B I R M I N G H A M



42 | JULY 8 • 2021

W

hen Edward
Rose, founder
of national real
estate development com-
pany Edward Rose & Sons,
immigrated to the United
States in 1907 to live on a
farm with his Uncle Streir,
the young boy had virtually
nothing to his name. Like so
many immigrants who also
left Poland for a better life
in America, he had to some-
how build a career from the
ground up.
Now, Edward Rose & Sons
is celebrating 100 years in
business thanks to a timeless
success story that mirrors
those of many Jewish immi-
grants who relocated to the
Detroit area.
It began during World War
I, when Rose was enticed by
Henry Ford’s offer encour-
aging workers to move to
Detroit and take on jobs
in the city’s booming auto
industry. The wages promised
were $5 per day, which at the
time was a handsome sum.
Though working for Ford
didn’t ultimately come to fru-
ition for the then-21-year-old
Rose, he had other ambitions
to pursue.
After trying out a tem-
porary building business
with his brother, Louis Rose,
Edward decided to launch

his own company. He
partnered with a friend,
Max Rosenfeld, to invest
$5,000 saved from a win-
dow-washing company
into what would become
Edward Rose & Sons
(Rose later bought out
Rosenfeld). By 1921, the
new building company
was open for business.
“We’ve been in continu-
ous operation since 1921,”
explains Warren Rose, grand-
son of Edward Rose and
current CEO of Edward Rose
& Sons.
“My grandfather founded
the company at that time as a
single-family home builder.”
Now, Edward Rose & Sons
has significantly expanded,
branching into luxury apart-
ments, multi-family units and
even a new senior living arm.

GIVING VALUE
Warren Rose attributes the
company’s success to his
grandfather’s unwavering
commitment to getting
the “most house for your
money.”
“That was his inspiration,”
Rose explains. “He wanted to
give great value to the people
who purchase homes.”
For Edward Rose, a simple
man who came from humble
beginnings and didn’t need

the luxuries in life, his goal
was for customers to buy
homes that would be worth
every dollar. This was espe-
cially important during the
historic economic collapse of
the Great Depression, which
significantly impacted the
housing industry.
Surviving the Great
Depression, Warren Rose
says, was one of his grandfa-
ther’s — and the company’s
— biggest accomplishments.
“My grandfather was a very
astute businessman and
was able to get through that
economic downturn in one
piece,” he explains. While
there wasn’t a lot of activity
during this time, Edward

Rose and the company main-
tained their solidarity.
The Rose family then
opened a mortgage busi-
ness, Advance Mortgage
Corporation, which was
later sold to Citicorp (now
Citigroup) in 1970. The
mortgage business, Warren
Rose describes, was the com-
pany’s second key milestone.

SENIOR LIVING
Their third major milestone
is the new Rose Senior
Living business, which works
exclusively with the senior
community.
“It’s hard to believe we’re
now in our 100th year,” Rose
says. “I think the entire fam-
ily takes great pride in the
legacy that was started by
Edward and all that he did.”
The business, which is kept
going strong by several gen-
erations of the Rose family,
sees many members involved
in its management.
Though times have

Edward Rose & Sons celebrates
100 years in business.

Building Upon
Great Success

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BUSINESS SPOTlight

brought to you in partnership with

Edward Rose’s
mission was to
provide value to
homeowners.

The founder of
the business