Sol B. Kest
{{Short description|American real estate developer and philanthropist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sol B. Kest
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| birth_date = March 10, 1922
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| death_date = June 21, 2010
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| occupation = Real estate developer, philanthropist
| spouse = Clara Kest
| children = 3 sons, 1 daughter
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Sol B. Kest (1922–2010) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of Goldrich & Kest Industries, a real estate development company, and built many residential buildings in Los Angeles County, California. A Holocaust survivor, he supported Jewish causes in California and endowed a professorship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Early life
Sol B. Kest was born on March 10, 1922. During World War II, he was "the only one of nine children in his family to survive concentration camp incarceration".{{cite news|last1=Furlong|first1=Tom|title=Developer Jona Goldrich : Deal Maker Transforms Downtown L.A.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-08-17-fi-16773-story.html|access-date=June 30, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=August 17, 1986}}
Career
Kest emigrated to the United States, where he worked on construction sites. With Jona Goldrich, another Holocaust survivor, Kest co-founded Goldrich & Kest Industries, a real estate development company based in Los Angeles, California in 1959.{{cite web|title=Company History|url=http://www.gkind.com/pages/company-history|website=Goldrich & Kest Industries|accessdate=June 30, 2016}}
In 1964, Kest and Goldrich developed Eldorado, a residential building located at 4425 Ventura Canyon Avenue in Sherman Oaks.{{cite news|title=Privacy Offered at Apartments in Sherman Oaks|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32738730/?terms=%22Sol%2BKest%22|accessdate=June 29, 2016|work=Valley News|date=September 13, 1964|page=33|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} They also developed Sutton Terrance, another residential building located at 6251 Coldwater Canyon Avenue in North Hollywood.{{cite news|title=Condominium Development Wins Buyers|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32740091/?terms=%22Sol%2BKest%22|accessdate=June 29, 2016|work=Valley News|date=September 27, 1964|page=35|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} Another apartment complex they developed, Sepulveda Village in Mission Hills, comprised 18 buildings, with the reception located at 10023 Sepulveda Boulevard.{{cite news|title=Condominium Approach in Sepulveda Village Building|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32750595/?terms=%22Sol%2BKest%22|accessdate=June 29, 2016|work=Valley News|date=December 20, 1964|page=38|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }} A year later, in 1965, they developed Northridge Village Townhouses, an apartment complex in Northridge, California.{{cite news|title=Northridge Village Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/32743789/?terms=%22Sol%2BKest%22|accessdate=June 29, 2016|work=Valley News|date=February 7, 1965|page=35|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=registration }}
In 1981, Kest and Goldrich purchased hotels in Tenderloin, San Francisco.
With Sheldon Appel, Goldrich and Kest redeveloped the former General Motors plant in South Gate in the 1980s. Meanwhile, they also turned land near the Long Beach Airport into offices and retail spaces.
With Nathan Shapell, Goldrich and Kest developed some buildings in the Bunker Hill area of Downtown Los Angeles, including Promenade Towers, Grand Promenade and the California Plaza. Moreover, they owned Kings Villages, a low-income housing project in Pasadena which they later sold to Thomas Pottmeyer.{{cite news|last1=Newton|first1=Edmund|title=Cost of King's Villages Lawsuit Balloons : Housing: Filed in federal court two years ago, discrimination litigation is already the most expensive in city history.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-19-ga-25217-story.html|access-date=June 28, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=August 19, 1993}} Additionally, they owned Green Hotel, a retirement home also located in Pasadena, and a government-subsidized retirement home in Santa Monica.
Philanthropy
Kest supported synagogues in Los Angeles.{{cite web|title=Mr. Sol Kest z"l|url=http://matzav.com/mr-sol-kest-zl/|website=Mazal.com|accessdate=June 30, 2016|date=June 23, 2010}} In 1993, he testified on behalf of Rabbi Abraham Low of Congregation Mogen Abraham, an ultra-Orthodox synagogue in the Fairfax District who was charged with money-laundering.{{cite news|last1=Malnic|first1=Eric|title=3 Denied Bail in Money-Laundering Case : Crime: Judge is not swayed by testimony on a rabbi, a chiropractor and Lomita woman with a list of aliases.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-01-13-me-1209-story.html|access-date=June 30, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=January 13, 1993}}
Kest endowed the Clara and Sol Professorship and Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, currently held by Professor Mark G. Lebwohl.{{cite web|title=Mark G. Lebwohl, MD|url=http://icahn.mssm.edu/departments-and-institutes/dermatology/about-us/meet-the-chair|website=Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai|accessdate=June 30, 2016}}
Personal life and death
References
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Category:Jewish concentration camp survivors
Category:Businesspeople from Los Angeles
Category:Philanthropists from Los Angeles
Category:American businesspeople in real estate
Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:20th-century American philanthropists