Tony Goldman, redeveloper of 13th Street, dead at 68

[billy ross]

Art Deco and Wynwood developer Tony Goldman dies - Downtown/Biscayne Corridor - MiamiHerald.com

[Naveen]

What did he do on 13th St? The obit only mentions SoHo and Miami.

[Jayfar]

What did he do on 13th St?

Virtually everything between Walnut and Chestnut.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Virtually everything between Walnut and Chestnut.

Yup; before Goldman saw the potential there it was full of trannies and sex shops.

[thoth]

Yup; before Goldman saw the potential there it was full of trannies and sex shops.

And now there's some pretty sweet restaurants in between those trannies and sex shops. I wonder if his passing will slow down the spillover onto Chestnut.

[Hospitalitygirl]

And now there's some pretty sweet restaurants in between those trannies and sex shops. I wonder if his passing will slow down the spillover onto Chestnut.

No as he hasn't really been a factor in a number of years.

[Jayfar]

And a more complete Inquirer obit:

Tony Goldman, 68; revitalized Philly’s 13th Street

and a later article from the Miami Herald (appears to be a different one than back in the first post):

South Beach, Wynwood developer Tony Goldman dies at 68 - Miami Beach - MiamiHerald.com

[supersupper]

Yup; before Goldman saw the potential there it was full of trannies and sex shops.

There are still sex shops and trannies there.

Its great how he managed to enliven an area without knocking down old buildings, building ungainly developments, not promising pie-in-the-sky farces, managing to gather neighborhood support....... and still make money. Imagine that.

[Jayfar]

There are still sex shops and trannies there.

Its great how he managed to enliven an area without knocking down old buildings, building ungainly developments, not promising pie-in-the-sky farces, managing to gather neighborhood support....... and still make money. Imagine that.

+1

Sad to read that he'd suffered through such serious health problems in recent years, including having gone through a double lung transplant. Fortunately he partnered with a son and daughter in the business, so hopefully his style of development will continue to be a force.

[eldondre]

No as he hasn't really been a factor in a number of years.

one would guess his health had something to do with that

[Hospitalitygirl]

one would guess his health had something to do with that

That and the fact that he moved from project to project. He saw opportunity early, got things started then moved on to the next area. In situations such as these the margins for profit are best early on.

[billy ross]

one would guess his health had something to do with that

I've been meaning to check out Wynwood for awhile now - what's happening there sounds really interesting. I hadn't realized he was behind it.

[eldondre]

That and the fact that he moved from project to project. He saw opportunity early, got things started then moved on to the next area. In situations such as these the margins for profit are best early on.

I'd imagine the profit margins at best in the later years assuming you bought in the early years. I had heard he wanted to build a tower but that might have just been a rumor.

[Hospitalitygirl]

I'd imagine the profit margins at best in the later years assuming you bought in the early years. I had heard he wanted to build a tower but that might have just been a rumor.

Never heard he wanted to build a tower, and I always watched what he did, particularly in the early years, since I thought it was a great development for Center City.

[MarketStEl]

The great thing about his approach is that it did not depend on a complete sanitization of the area, as has been noted by others on this thread. Instead, he relied on seeding it with enterprising businessfolk willing to take a risk on what was already there. (I recall reading an article that ran in the Inquirer about what was then Gyro Worldwide's move from Society Hill to 13th and Sansom; the agency's head was quoted in it as saying they liked the idea of having their headquarters over a porno movie theater. The firm is still there, now called Quaker City Mercantile; instead of designing ads for clients, they now deal mainly with marketing their own brands, Sailor Jerry probably the best known.)

The mix worked, and worked well. And when his attempt at naming it went over like a lead balloon, the merchants took the initiative there too. Gayborhooders still bristle at this - well, some of them do - but I have no problem with it, nor did I when I lived there.

One of my contributors is working on an obit as well.

[JakeL]

I remember reading a lengthy interview with him a few months back. I completely forget where it was, but was impressed by his ideas and vision in communities that very few saw during his initial development. Does anyone have this article or others with his ideas on urban redevelopment? Would like to reread again if possible.

[AprilMaybe]

Yup; before Goldman saw the potential there it was full of trannies and sex shops.

And now there's some pretty sweet restaurants in between those trannies and sex shops

There are still sex shops and trannies there.

Came for a discussion of somebody who did something fairly important for the city, got transphobia instead. Thanks, Phillyspeaks!

[Hospitalitygirl]

Came for a discussion of somebody who did something fairly important for the city, got transphobia instead. Thanks, Phillyspeaks!

Umm...start then. Most of us have acknowledged in one way or another what a significant piece of transforming he did, particularly for 13th St. Someone, who wasn't here in the early days of this, had no context in which to place the redevelopment.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

[AprilMaybe]

Umm...start then. Most of us have acknowledged in one way or another what a significant piece of transforming he did, particularly for 13th St. Someone, who wasn't here in the early days of this, had no context in which to place the redevelopment.

Is there anything you'd like to add?

Since I was commenting about everybody's free and easy use of the word "tranny" (which I thought was fairly obvious from the context), there isn't much I'd actually like to add to a discussion where language like that's the norm. Saying something like "Awesome bigotry, gang" would be a little flippant; and an in-depth discussion of why using that word to discuss trans people is pretty disgusting would be even more off-topic. Suffice it to say that the hate speech bandied about really shouldn't be part of this discussion.

[John Goodman]

So the word tranny is considered inappropriate?

Not being a dick, I genuinely had no idea. I am sure most people that use that word don't hate transvestites (is this word offensive too?), I certainly don't

Edit : and rest in peace to tony goldman, great man. I love 13th st and south beach