Past Honorees
Robert C. Larson
2007 Honoree
Robert C. Larson is chairman of Larson Realty Group (LRG), a privately owned, Detroit based company engaged in real estate investment, development, management and leasing. He is also managing director of Lazard Alternative Investments LLC and chairman and a managing principal of Lazard Real Estate Partners LLC and Lazard Freres Real Estate Investors LLC. Prior to joining Lazard, Mr. Larson spent 26 years with The Taubman Company, a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the development, management and ownership of regional retail centers.
He has been civically involved in the Detroit area for more than twenty years serving as chairman, board member, trustee, or advisor for dozens of organizations including the Cranbrook Educational Community, the National Urban League, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Spoleto Festival, USA, and the Downtown Detroit Partnership. He also is a director and past chairman of the ULI Foundation; a vice chairman and trustee of the Urban Land Institute; chairman emeritus of the Advisory Board of the Wharton Real Estate Center at the University of Pennsylvania; and chairman emeritus of The Real Estate Roundtable.
Wayne S. Doran
2006 Honoree
Wayne S. Doran served as chairman of Ford Motor Land Development Corporation (Ford Land), the real estate arm and wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, from 1970 to 2000, and was a vice president of Ford Motor Company. In his 30 years at the helm of Ford Land, Mr. Doran was considered one of the most influential developers in metro Detroit. Highly regarded for his vision and leadership, Mr. Doran's development projects have forever changed the landscapes of Detroit and Dearborn, including the landmarks of the Renaissance Center, and the master-planned Fairlane community.
Civically, Mr. Doran gave generously of his time and resources to help the less fortunate. He established a mentoring program, career days and a holiday giving program with Barber School in Highland Park that continues to this day. He also founded the Doran Community Scholarship Program, which provides approximately 55 college scholarships each year to disadvantaged students at his alma mater, Arizona State University. Mr. Doran was a founding member of ULI Detroit and served as a trustee for the Urban Land Institute.
A. Alfred Taubman
2005 Honoree
A. Alfred Taubman, a pioneer in the U.S. retail real estate industry, is the founder of Taubman Centers, Inc., a leading developer and operator of regional shopping centers from coast to coast. The company’s Detroit-area properties include Twelve Oaks Mall, Fairlane Town Center, Great Lakes Crossing, and The Mall at Partridge Creek. He is also a partner in The Athena Group, an international developer and manager of non-retail real estate.
A native Detroiter, Mr. Taubman serves on numerous industry and civic boards and executive committees, including the City of Detroit Arts Commission and the Board of Trustees of the College of Creative Studies. Mr. Taubman has been an active member of ULI since 1972. He is a principal benefactor of the University of Michigan’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Health Care Center and Medical Library, and Lawrence Technological University’s A. Alfred Taubman Student Services Center. Mr. Taubman established and continues to fund the Taubman Center for State and Local Government at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School, and is also Chairman Emeritus of The Archives of American Art of the Smithsonian Institution.
2008 Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree, Jerome Schostak
"Giving credit where credit is due." On May 27, in front of a crowd of nearly 700 supporters, that is exactly what ULI Detroit did when it presented real estate veteran, Jerome L. Schostak, CEO of Schostak Brothers & Company with its prestigious lifetime achievement award. The fourth recipient of this honor, Jerome was recognized for his years of contribution to the commercial real estate industry, commitment to the community and demonstration of civic, charitable and philanthropic endeavors. As part of the award, ULI Detroit will donate the entire ULI library, in Jerome’s name, to the school of his choice.
Jerome’s successful career was launched in 1954 when he joined his father Louis in his commercial and industrial real estate development, management and brokerage firm, Schostak Brothers & Co. In the early 1960s, Jerome developed a cutting-edge program for his clients building and leasing enclosed malls throughout the region. As a result, the company evolved from a brokerage firm into the national property management and development company that it is today. Presently, he leads a truly multi-generational, family-owned firm in which three of his serve as presidents.
As a leader in the real estate industry, Jerome’s developments have included the Campus Martius area, the redevelopment of Wonderland Mall into Wonderland Village and Madison Park, a mixed-use retail center in Rochester Hills.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, the Franklin resident is a board member of both the Jewish Fund and Investment Committee of Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
Additionally, Schostak holds numerous designations including the following: Certified Property Manager (CPM), Institute of Real Estate Management; Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), National Association of Real Estate Boards; Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM), International Council of Shopping Centers; Society of industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR); and the Detroit Area Commercial Board of Realtors (DACBOR).