Click here for Part I & Part II

Taking a leading role in developing Center City’s properties and representing its people

Allan Domb the president of Allan Domb Real Estate, as well as a councilman at-large for the city of Philadelphia. Allan Domb Real Estate is one of Center City Philadelphia’s most influential developers, having brokered countless condominiums, apartments, commercial properties, and homes in the area. The company has also been involved in adapting historic buildings such as Parc Rittenhouse, the Bank Building Residences, and 220 West Washington Square into luxury condominium residences. Allan has served three terms as president of the Greater Philadelphia Association of REALTORS (GPAR), a position in which he helped the city collect hundreds of millions of dollars in delinquent taxes and liens, created new jobs, and lowered property maintenance costs. He is also an investor in and part-owner of the Starr Restaurant Organization and Starr Events, an upscale dining group and a catering and hotel group, respectively. As councilman, his priorities include increasing state revenue by collecting overdue tax payments, improving schools, finding new opportunities for business, and increasing employment options for people living in poverty. Allan has been profiled in quoted in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Businessweek, and many other prominent publications.

Allan Domb spoke with Jeff Mack of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank for this interview.

JEFF MACK: When did you know you wanted to be in real estate? Were you interested in business as a child?

ALLAN DOMB: I’ll say this: I always was working when I was young, and I remember we went to Arizona when I was a little kid. I was 4 years old, my brother was 8, and my parents decided to drive to Arizona in July. Fortunately, they borrowed my uncle’s car, which had air-conditioning, but on the way back they asked my brother, “What did we want as a gift?” I don’t know why but my brother said, “a shoeshine kit.” We lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey and the Orange & Black Bus was the last stop in Fort Lee, right at our corner. So, my brother decided that he would go out in the morning, like 5:30 when the people are waiting to go to New York City, and would shine shoes from 5:30 to 7:30. I remember that shoe shining was 25 cents, and we were lucky to get a quarter, but 10 cents was a typical tip. We always had jobs. I had two paper routes when I was 12. I would get up at 5:30 in the morning and deliver papers, and at 4:00 in the afternoon. I remember when I was 12 my mother went to school because I fell asleep in class. They were wondering why I was so tired. I had a lawn business where I cut lawns at $5 a lawn. Now, today, it’s crazy. I used to shovel driveways and get $5. Now, my mother tells me she pays $200 to have her driveway plowed. I wish I was living doing that now.

Q. Who are some of your role models?

A. I would say that J. Lamar was a big role model. Someone who passed away named Howard Brinton, who was a national real estate instructor, was a role model. I think businesspeople have been role models for me. A guy like Ira Lubert is a role model, and then Howard Fish with time management—that’s a big deal. Joe Neubauer was a role model to me in how he handled his time. Just because you’re in a real estate doesn’t mean you have to look to other real estate people. If you look at other industries, that’s really where your role models are.

When I got into the real estate business I read a book—it was my bible. This book was written in 1969, it was called How to Sell a Million Dollars Worth of Real Estate, written by Glen Gardner. I used to carry the book with me because I didn’t have anybody to teach me. You got a listing appointment, you open the book, and it tells you what to do. When you go to show a buyer, it tells you what to do.

Q. How do you balance your political duties with your business?

A. I’m very involved with the City Council. Tonight, I’m going to 58th and Kingsessing to a community function, and then I have another function after that, and then on the weekends I usually have four to six functions that I go to. So, that’s taking a lot of time. Right now, eventually I’m not going to do any new development because of the conflicts that I think that can occur with development going in for zoning and variances, and I’m on City Council. I don’t want to do that. I can still do brokerage and I can still do City Council, but those are two full-time jobs so, spending 50 hours on each—that’s a 100 hours. I need more hours in a week.

Q. Did you learn any life lessons from your parents that you still carry with you?

A. I’d say the best lessons they taught me were humility and savings. My mother always used to say to me, “It’s not so much how much you make; it’s how much you save.” There was a book written like that called The Millionaire Next Door where they follow two people in their lives. It’s the fireman and the doctor, and it’s the fireman that has all the money at the end—not the doctor—because of his spending habits. I know a lot of people in residential real estate all over the country who do unbelievably well but have nothing to show for it, so it’s really about how much you save.

Q. What is your vision for the future of Philadelphia?

A. Here’s how I look at this, Jeff, and I would say this is for everybody in the city: the biggest opportunity for us is to make the city healthy and more successful, and if we do that, all of us will benefit. That’s how I am viewing tomorrow. My goal is to make the city better, because once we do that, everyone benefits.

Connect with Allan on LinkedIn

ABOUT NEWMARK GRUBB KNIGHT FRANK

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) is one of the world's leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NGKF’s 12,800 professionals operate from more than 370 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents.

With roots dating back to 1929, NGKF’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NGKF’s full-service platform comprises BGC’s real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, appraisal, and valuation services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.

NGKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard W. Lutnick. For more information, please visit www.bgcpartners.com.

Jeffrey E. Mack, Executive Managing Director

Jeffrey E. Mack is a senior leader in Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's Philadelphia operation. Jeff has been a significant member of the commercial brokerage community in Philadelphia since 1979. He co-founded Smith Mack & Co. in 1984 and has continued to lease and sell more suburban office space than any other individual agent. He served as past chairman of the Philadelphia Board of Realtors, commercial and industrial division. NGKF acquired Smith Mack & Co. in 2012.

Edwin Warfield, CEO of citybizlist, conducts the CEO Interviews.

If you're interested in reaching CEOs, please contact edwin.warfield@citybuzz.co

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