facetime [ by marie speed ]
The Rosemurgy Siblings RoSemuRgy PRoPeRTieS, Boca RaTon
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or the Rosemurgys, it’s all in the family. It’s been like that since the early 1970s, when young Berkeley grad Jim Rosemurgy came to Boca Raton (where his parents lived) to start a career. He was soon working as a CPA at Deloitte & Touche, and one day before being named a partner he had an epiphany of sorts: He realized accounting wasn’t for him. Driving to work, he spotted a sign on Hillsboro Boulevard for Campbell Property Management and, on an impulse, he walked in and asked for a job. And that was that. His property management days would morph into a diversified development company with the purchase of his first apartment building in 1977—and the subsequent formation of Rosemurgy Properties. Nearly four decades later, the company has grown exponentially, branching into self-storage units, and commercial and residential projects. It really arrived when it developed the Innovation Centre at Florida Atlantic Research & Development Park in 1998 (which was sold in 2008), and it recently completed University Park, the new FAU student housing project near campus on 20th Street, just west of Dixie Highway. Today, Jim, 70, serves as chairman of the board of a company run chiefly by his three children: Alex, Jamie and Kimberly. Alex, 41, is CEO and charged with acquisition and development; Jamie, 38, is a board member focused on strategic long-term investments; Kimberly, 35, is a vice president and handles asset management and accounting. “We do get along,” Jamie says. “You should see us plan a party—we are good. We’re like a fun little machine—it’s awesome.” Kimberly agrees. “We all have different aptitudes or different strengths, so it really works well in business.” Much of the credit goes to their upbringing. “We were a close family growing up—dinners every night, half the time talking about the business,” Jamie says. “Mom and Dad worked together. We treat each other a lot like friends first, then siblings.”
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[ bocamag.com ]
From left: Jamie, Alex and Kimberly
Favorite Diversion in Boca KimBerly: The beach Jamie: Dinner with my husband, a nice martini. alex: Walking to Mizner Park— maybe a drink at Racks, or iPic or Tanzy or Yardhouse All three Rosemurgys credit their success first to their father’s vision, and second, to their own love of where they live—and their attention to detail and design. “We all have this creativity gene,” Jamie says. “We take so much pride in design. ... We know as residents we are going to drive by these [projects] every day—it’s a pride of ownership for us.” That pride is no more evident than in the latest project, University Park, which Alex hopes will be a catalyst for the larger student neighborhood that will be a first for FAU.
“Most of the universities in the country have an off-campus housing component— that is one of the things Boca did not have,” he says. “University Park is the ... quintessential urban redevelopment project—the student can come and live and sleep and exercise and study in one location. ... This project will help give students a real college experience.” The Rosemurgy portfolio is extensive, with properties from Miami to Vero Beach. Recent projects include the new BankUnited near Mizner Park, and the 23Hundred retail center on Federal Highway in Pompano Beach. Having grown up here in its sleepy days, all three Rosemurgys are excited about Boca’s growth; they love the new walkability and the vibrant downtown growth. Maybe Alex says it best. “Listen, we are living our dream. Who gets to drive five minutes to work every morning, not only live but also do business in an area they love? And to help transform their city? And all with close family nearby to witness it and enjoy it together.” may/june 2015