Model D special event with urbanist-developer Tony Goldman is tonight

Tony Goldman is known as one of the prime movers of New York’s Soho and Miami’s South Beach revivals. He is an innovator, a man who thinks outside the box, and has redefined the way people live in communities around the country.

Goldman, born and raised in New York City, got into real estate when he was in his early 20s, renovating brownstones on the Upper West Side.

He became frustrated with the living spaces in New York City. “The small boxes that people lived in and the offices that people worked in were claustrophobic,” he says. He set out on a quest to discover a way to realize openness and space in urban communities, finding himself walking the dirty, gritty streets of Soho in the late 1970s, and realizing that this old downtown neighborhood contained every wonder he was looking for.

In order to fully realize this philosophy, Goldman decided to open a restaurant that would draw people to the area. In 1979, he launched Greene Street Café, the first of New York City’s great jazz supper clubs to open since the 1950s.

He also opened Soho Kitchen and Bar. “It was the definitive Soho meeting place,” he says. “We served 100 wines by the glass, which in 1984 was innovative for the industry.” Everything about Goldman is innovative. The places flourished, and Soho came alive. Shops, galleries, eateries, and pubs filled in the storefronts, all combining to create a special, unique, individual manifestation of Goldman’s original vision for the ideal New York neighborhood.

After Soho was up and running, Goldman began looking for new investment opportunities and found inspiration on Miami’s South Beach, which had been under siege by drug dealers when he began looking at properties there. His vision helped transform the area into one of the world’s hotspots. He’s also worked his magic in Philadelphia and Boston.

The fact that he is in Detroit to share his expertise his grand news indeed.

Goldman and the Knight Foundation’s Dennis Scholl will give a talk on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at Cliff Bell’s. The event is at 6:30 p.m. and includes a discussion and Q&A. No RSVP required.

Cliff Bell’s is at 2030 Park Avenue, in downtown Detroit.