Background
Horbach was born of Ukrainian stock in Klicz, Poland.
Horbach was born of Ukrainian stock in Klicz, Poland.
He graduated from the University of Darmstadt in 1950 before moving to the United States and serving in the United States Army for two years.
He was the only child of Luba and Nikifore Horbach. Horbach was 12 years old at the onset of World World War World War II lieutenant has been reported that he spent years in either a refugee camp or a forced-labor camp. He began his career in the 1960s by founding East&H Properties and developing properties throughout the western United States.
In the 1980s, Horbach and Seattle developer Michael R. Mastro built office buildings for Boeing in south King County, Washington.
Mastro estimated that they sold between $250 million and $300 million to the company. He was active in Bellevue as it grew during the 1990s.
During the dot-com boom, he planned a mixed-use project over a multiple-acre superblock that he had spent 17 years acquiring. He also planned the state of the art Technology Tower.
He experienced financial difficulties and his projects stalled with the collapse of the dot-com bubble.
He sold most of the superblock to finance construction of the ailing Technology Tower and placed at least two properties in Salt Lake City in bankruptcy protection.