Scott Wolstein, a force in Cleveland real-estate development, dies at age 69, report says

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Scott Wolstein, the longtime CEO of the Wolstein Group who has played a major role in several real-estate developments in the Cleveland area, including the Flats East Bank, has died at the age of 69.

The Cleveland Jewish News reports Wolstein died Thursday.

Born on June 24, 1952, Wolstein had been the CEO of the Wolstein Group since 1979 and also was the leader of several other real-estate firms during his long career. He graduated with a business degree in 1974 from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and earned a law degree from the University of Michigan.

He was the co-founder of Developers Diversified Realty in 1992. When he stepped down in 2011, the company owned and managed about 570 shopping centers and development sites in the United States, Brazil and Puerto Rico.

Wolstein and his mother, Iris, teamed with Fairmount Properties on the first two phases of the redevelopment of the Flats East Bank, an investment near the mouth of Cuyahoga River that involved hundreds of millions of dollars. The project brought in office space, a hotel, apartments, restaurants and entertainment venues to the Flats.

No funeral arrangements have been released.