Business & Professional

Career Achievement

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

A

long line of Schostak rabbis from
the Ukraine ended in 1920 when
Louis Schostak quit rabbinical
college in Cincinnati and, without any
capital or experience, stuck a real-estate
business sign on his lawn. It worked —
and led to creation of Schostak Brothers
& Company, Inc., based in Livonia, and
now a far-flung commercial and industrial
real estate development, management and
brokerage firm.
The family-owned, multi-generation
business has pioneered national real estate
concepts and trends for the past 88 years,
and is now helmed by Louis' son, Jerome L.
Schostak, chairman and CEO. In recogni-
tion of his work in the real estate industry,
Schostak, 75, this week received a presti-
gious Lifetime Achievement Award from
the Detroit chapter of the 30,000-member
Urban Land Institute. The award also hon-
ored him for his commitment to the com-
munity through his civic, charitable and
philanthropic endeavors.
"Jerome Schostak has been setting an
example for the national real estate com-
munity for more than 50 years:' said Mark
LoPatin, Lifetime Achievement Award
Committee chairman for the ULI Detroit.
"His hard work, creativity and entrepre-
neurship are to be greatly admired!"
Add the word "industrious" and those
terms could also describe some of Jerome
Schostak's early family members. His
grandfather, Rabbi Wolf Schostak, came
to America from the Ukraine in 1906, set-
tling in Milwaukee, Wis., and selling Fuller
brushes as a sideline to make ends meet.
Louis strived to stay in the family rabbini-
cal "business:' even giving bar mitzvah
lessons to his friends before his own bar
mitzvah. One of his later classmates was
Milwaukee native Golda Meir, who went on
to fame as prime minister of Israel in 1969.
The family moved to Detroit, but
Louis attended Hebrew Union College in
Cincinnati. He criticized city officials while
delivering a guest sermon during the High
Holy Days, and left the school because
of the ensuing controversy. He boldly
entered the uncharted waters of the real
estate industry, and moved his successful
business to Detroit. One of seven siblings,
Louis took two of his brothers into the
business and formed Rhostak Brothers &
Company, Inc.
Alluding to his three sons who are now

Photos courtesy Jerome L. Schostak

Jerome Schostak honored for success in real estate
and commitment to community causes.

60 properties in the U.S., and employing
150 people at its corporate headquarters.

Robert, Mark, Jerome and David Schostak

"Jerome Schostak has been setting an example for the
national real estate community for more than 50 years.
His hard work, creativity and entrepreneurship are to

be greatly admired."

– Mark LoPatin, Urban Land Institute

in the business, Jerome Schostak pointed
out "that could well be the more accu-
rate name of the company in the future!'
Robert, 52, of Bloomfield Hills and David,
50, of Birmingham are co-presidents of
the company, sharing the chief operating
officer title and now handling the day-to-
day operation of the business. Mark, 48,
of Huntington Woods is president and
CEO of the family's Team Schostak Family
Restaurants, which includes 60 Burger
King establishments, and Del Taco and
Olga's Kitchen restaurants.

Getting Started
Jerome Schostak attended Roosevelt
Elementary, Durfee Intermediate and
Central High School in Detroit, then
received a business administration degree
from the University of Michigan. "But by
the age of 14, I was helping my father in
the business as a messenger and doing
various other part-time jobs;' he said. "At
18, I was walking the neighborhoods, mak-

ing surveys and compiling information
about the stores!'
In the early years, Schostak Brothers
& Co. was mainly a retail brokerage firm,
handling purchases and sales for clothing
stores, drugstores and other businesses
along Woodward, Gratiot and other Detroit
thoroughfares. "When I entered the busi-
ness, I urged my father to take ownership
interest in property, such as the original
Wonderland Mall in Livonia;' Schostak
recalls. "We did so by exchanging our fees
for the ownership interest!'
Jerome's role in the business expanded
suddenly when he was still in his 20s as
Louis suffered a stroke and couldn't speak
for a period of time. He died at 72 in 1970.
In the midst of a changing economy in
the 1960s, Jerome Schostak developed a
"cutting-edge" program for the company,
building and leasing malls throughout the
region. His persistence and creativity have
made the company a dominant force in the
real estate business, operating more than

Mall Talk
Pioneering the concept of the enclosed
mall, the company had roles in developing
the original Somerset, Oakland, Livonia
and Macomb malls and led the Kmart
store expansion program to 40 properties.
"Whereas parking lots were usually
behind the stores, my father and I were
successful at 'flipping' the parking so
that people could park in front of stores,
making it more convenient for shoppers:'
Schostak explained. "The shopping con-
cepts have changed with the times and
lifestyles of people, and we've always kept
on top of the trends. Making the right deci-
sions is based on your instincts and your
knowledge of the business. We strive to
maintain financial stability and growth."
Other Schostak development projects
include a loft rental section in the Campus
Martius central business district in down-
town Detroit; Oakland Technology Park in
Auburn Hills; the Laurel Park Place Mall
in Livonia; the First Center Office Plaza,
Maccabees Center Tower Office Plaza and
Travelers Tower Office Building, all in
Southfield; Madison Park Retail Center in
Rochester Hills; Highwood Development,
a mixed-use community in Northville
Township; the Armory mixed-use com-
munity on Eight Mile Road in Oak Park;
malls in Alpena and Traverse City, and
Wal-Mart anchored malls in 14 other
states, mostly in the Great Lakes area.
Despite heavy opposition from nearby
residents, a Wal-Mart store now anchors
the Wonderland Village in Livonia, along
with 40 specialty stores, redeveloped
after the original Wonderland Mall was
scrapped. "And I'm happy to report the

Schostak on page A30

Name: Jerome L. Schostak
Age: 75
Residence: Franklin
Employer: Chairman and CEO of
Schostak Brothers & Company, Inc.
Family: Wife, Elyse; sons Robert,
David, Mark, Tzvi; daughters Lindsey,
Stefanie; 14 grandchildren; one
great-grandchild.
Education: Detroit Central High
School, University of Michigan.
Synagogue: Adat Shalom,
Farmington Hills.

May 29 2008

A29