Abraham M. Lurie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1923 |
| Died | 2010 (aged 86–87) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.A. Ohio State University J.D. UCLA School of Law |
| Occupation | real estate developer |
| Known for | development of Marina del Rey |
| Spouse | Katherine Lurie |
| Children | 4 |
Abraham M. Lurie (1923 – June 29, 2010) was an American real estate developer who was behind the development of much of Marina del Rey.[1][2]
Lurie was born to a Jewish family in Iowa in 1923.[1] He had two siblings: Dr. William Lurie and Bertha Lurie Friedman.[1] He graduated with a B.A. in accounting from Ohio State University.[1] In 1948 he moved to California, with his wife Devera (Feldman) Lurie, where he worked as a certified public accountant and attended the UCLA School of Law.[1] In 1957, he passed the bar exam.[1]
He founded Real Property Management which was the single largest developer of the city of Marina del Rey.[2] In 1953, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors authorized a $2 million loan to fund the construction of the marina and on April 10, 1965 the Marina was completed.[3] Soon after, the County solicited bids for its development. In 1968, Lurie purchased a 60-year lease from Los Angeles County which gave him the right to build on 20 percent of the land.[2] He went on to build three hotels, two apartment complexes, 1,000 boat slips, and several shopping centers, offices, restaurants; his holdings also included the last undeveloped piece of waterfront land in Marina del Rey.[2]
After having cash flow problems[4] Lurie sold a 49.9% interest in 1989 in his Marina holdings to Saudi billionaire Abdul Aziz Al-Ibrahim (brother of Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim and brother-in-law of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia) and several other unnamed foreign investors, forming Marina International Properties Ltd.[2] The transaction was approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors despite not disclosing the identity of the investors[2] and included the Marina Beach, Marina International and Marina del Rey hotels, the Admiralty and Islander apartments, Fisherman's Village, Pier 44, Marina Beach Shopping Center and Marina West office complex.[2] The partnership required additional funds and in late 1990, an agreement was reached for Al-Ibrahim to buy out Lurie's interest but the deal soon fell apart and Al-Ibrahim sued to dissolve the partnership.[2] This caused $50 million in loans from four separate banks to default.[2] Al-Ibrahim accused Lurie of fraud, diversion of funds, and the failure of providing adequate financial reporting; and asked the judge to give him control of the Marina holdings.[2] Lurie counter-sued accusing Al-Ibrahim of withholding funds that were required to be transferred under the partnership putting the solvency of Marina International Properties Ltd. at risk.[2] Lurie was unsuccessful in finding outside investors who did not want to wade into the middle of a lawsuit with a deep-pocketed and connected Saudi[5] and petitioned the court to allow him to sell some of the leases without Al-Ibrahim's approval to pay off his bankers.[2] The court refused and Marina International Properties Ltd filed for bankruptcy.[2] The lawsuit was ultimately won by Al-Ibrahim who took over control of the partnership[6] and settled the then $140 million in debt outstanding.
In 1947,[citation needed] he married Claire Devera (later Waldman);[7] they divorced in 1981.[citation needed] In 1983, he married Katherine Lurie.[8] He had two children: Leslie Beck, Scott Lurie, and two step children, Donald Schneider and Thomas Carlyle. He has 5 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.[1] He died on June 29, 2010; services were held at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.[1]