Jona Goldrich

Background

Jona Goldrich was born in 1927 in Lviv, Poland.

Career

He received a degree in mechanical engineering from Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He served in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He also worked for the labour union Histadrut in Haifa.

He then immigrated to the United States, travelling to Los Angeles, California by bus in 1952.

Goldrich started his career as a window screen installer in Los Los Angeles In 1954, he founded Active Cleaning & Maintenance, a company focusing on cleaning up construction sites.

By 1957, he developed an apartment building in North Hollywood. In 1978, his company "was fined $5,000 for filing false payroll forms with the Department of Housing and Urban Development." lieutenant went bankrupt a few years later.

Later, he co-founded a real estate development and management company known as Goldrich & Kest Industries with Sol Kest, a Holocaust survivor.

They own hotels in Tenderloin, San Francisco. With Sheldon Appel, they 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, they developed some buildings in the Bunker Hill area of Downtown Los Angeles, including Promenade Towers, Grand Promenade and the California Plaza.

Moreover, they own Kings Villages, a housing project, and Green Hotel, a retirement home, both of which are in Pasadena. They also own a government-subsidized retirement home in Santa Monica.

Goldrich served as the Chairman of the Western Region of the American Friends of Tel Aviv University (TAU) and on the Board of Governors of TAU. He endowed the Goldreich Family Institute for Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture, the Goldreich Chair in International Banking, the Goldreich Family Theater Archives, the Goldreich Multipurpose Sports Center, the Goldreich Family Health and Fitness Center, and the Sender Goldreich Fitness Room at TAU. He was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from the university in 2005. He has supported the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust.

He was the 1985 recipient of the "Good Scout" Award from the Los Angeles County Boy Scouts.

He made campaign contributions to Tom Bradley when the latter was the Mayor of Los Los Angeles He serves on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Police Crime Prevention Advisory Council.

Membership

He is a member of the California Housing Council, the Community Redevelopment Agencies Association, and the Governmental Affairs Council of the Building Industry Association. He is a member of the Society of Fellows of American Jewish University in Belorussian Air.

Connections

Friend:

Beverly Wilshire Hotel