Joseph Soffer
| Joseph Soffer | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1913 Duquesne, Pennsylvania |
| Died | June 13, 2006 (age 94) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Residence | Squirrel Hill |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Real estate developer |
| Known for | Founder of the Soffer Organization |
| Spouse(s) | Violet Gusky |
| Children | R. Damian Soffer James Lee Soffer |
| Parent(s) | Lena Haber Soffer Jacob Soffer |
| Family | Donald Soffer (nephew) |
Joseph Soffer (1913- June 13, 2006) was an American real estate developer and philanthropist.
Soffer was one of four children born to a Jewish family in 1913 in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, the son of Lena (nee Haber) and Jacob Soffer. His parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. His father owned a grocery store where he worked as a teenager. He had three siblings: Sylvia Chotiner, Harry Soffer, and Ruth Pressman. Soffer graduated from Duquesne High School after which he started to invest in real estate by purchasing single-family homes and small apartment buildings. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Corps Transportation Command where he was stationed at Love Field in Texas.
After the war, he formed Soffer Realty in McKeesport, Pennsylvania with his brother Harry (the father of Donald Soffer). They built the Norwin Shopping Center in Irwin, Pennsylvania and operated the Baldoc Hills Golf Club also in Irwin. In 1960, he partnered with Benjamin Thorpe and built the 7-building Penn Center East in Wilkins Township, Pennsylvania - one of the first suburban office parks around Pittsburgh - which was unique at that time as it contained not only office space (700,000 square feet) but also retail (300,000 square feet) and residential (448 units). The project was completed in 1964, the same year he established the Soffer Organization. In 1985, he completed a similar project named Penn Center West in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania. He remained as chairman of the Soffer Organization until his death, which at the time owned 2 million square feet of office, retail and residential property in the Pittsburgh area.
While stationed in Texas, he joined the Masonic Order (rising to the 32nd Degree) and the Shriners. In 2004, Soffer received a lifetime achievement award from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He also supported a number Jewish charities as well as the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Symphony. He and his wife established the Violet and Joseph Soffer Foundation and Family Special Olympics at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh.
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