Abraham M. Lurie | |
---|---|
Born | 1923 |
Died | 2010 (aged 86–87) |
Nationality | American |
Education | B.A.
Ohio State University J.D. UCLA School of Law |
Occupation | real estate developer |
Known for | development of Marina del Rey |
Spouse(s) |
Claire Devera
(
m. 1947;
div. 1981)Katherine Lurie (
m. 1983) |
Children | 4 |
Abraham M. Lurie (1923 – June 29, 2010) was an American real estate developer who was behind the development of much of Marina del Rey. [1] [2]
Lurie was born to a Jewish family in Iowa in 1923. [1] He had two siblings: Dr. William Lurie and Bertha Lurie Friedman. [1] He graduated with a B.A. in accounting from Ohio State University. [1] In 1948 he moved to California, with his wife Devera (Feldman) Lurie, where he worked as a certified public accountant and attended the UCLA School of Law. [1] In 1957, he passed the bar exam. [1]
He founded Real Property Management which was the single largest developer of the city of Marina del Rey. [2] In 1953, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized a $2 million loan to fund the construction of the marina and on April 10, 1965 the Marina was completed. [3] Soon after, the County solicited bids for its development. In 1968, Lurie purchased a 60-year lease from Los Angeles County which gave him the right to build on 20 percent of the land. [2] He went on to build three hotels, two apartment complexes, 1,000 boat slips, and several shopping centers, offices, restaurants; his holdings also included the last undeveloped piece of waterfront land in Marina del Rey. [2]
After having cash flow problems [4] Lurie sold a 49.9% interest in 1989 in his Marina holdings to Saudi billionaire Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim (brother of Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim and brother-in-law of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia) and several other unnamed foreign investors, forming Marina International Properties Ltd. [2] The transaction was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors despite not disclosing the identity of the investors [2] and included the Marina Beach, Marina International and Marina del Rey hotels, the Admiralty and Islander apartments, Fisherman's Village, Pier 44, Marina Beach Shopping Center and Marina West office complex. [2] The partnership required additional funds and in late 1990, an agreement was reached for Al-Ibrahim to buy out Lurie's interest but the deal soon fell apart and Al-Ibrahim sued to dissolve the partnership. [2] This caused $50 million in loans from four separate banks to default. [2] Al-Ibrahim accused Lurie of fraud, diversion of funds, and the failure of providing adequate financial reporting; and asked the judge to give him control of the Marina holdings. [2] Lurie counter-sued accusing Al-Ibrahim of withholding funds that were required to be transferred under the partnership putting the solvency of Marina International Properties Ltd. at risk. [2] Lurie was unsuccessful in finding outside investors who did not want to wade into the middle of a lawsuit with a deep-pocketed and connected Saudi [5] and petitioned the court to allow him to sell some of the leases without Al-Ibrahim's approval to pay off his bankers. [2] The court refused and Marina International Properties Ltd filed for bankruptcy. [2] The lawsuit was ultimately won by Al-Ibrahim who took over control of the partnership [6] and settled the then $140 million in debt outstanding.
In 1947,[ citation needed] he married Claire Devera (later Waldman); [7] they divorced in 1981.[ citation needed] In 1983, he married Katherine Lurie. [8] He had two children: Leslie Beck, Scott Lurie, and two step children, Donald Schneider and Thomas Carlyle. He has 5 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. [1]
He died on June 29, 2010; services were held at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. [1]
Abraham M. Lurie | |
---|---|
Born | 1923 |
Died | 2010 (aged 86–87) |
Nationality | American |
Education | B.A.
Ohio State University J.D. UCLA School of Law |
Occupation | real estate developer |
Known for | development of Marina del Rey |
Spouse(s) |
Claire Devera
(
m. 1947;
div. 1981)Katherine Lurie (
m. 1983) |
Children | 4 |
Abraham M. Lurie (1923 – June 29, 2010) was an American real estate developer who was behind the development of much of Marina del Rey. [1] [2]
Lurie was born to a Jewish family in Iowa in 1923. [1] He had two siblings: Dr. William Lurie and Bertha Lurie Friedman. [1] He graduated with a B.A. in accounting from Ohio State University. [1] In 1948 he moved to California, with his wife Devera (Feldman) Lurie, where he worked as a certified public accountant and attended the UCLA School of Law. [1] In 1957, he passed the bar exam. [1]
He founded Real Property Management which was the single largest developer of the city of Marina del Rey. [2] In 1953, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized a $2 million loan to fund the construction of the marina and on April 10, 1965 the Marina was completed. [3] Soon after, the County solicited bids for its development. In 1968, Lurie purchased a 60-year lease from Los Angeles County which gave him the right to build on 20 percent of the land. [2] He went on to build three hotels, two apartment complexes, 1,000 boat slips, and several shopping centers, offices, restaurants; his holdings also included the last undeveloped piece of waterfront land in Marina del Rey. [2]
After having cash flow problems [4] Lurie sold a 49.9% interest in 1989 in his Marina holdings to Saudi billionaire Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim (brother of Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim and brother-in-law of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia) and several other unnamed foreign investors, forming Marina International Properties Ltd. [2] The transaction was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors despite not disclosing the identity of the investors [2] and included the Marina Beach, Marina International and Marina del Rey hotels, the Admiralty and Islander apartments, Fisherman's Village, Pier 44, Marina Beach Shopping Center and Marina West office complex. [2] The partnership required additional funds and in late 1990, an agreement was reached for Al-Ibrahim to buy out Lurie's interest but the deal soon fell apart and Al-Ibrahim sued to dissolve the partnership. [2] This caused $50 million in loans from four separate banks to default. [2] Al-Ibrahim accused Lurie of fraud, diversion of funds, and the failure of providing adequate financial reporting; and asked the judge to give him control of the Marina holdings. [2] Lurie counter-sued accusing Al-Ibrahim of withholding funds that were required to be transferred under the partnership putting the solvency of Marina International Properties Ltd. at risk. [2] Lurie was unsuccessful in finding outside investors who did not want to wade into the middle of a lawsuit with a deep-pocketed and connected Saudi [5] and petitioned the court to allow him to sell some of the leases without Al-Ibrahim's approval to pay off his bankers. [2] The court refused and Marina International Properties Ltd filed for bankruptcy. [2] The lawsuit was ultimately won by Al-Ibrahim who took over control of the partnership [6] and settled the then $140 million in debt outstanding.
In 1947,[ citation needed] he married Claire Devera (later Waldman); [7] they divorced in 1981.[ citation needed] In 1983, he married Katherine Lurie. [8] He had two children: Leslie Beck, Scott Lurie, and two step children, Donald Schneider and Thomas Carlyle. He has 5 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren. [1]
He died on June 29, 2010; services were held at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. [1]