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An apartment in the Metropolitan 13 in Royal Oak, a Kaftan Communities property
Golden Anniversary
Father passes the business torch to his son.
Ryan Fishman
Contributing Writer
A
$5,000 loan and a nightstand
for an office — it's an inauspi-
cious start for any business
— but for Kaftan Communities, it was
the first step on a journey that's lasted
50 years.
The Southfield-headquartered property
management and development company is
celebrating five decades of building up, and
sometimes tearing down, and after a rocky
decade for the real estate industry, it's a tes-
tament to what's at the core of their success
— family values, grit and a commitment
to community.
Today, the company manages 24 com-
munities, rents homes to more than 2,400
families and grows its revenue more than
20 percent annually.
For then-25-year-old Mel Kaftan, who
was a building superintendent, it was
beyond his wildest dreams. "I wanted to
make a little more money, so I borrowed
what I needed from my dad and started
building spec homes on the east side in
cities like Roseville and Centerline. There
were men in my neighborhood in the
building business — they drove Cadillac
convertibles and had suntans in the winter
— so I decided that's what I wanted to do:'
The 75-year-old "just wanted to make
a living" and humbly complains it was his
wife, Geri, son Jeff and daughter Lori who
are "making a big deal" out of his golden
anniversary.
"They said, 'How many people went into
business 50 years ago, never went broke,
paid their bills, kept their doors open?' I
never thought of it as any great accom-
plishment, but I'm proud of it, and ifs been
a very, very interesting life in this business
of ours:'
It's a business son Jeff now runs as
Mel splits his time between homes in
Birmingham and Florida, but the elder
28 July 9 • 2015
Kaftan certainly stays involved.
"My role has changed. I'm not around all
the time and a business has got to be run;
you can't just stop in twice a week I see
myself as a consigliore, I give Jeff my opin-
ions, talk to him about the issues and then
he makes a decision. I know he's smart
enough to evaluate things and make the
right decision — he's learned the business;
he knows it:'
When Jeff was just 15, he started spend-
ing time around the family business
but left Detroit after college to pursue
an M.B.A. in real estate development at
George Washington University
"Jeff called me one day and said, 'Dad,
there are some jobs around here. I want
to stay in Washington for a few years and
work: I told him I thought that was a
great idea, but I was done building," Mel
said. "I knew he wanted the business, so
it was move home or I'm selling. Truth is,
I knew if he stayed there, he'd meet a nice
Jewish girl, get married and I'd have to fly
to Washington to see my grandkids. So he
came home:'
That was some 20 years ago, and on
his return, Jeff began working on the con-
struction side of the business and slowly
worked his way up.
"It was a great way to come up, to get a
good understanding of the business and
develop a solid foundation," Jeff said. "I
stayed on the construction side until the
market collapsed, and then we began to
shift our business model. With property
management, I really found my focus, and
that's the difference between my dad and
me — he's a creator, and I've always liked
taking what he's created and making it
better.
"Coming into a family business isn't
always perfect. We've certainly had our
ups and downs, but I give my dad a lot of
credit for being hands off when ifs right
and letting me take my own direction:' Jeff
said. "He's given me the latitude I needed,
the trust and the confidence to continue to
build our business. Ifs a really good part-
nership — in a lot of ways we complement
each other in our skill sets:'
Mel doesn't hide his prideful joy when it
comes to what Jeff's done with the family
business.
"This kid is mentally into he said. "I
was a great builder and a good landlord, a
fair landlord, but he just does a better job.
I feel very comfortable with him running
the whole deal. So I just keep an eye on
him, but that's it. A lot of fathers don't want
to let go. They call their son an idiot in
front of their whole staff. You tell a kid that
enough times, after a while they'll think
ifs true:'
But more important than the business
today for Mel are the grandkids — Jeff
and wife Marla's three children: Elliot, 13,
Amelia, 12, and Asher, 8.
As Jeff and Mel ponder the next 50
years, Jeff says whether those children will
join their father and grandfather is up to
them.
"If they're interested in the business, I'd
love them to join me. It can be fun, ifs a
great business, and we've had some great
times working together:'
And Mel, with a chuckle, has left his son
only one strict order for their future:
"I said, when it's over, don't waste money
on a casket or a funeral. Just roll me up
in an old carpet, toss me in the dumpster
and get some of those little hot dogs. That
makes for a good party:' ❑
Maddin, Hauser, Roth & Heller
P.C. announced Jonathan B. Frank
will be of counsel to the firm. He
also provides
arbitration and
mediation ser-
vices in business
and real estate
cases and will
join the Complex
Litigation and
Risk Advisory
Frank
Practice Group,
which offers clients legal expertise
for resolution of the most conten-
tious and complex matters. He has
been selected for inclusion in the
Michigan edition of Super Lawyers
from 2013-2015.
Lax
Three attorneys
from Southfield-
based multi-
specialty law
firm Maddin,
Hauser, Roth &
Heller P.C. have
been selected
for recognition
in Chambers
USA: America's
Leading Lawyers
for Business 2015.
Shareholders
Charles M. Lax,
Gary M. Remer
and Marc S. Wise
Remer
were honored
in the Employee
Benefits &
Executive
Compensation
practice area.
They specialize in
tax and non-tax
considerations
Wise
of all forms of
employee compensation and ben-
efits; they advise clients concern-
ing retirement plans, health and
welfare, deferred and executive
compensation.
ht.
Shannon Hall, assistant director
of the Sarah and Irving Pitt Child
Development
Center, has been
selected as one
of 19 fellows
nationwide to
participate in JCC
Association's first
Sheva-Covenant
Directors
Hall
Institute, a three-
year program to develop high qual-
ity leadership in early childhood
education.