate business. Even if you're just mak-
ing payments on a home, you're in the
real estate business. We have to rely on
organizations like the Urban Land
Institute to keep us on our toes with
their research and 'think-tank' work."
When he visits his malls — in places
like Oyster Bay, N.Y., and Pelican Bay in
north Naples, Fla. — Taubman is happy
to see people clutching shopping bags,
but he thinks the new mall kiosks inter-
fere with traffic and compete with the
stores.
"When I see empty bags, I look the
other way," he said. "Mall location, of
course, is still the most important thing
in this business — and location is deter-
mined by the person who builds the
development. Malls also must be clean,
with clear sight lines to showcase the
stores.
Individual &.Employer/Group Plans
Charles H. Keys, CSA*
President
•Certified Senior Advisor
Long Term Care Specialist
39555 Orchard Hill Place, Ste 430
Novi, MI 48375
office: (248) 347-7032
fax: (248) 347-7035
info@kbia-inc.com •
www.kbia-inc.com
Life • Health • Dental
Vision • Long Term Care
Cafeteria Plans
Disability • Annuities
12 GOOD PEOPLE, A PLACE TO WORK & 2 TRUCKS
959640
CALLTOOP,i FOR P, SUBSCRIPTION
5/5
2005
40
248.351.5174
Affordable Assembly Services A-Z
• Literature • Letters • Kits
• Ad Material Inserts • Parts
• Pick-n-Packs of all kinds
Pick Up and Delivery.Available
(all SE MI, 24/7 in Southfield)
866-352-7388
Great Rates • Quick Turnarounds
•Agency, PR Firms & Publisher
Discounts Available
• Same Day Service
on HOT projects!
962350
/Mk
/Mk
AIL
AI&
Aft
Al&
/Mk