Marshall Rose, Georgetown Company Founder, Dies at 88
By Isabelle Durso February 21, 2025 12:29 pm
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Marshall Rose, a prominent real estate developer in New York City and founder of The Georgetown Company who played a key role in revitalizing Bryant Park, has died at the age of 88.
Rose, who was born in Brooklyn and married to actress Candice Bergen, died Feb. 15 in his Manhattan home from complications of Parkinson’s disease, The New York Times reported.
“We deeply mourn the passing of our founder and chairman Marshall Rose,” Georgetown CEO Adam Flatto said in a statement to Commercial Observer. “Marshall created a professional standard of excellence, hard work and integrity, balanced by selflessness and humility to which we all continue to aspire. His legacy will live on with everyone who is part of the Georgetown Company family.”
In addition to founding Georgetown in 1979 and working on a large portfolio of New York City developments — which includes 787 11th Avenue, 434 Broadway and the landmarked Woolworth Building — Rose was also instrumental in reviving the New York Public Library and redeveloping Bryant Park into what it is today.
Rose, who was chairman of the library’s board of trustees from 1990 to 1995 and later returned to the board in 1997, restored the grand reading room in the historic Midtown library along Fifth Avenue, the Times reported. He also played a critical role in turning the adjacent Bryant Park — once nicknamed “Needle Park” because of the large number of drug users who congregated in it — into a lively community hub now seen as a major amenity for nearby office buildings.
“He used his brain to be helpful to the library in ways other than just giving money,” Daniel Biederman, founder of the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, told CO. “He was just a brilliant guy.”
Following his work at the library, Rose developed several shopping centers, such as the Easton Town Center mall in Columbus, Ohio, in 1999. He also renovated Madison Square Garden and worked on the development of the IAC/InterActiveCorporation’s headquarters in Chelsea, according to the Times.
Under Rose, Georgetown also worked on the $280 million redevelopment of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s studio site in Culver City, Calif., as CO previously reported.
As a philanthropist, Rose helped to establish three charter schools in the Bronx and Brooklyn through funding from the Robin Hood Foundation, the Times reported.
Rose is survived by his wife, Candice, whom he married in 2000. He is also survived by his children Wendi and Andrew from his first marriage to Jill Kupin, the former president of the International Center of Photography; his stepdaughter Chloe Malle; and six grandchildren.
Funeral services for Rose took place Feb. 18, according to his family’s tribute.
Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.
