Obituary: A handshake was good enough for Walter Samuels

Most recently, Samuels was president of J&W Management Corp., a New York City–based commercial real estate management company. (The J&W stood for Joy and Walter; Samuels often said his “real partner” was his wife, Joy.) In addition Samuels was a general partner of FW Associates, a partnership that owns shopping centers and other commercial properties, and he also led Realty Investors Development Corp., Realty Equities Limited Partnership and RD Management Corp.

Samuels, once one of the biggest open-air landlords in the U.S., proved that for anyone to win and succeed, someone else need not necessarily lose, recalls Sam Polese, executive vice president of leasing at Thor Equities. “He’s the only guy who I met in the entire real estate world who was a truly nice guy and made a fortune,” Polese said. Polese worked with Samuels during the 1970s, when Polese was a leasing executive at the Petrie Stores Corp. Samuels’ company was landlord to several Petrie Stores units. “He was the kind of guy who, if you had a store that wasn’t performing and you said, ‘Walter, my back’s against the wall on this one,’ he’d say: ‘Why don’t you just pay percentage rent for a while,’” Polese said. Moreover, Samuels would seal such agreements with the shake of a hand and no formal contract, Polese and others say. 

“Of all the deals we did together, we never had a written agreement,” recalled Herb Glimcher, founder of Glimcher Realty Trust, which was later acquired by, and renamed, Washington Prime Group. “He was as nice a man as I’ve ever worked with, and as any friend I’ve ever had.”

Before going into the Army, Samuels graduated from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania and also held certificates from the university’s Towne and Moore schools of engineering. 

Many executives recall how business relationships quickly blossomed into lifelong friendships. “We had been friends for over 40 years or so,” recalled industry veteran Norman Kranzdorf, who is now chairman of Amterre Property Group. “I never met a more honest or honorable man … I will miss him.”

Samuels also won the professional admiration and personal affection of Milton Cooper, co-founder and chairman of Kimco Realty Corp., one of the largest open-air landlord firms in the U.S. “Walter was an early pioneer of the shopping center business,” said Cooper, who teamed up with Samuels on some projects. “He really had wonderful character; his word was his bond,” Cooper said.

To people new in the business, Samuels was a mentor. “He taught me the shopping center business,” said Howard Schwartz, principal of Howard Schwartz Commercial Real Estate, in Farmington Hills, Mich., who used to buy and sell centers for Samuels.

“Walter gave me my first opportunity in the business and has always been a mentor,” said developer Mark Green. “He set a very high standard for me in the business, which I will always uphold. He took an interest in everyone, whether you were the janitor or the chairman of the board,” said Schwartz.

He and Joy supported numerous charities, notes Fraydun Manocherian, a residential developer and one of many executives whose business dealings with Samuels grew into a friendship.

“This was a man of great strength and knowledge, who always treated everyone with kindness, warmth and respect,” said Cynthia J. Kratchman, principal at Mid-America Real Estate (Michigan), who first met Samuels when working as a broker for Friedman during the 1990s. “He was a mentor to many, for whom the mere mention of his name elicited enormous admiration.”

Samuels’ devotion to his work remained with him to the end. “The first time we met, his passion for the industry was evident,” said Arkan Jonna, a principal of AF Jonna Development and Management Co., Bloomfield Hills. “He loved the industry. Just three weeks [before], he called me from his hospital bed to ask for an opinion on a cap rate for a property.”