JMB Realty was a real estate

investment company An investment company is a financial institution principally engaged in holding, managing and investing securities. These companies in the United States are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and must be registered under th ...

based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 1993, after suffering during the

early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incum ...

, the company spun off its retail properties as Urban Shopping Centers, Inc., which was acquired by Rodamco in 2000 and broken up. After selling off its remaining assets in the late 2000s, JMB Realty was defunct; although its debt finance group was spun-out as JMB Financial Advisors and still exists as a

going concern A going concern is an accounting term for a business that is assumed will meet its financial obligations when they become due. It functions without the threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, which is usually regarded as at least the n ...

based in Chicago.

History

The company was founded as Robert Judelson & Co. in 1968. In October 1969, Judelson was joined by

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

roommates Neil Bluhm and Judd Malkin. Judelson split from the partnership in 1973 to form Balcor Company with

Jerry Reinsdorf Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is an American sports executive and businessman who is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Re ...

. Bluhm became chairman and Malkin was president. In 1983, JMB acquired Federated Realty Associates from Federated Department Stores (now Macy's, Inc.) for $112 million. In 1984, it acquired Urban Development from

Aetna Aetna Inc. ( ) is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

for $45 million in cash and $131 million in notes. At that time the company had a $9 billion real estate portfolio. In 1985, it acquired the portion of

Water Tower Place Water Tower Place is a large urban, mixed-use development comprising a shopping mall in a 74-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall is located at 835 North Michigan Avenue, along the Magnificent Mile. It is named aft ...

that it did not already own. In 1986, the company acquired a real estate portfolio in

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California, United States. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of downtown Los Angeles, Cent ...

for $600 million from

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

. In 1987, the company acquired Arvida (now St. Joe Company), a developer of planned communities in Florida and Georgia, from

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

for $400 million. It also acquired

Cadillac Fairview The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited, branded as Cadillac Fairview, is a Canadian company that invests in, owns, and manages commercial real estate, mainly in Canada and the United States. As of March 2017, the company had 73 properties, enco ...

, Canadian developer-owner of shopping centers and office buildings, for $2.6 billion. In 1988, it acquired Amfac, a large Hawaii

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

land owner for $920 million. In 1989, it acquired Randsworth Trust P.L.C. for $800 million. In 1990, it acquired Houston Center for $400 million. During the early 1990s recession, the company was forced to give some properties to its lenders. In 1993, it reorganized and completed the

corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. It is distinct ...

and

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

of Urban Shopping Centers Inc. Urban later acquired Houston Galleria and Century Square Shopping Center. In 1997, Urban sold Copley Place for $300 million. In 2000, Urban Shopping Centers was acquired by Rodamco. Who later sold Urban to a small consortium of

The Rouse Company The Rouse Company was a publicly traded shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when GGP Inc., General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. It was founded by Hunter Moss and James Rouse, James W. Rouse in 1939. Begin ...

Westfield Group Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...

, and

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

in 2002. In 2002, Amfac was put into

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization, JMB formed Xanterra Travel Collection, which was acquired by

Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz ( ; born December 28, 1939) is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, travel, movies, theaters, arena ...

in 2008.

References

{{Reflist, 1 1968 establishments in Illinois 2000 disestablishments in Illinois Real estate companies established in 1968 Defunct real estate companies of the United States