Berton E Korman

Berton E. Korman, 87, formerly of Fort Washington, a real estate developer and philanthropist, died Wednesday, July 1 2020, of heart failure at his vacation home in Harvey Cedars, N.J. In 1958, Mr. Korman, his brother, Leonard, and a cousin, Steven, formed the Korman Corp., a real estate development firm operating in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 1963, Mr. Korman was named president and CEO, in charge of construction operations. Under his tenure, the firm acquired land on which it built residential communities and apartment buildings. Shortly after gambling was legalized in New Jersey in 1976, Mr. Korman joined with Resorts International to build condos and townhouses for casino workers near Atlantic City. Another partnership with GlaxoSmithKline and the Philadelphia Electric Co. produced Franklintown, a mixed-use community of high-rise apartments and office buildings in Center City. In 1996, Mr. Korman became chairman of a spin-off company, Korman Residential Properties Inc. His son John P. Korman is the CEO, and son James S. Korman is the president of the Blue Bell firm. The son of Matilda and Max William Korman, Mr. Korman was born in Philadelphia and raised in the suburbs. He graduated from Cheltenham High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1956, he married Sallie Gottlieb. They had three children. Besides his wife and two sons, Mr. Korman is survived by a daughter, Carolyn Korman Jacobs; eight grandchildren; and a brother and sister.