Remembering Tony Goldman
Tony Goldman at the Bal Harbour Art Chat at Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour on November 3, 2011
Miami Beach, FL – September 11, 2012 – There was a time when South Beach wasn’t the South Beach that we know today — when it was just a sleepy, rundown beach town with boarded up motels and an outdated social scene. That was before Tony Goldman.
Goldman, who died Sept. 11 of heart failure in New York City at age 68, fell in love with Miami Beach in the mid-1980s and transformed the neighborhood into a cultural hotspot for the masses. Drawn the to Art Deco buildings, Goldman purchased 18 properties over the course of a year and a half, and in 1987 opened his flagship hotel property, The Park Central, as the centerpiece of his South Beach renaissance.
The New York Times dubbed Goldman “the granddaddy of South Beach, who time and again is credited with recognizing the potential in the crumbling pastel treasures of Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue.”
Goldman went on to open Tony’s Club on Ocean Drive, Lucky’s restaurant at The Park Central and numerous other hotels and restaurants throughout Miami Beach. In 2004, he worked his magic again, turning the Wynwood section of Miami from a warehouse district into an art and dining hub, by acquiring more than 25 properties in the neighborhood.
Throughout his career, which began by developing residential brownstones on the Upper Westside of New York City and reshaping SoHo into a first class mixed-use community, Goldman touched a lot of people.
“Tony was my first business partner and a great friend,” said Craig Robins, Chief Executive Officer and President of real estate development company Dacra. “I learned the community building process of how to make neighborhoods special from him. We will all miss him dearly.”
Sharing Robins’ sentiment, long-time Miami Beach resident Susan Turchin of Turchin Properties adds: “Tony was a brilliant businessman and mentor to so many. He was highly regarded and successful throughout his lifetime and career. Many will remember him for his positive outlook and friendships that he made. My condolences go out to his beautiful family. May his soul rest in peace.”
He is survived by his wife, Janet Goldman, son and business partner Joey Goldman and daughter/business partner Jessica Goldman Srebnick, as well as four grandchildren. His family has released the following statement:
“To the community he touched, he was a transforming, once in a lifetime figure. To us, he was a devoted husband, wonderful father and doting grandfather.”
Tony & Janet Goldman at the Bal Harbour Art Chat at Neiman Marcua Bal Harbour on November 3, 2011
Tony Goldman & Nina Johnson at the Bal Harbour Art Chat at Neiman Marcua Bal Harbour on November 3, 2011
Nina Johnson & Tony Goldman at the Bal Harbour Art Chat at Neiman Marcua Bal Harbour on November 3, 2011
Tony Goldman at MOCA for Architectual Digest’s Wynwood Tour on November 11, 2006
Tony Goldman giving a private tour of Wynwood for Architectual Digest on November 11, 2006
Tony Goldman at MOCA for Architectual Digest’s Wynwood Tour on November 11, 2006
