metro

Class Act

Sidney Forbes honored for a lifetime
of real estate achievement.

Bill Carroll
Contributing Writer

A

t 75, real estate developer Sidney
Forbes may be a bit too young to
even receive a lifetime achieve-
ment award, but he's getting one anyway
— and deservedly so.
Forbes, of Bloomfield Hills and Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., who founded the
Forbes Co. more than 40 years ago,
is being honored by the Urban Land
Institute Michigan (ULI) "for his contribu-
tions to real estate development, and the
quality of life in the (Detroit) metropolitan
community"
The ULI is part of a national nonprofit,
education and research organization with
30,000 members. Other Jewish local win-
ners of the award in recent years are real
estate moguls A. Alfred Taubman and
Jerome Schostak.
Forbes, who is senior partner of his firm
based in Southfield, will be recognized at
a dinner May 17 at Detroit's Book Cadillac
Hotel. "It's a very nice honor and I'm proud
to be the recipient:' said Forbes, who has
spent a lifetime working to create land-
mark properties that have helped redefine
the parameters of commercial develop-
ment. He now oversees his four large malls
in Michigan and Florida, including one
that's immediately recognizable to local
shoppers — the Somerset Collection in
Troy.

Partner And Competitor
"When you look at all that Sidney Forbes
has accomplished in his career, it's no
wonder he's so influential in the Metro
Detroit real estate community': said
Robert Taubman of Bloomfield Hills,
chairman, president and CEO of the mall
giant Taubman Centers Inc. of Bloomfield
Hills, who is ULI award committee co-
chairman.
Taubman holds the unusual position of
being both a partner and competitor of
Forbes. "His hard work and creative integ-
rity have provided a tremendous example
for every present and future professional
in this industry:' Taubman added.
Taubman Centers malls face off against
Somerset in Michigan, but the firm is a
partner with the Forbes Co. in two Florida
malls.
Despite being a college dropout, Forbes'
real estate career is a typical Jewish busi-
ness success story. His father died when
Forbes was 12, and things looked bleak
for a while for the family. Forbes lived

10

May 17 • 2012

on Glendale Street in Detroit's old Jewish
section, and he attended McCullough and
Durfee schools, graduating from Central
High in 1954.
"But tragedies like that in early life tend
to toughen you, and sort of set you up as
you begin a career;' Forbes said. "I attend-
ed Wayne State University for a while, but I
became very interested in real estate and I
just couldn't wait to get going in that field!'

Malls Across West Michigan
In 1962, Forbes started gaining real estate
experience by opening a small shopping
center in Warren, anchored by a former
Federal Department store, then sold
the center in 1967. He launched a blitz
through western Michigan, opening small
malls in Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo,
Grand Rapids and Lansing — basic cen-
ters with about a half-million square feet
in each. Forbes' partner in these Forbes/
Cohen Properties was Maurice Cohen of
Southfield, who died in 2003.
"After that [the smaller malls], I realized
I really wanted to delve into luxury shop-
ping centers with high-end merchandise
and new demographics all together:' he
said.
This led to his involvement in Somerset,
the upscale super-regional mall, regarded
to be among the top privately held malls
in the United States. Frankel Associates,
led by Sam Frankel, who died in 2008,
and now headed by his son, Stanley, had
opened Somerset Mall on the south side of
Big Beaver Road. Forbes joined forces with
them to expand to the north side, open-
ing as the Somerset Collection in 1990.
Somerset now has 200 stores spread over
almost 1.5 million square feet.
"People love to shop there for many
reasons. Mainly, I think, because it's not
cluttered with carts and kiosks that you
often find in other malls," Forbes pointed
out. "We created a clean, friendly shopping
environment, and we draw shoppers from
all around the area, including Ohio and
Canada!'
In 2011, Somerset sales reached about
$750 million. The mall achieved sales
per square foot of $800, which is the
main measuring stick that owners use to
determine if the mall is successful. This
compares with a national average of about
$350 per square foot.

Armani Stores Coming
Forbes revealed upcoming improvements
at Somerset, including the opening of two
Giorgio Armani stores, one for clothing

and one for accessories;
a new Hugo Boss men's
clothing store; doubling
the size of the Apple
store; and renovation of
Saks Fifth Avenue's entire
first floor.
"If Sid could find
me a great location at
Somerset, we would love
to open a Bloomingdale's
store there quipped
Mike Gould of New
York, chairman and CEO
of Bloomingdale's, an
Sidney Forbes
upscale department store.
They have been friends
for 20 years.
"In plain Yiddish, Sid is a real mentsh,"
said Gould. "He has terrific vision, integ-
rity and core values. He's decisive and
always knows what's right; he's an upbeat
guy whose glass is always half full."
Besides being 50-50 partners with the
Frankels in Somerset, the Forbes Co. has a
similar partnership with Taubman Centers
in the internationally acclaimed Mall at
Millenia in Orlando, Fla., which has dra-
matic architecture and world-class retail-
ers, and the Waterside Shops in Naples,
Fla.
Forbes also operates the Gardens Mall
in Palm Beach, Fla., a newly developed
1.4 million-square-foot shopping center
designed to help entice seasonal custom-
ers and the growing population of Palm
Beach County.

'Class Act Of The Industry'
"Sid Forbes is one of the class acts of the
real estate industry': said Steve Sadove
of New York, chairman and CEO of Saks
Fifth Ave., which has stores in three of the
malls. "He's a great visionary and terrific
to work with. We especially like being in
his malls because they're very clean and
uncluttered and conducive to the shopping
experience!'
Forbes feels the mall-building boom has
subsided in the United States, with pos-
sibly only one center being constructed
of more than 400,000 square feet. "There
has been an over-building problem; just
too many stores and not enough demand:'
he lamented. "And the major department
stores are pulling in their horns and con-
solidating."
Surprisingly, the recent downturn in the
economy hasn't had a strong effect on the
Forbes malls, "just a minimal impact:' he
said, "because, after all, we have mostly

high-end stores, and affluent customers
usually can afford to make purchases
despite the economic situation!'
Businessman-philanthropist Eugene
Applebaum of Bloomfield Hills has been
Forbes' friend since the seventh grade at
Durfee, and they meet for lunch every
Friday, either in Florida or the Detroit area.
"Sid is a super guy, a real gentleman,
who is very deserving of this award. And
he's a philanthropist in his own right': said
Applebaum.

Large Gift To Beaumont
Forbes regards himself as a leading
contributor to the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit and many
other Jewish charities. He belongs to
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
"I support and stay connected with all
the exciting new things taking place in
the city of Detroit, especially Downtown:'
he said. He supports the arts, medical
research and education in the area, con-
tributing to the Detroit Institute of Arts,
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Cranbrook
Schools, the Karmanos Cancer Institute
and Royal Oak's Beaumont Hospital.
Forbes and his wife, married for 54
years, recently announced a $4 million
gift to Beaumont to establish the 114-
bed Sidney and Madeline Forbes Family
Orthopedic Center, which includes a
35-bed joint replacement section.
The Forbes family consists of a son,
Nathan of Franklin, who is managing
partner of the Forbes Co.; a son, David of
Bloomfield Hills, who is leasing partner; a
daughter, Nancy Katzman of Franklin, and
11 grandchildren.
Asked to sum up the secret of his suc-
cess and give advice to others, Forbes does
it succinctly:
"Always look ahead, smile and stay posi-
tive." ❑