Allen Harberg, 81, of Chestnut Hill, a real estate developer who pioneered the use of tax-exempt industrial bonds by nonprofit institutions, died Dec. 1 of heart failure at Chestnut Hill Hospital.
Mr. Harberg operated his own real estate development consulting firm, Institutional Property Services in Center City, with clients that included Jefferson Medical College, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Abington Memorial Hospital, the YWCA and the Philadelphia College of Art. Prior to opening his own firm he was associated with Temple University for 11 years.
Mr. Harberg also volunteered his services to many nonprofit institutions in the Philadelphia area. He served on the boards of the Philadelphia Urban Finance Corp. and the Advocate Community Development Corp., and was a volunteer staff member of the Rev. Leon Sullivan’s Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) and the Zion Non-Profit Charitable Trust.
He also was involved in the development in 1968 of Progress Plaza, a $2 million complex on North Broad Street that was the first major shopping center in the United States owned and operated by African Americans, and the $1 million Zion Gardens, the first black-owned apartment complex in Philadelphia.
For these achievements, he was recognized in 1995 by the Pennsylvania Senate.
As a young man, he developed the Philadelphia Marine Center, the Gateway Care Center, and a joint venture by Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Hospital to build nursing homes in Wayne, Havertown and Paoli.
Mr. Harberg was a member of the board of trustees of Chestnut Hill Academy and a member of the Philadelphia Cricket Club.
He is survived by his wife, the former Hannah Nilon; a son, Allen Jr.; a daughter, Amanda; a sister; and two grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Dec. 6 at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia. Memorial donations may be sent to St. Joseph’s Villa, 110 W. Wissahickon Ave., Flourtown, PA 19031, or to Finanta, 1301 N. Second St., Philadelphia 19122, a nonprofit corporation that makes funds available for projects in underserved Philadelphia communities. – WF
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