Marshall Bennett (c. 1915 – October 13, 2018) was an American real estate developer who is credited with developing the modern industrial park.[1]
Biography
Bennett was born to a Jewish family in Chicago and raised in the South Shore neighborhood.[2] He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was a graduate of the University of Chicago.[2] After the war, he began working with Louis S. Kahnweiler and A. Jules Milten, becoming a partner at Kahnweiler's firm after Milten's departure. Their partnership would later dissolve in 1982.[1] In the 1950s, Bennett, Kahnweiler and Jay Pritzker partnered to develop the Centex Industrial Park in Elk Grove Village.[2] He subsequently developed an additional 25 industrial parks throughout the United States.[1]
Bennett served on the board of the EastWest Institute, and co-founded the Chicago Ten which brought Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders together promote economic-based solutions for peace in the Middle East.[2] In 2002, he founded the Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate at Roosevelt University offers master's and undergraduate degrees.[2][3] Bennet hosted the "Marshall Bennett Classic" at his home in Sun Valley, Idaho, which brought together the top 100 real estate developers across the United States.[2]
Personal life
In 1948, he married Arlene Gettelman; they had two children: Alice Bennett Groh and Bija Bennett.[2][4] In 1976, Bennett suffered a head injury during a kayaking accident that placed him in a coma, after which he had to relearn how to walk.[1] He died on October 13, 2018, at his home in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. Services were held at Congregation Solel in Highland Park, Illinois.[2]