Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/513366
56 S C T / J u n e 2 0 1 5 To maintain a high level of control over tenant mix, he negotiated relatively short leases and never fully leased malls before they opened, allowing him to make ad- justments based on actual experience. Even as the industry matured, Taub- man continued to focus on building malls where he saw opportunity, rather than following any predictable geo- graphic expansion plan or making large portfolio acquisitions. However, by the 1980s his focus had shifted from outly- ing suburbs, where land costs had risen, to more urban locations. "He wasn't just building physical space. He was trying to build a customer experience," said Robert Taubman, dur- ing an interview in the early 2000s. That approach, he added, resulted in many industry firsts, from food courts to infor- mation booths. "He really had to convince people that by taking retail planning princi- ples from inside the store to the shop- ping center, it would be better for all," added Robert Taubman, explaining that his father fought to convince both lenders and powerful department store operators that his first large- scale, two-level malls could succeed. And succeed they did, beyond his father's wildest dreams. For many successive years, Taubman was a fixture on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans and he parlayed his tremendous wealth, connec- tions and experience into numer- ous other business ventures, from fast food to football. Among the businesses he bought and sought to revital- ize are A&W; Restaurants Inc., now-defunct Woodward & Lothrop (a venerable department store chain known as "Woodies") and international auction house Sotheby's. Taubman was also an owner in the 1980s of the Michigan Pan- thers professional football team, the char- ter member of the now-defunct United States Football League. Like other industry pioneers, Taub- man was also a generous philanthropist, contributing many millions of dollars to charter schools, higher education, re- ligious charities, medicine and the arts. Buildings at several universities have been named in his honor, including the University of Michigan's A. Alfred Taub- man College of Architecture & Urban Planning; its A. Alfred Taubman Health Care Center, the university's primary outpatient facility; and its Taubman Medical Library. Other institutions named after him are Brown University's Taubman Center for Public Policy, Harvard University's Taubman Center for State and Local Government and Lawrence Technical University's A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center. "He was not just a pioneer on the planning side (of the shopping center industry)." said Robert Taubman. "He was a great and charismatic leader that people believed in." SCT s s f s f r h t f t a u b m a n ' s i n n o v a t i v e p r o j e c t s c a p t u r e d t h e m e d i a ' s a t t e n t i o n . a l f r e d t a u b m a n w i t h s o n s r o b e r t ( l e f t ) a n d w i l l i a m