In Memoriam: Jeff Barclay

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Jeff Barclay has passed away.  Jeff and I had known each other for a really, really long time.  He was a key player in the growth and evolution of Clarion Partners.  Leaving Clarion almost 8 years ago, Jeff joined Goldman Sachs where he built a real estate 'practice' that achieved great success.

Jeff was a generous soul.  For many years he was an adjunct professor at Columbia University Business School.  He was a tireless mentor to many young people, especially those with a passion for the commercial real estate industry.

Over the years, Jeff and would see each other at various industry events, especially the NAREIM (National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers) Executive Officers' Meetings where he is a former chairman.  He and I would also have breakfast, usually a couple of times a year, at New York's Pershing Square Restaurant which, for those that aren't familiar, is one of the busiest breakfast places in midtown (make a reservation).  It's also frequented by commercial real estate folks...you never know who you might run into.

Jeff's enthusiasm and love for the commercial real estate industry was contagious.  He always had a smile on his face and carried with him a special kind of energy. 

In January, I reached out to Jeff, as I wanted to interview him for my series I’ve been publishing here.  We spoke on the phone and he told me that he had esophageal cancer and was on leave from his job at Goldman.  As has happened too often all I could say him was, ‘Shit. That sucks.” As you might imagine, he whole-heartedly agreed.  He was interested in doing the interview but needed to run it by his company first. 

On March 20 I told him I’d be in NYC soon and would love to come up and visit him.  He wrote back saying he appreciated the offer but the past few weeks had been pretty challenging.  Then, just this morning, I heard the news.

My sincerest condolences to Jeff’s family, friends and colleagues.

Another huge personality in our industry has passed into the future…where I’m pretty certain they’ve formed their own trade association which might be called “Real Estate Angels” and hang out together, sharing stories and watching those of us ‘down here’ with some big smiles.  The industry will miss him...as will I.