Mall pioneer Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. died in 1994, but yet more people are about to enjoy the fruits of his success, and that of his descendants. The ICSC Foundation announced the launch of the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. Scholarship, seeded by a $500,000 donation from the DeBartolo families, the DeBartolo Corp., and DeBartolo Holdings. The scholarship will go to a graduate student of real estate, retail or a related field.
The announcement was made in December at ICSC’s New York National Deal Making conference, at the Javits Center in New York City.
DeBartolo founded his company after World War II, building his first shopping center in Boardman, a suburb of Youngstown, Ohio, where the company had its headquarters. He built the firm up to become one of the largest in the U.S. at the time of his death, with 63 malls, 18 community centers and several office buildings in 23 states, amounting to about 95 million square feet of commercial real estate.
DeBartolo was legendary for identifying prime locations for centers. After observing that Walt Disney was buying up parcels in Florida, for instance, DeBartolo snapped sites around the exits of the interstate then under development.
“Our father was very proud of ICSC and supported the organization from its very beginning,” said a statement from Marie Denise DeBartolo York and Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. released Monday. “He was philanthropic by nature and taught us the importance of giving back generously to the community. Because of him, our family believes strongly in the value of education, so it is only fitting that this scholarship be created in his name to help educate and develop future leaders in the real estate community.”
Among many institutions and causes to benefit from his generosity, the University of Notre Dame, DeBartolo’s alma mater, received some $33 million in all. He funded the main classroom building (DeBartolo Hall) there and the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. There is also a DeBartolo Hall at Youngstown (Ohio) State University, in DeBartolo’s hometown.
The ICSC scholarship will pay out $17,000 annually to cover the tuition and related costs in perpetuity.
“Mr. DeBartolo is a legend in our industry,” said Norris Eber, CRX CSM CLS, president of Abbell Associates, LLC and ICSC Foundation chairman. “Having his name on an ICSC Foundation scholarship is an honor. We are grateful to the DeBartolo family for their incredible generosity and the impact they are creating on the next generation of industry legends.”
To make a donation visit icscfoundation.org/donate and make a contribution to the General Fund. Please add a tribute to the contribution to Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.
