Inland Real Estate Group co-founder Joe Cosenza passes away at the age of 81
G. Joseph Cosenza — one of a group of Chicago schoolteachers whose investment club grew into one of the nation’s largest owners, acquirers, and managers of commercial real estate — passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 81.
Cosenza taught third grade in the LaGrange School District and served as an assistant principal in the Wheeling School District in the 1960s and 1970s. With fellow teachers Dan Goodwin, Robert Baum, and Robert Parks, Cosenza co-founded the Oak Brook-based Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, which have owned and managed hundreds of millions of square feet of various commercial property types in 49 states.
Cosenza was Inland’s director and vice chairman and led the company’s retail real estate business.
“We’ve always respected one another and one another’s ideas. But most importantly, we’ve respected everyone we’ve dealt with, especially the 480,000 investors who have invested with us over the years,” said Cosenza in a speech delivered at a Chicago real estate event in 2018.
“My business partners and I were able to give jobs to approximately 2,000 people over the past 50 years,” he added. “That’s one of the greatest accomplishments I’ve ever had.”
Baum, currently Inland’s chairman and general counsel, lauded Cosenza as a legendary dealmaker in the commercial real estate industry, as well as a valued and dear friend.
“We will miss his enduring loyalty, high energy, and passion, particularly when he was on the acquisition front fighting the good fight to acquire real estate on terms most favorable to Inland and our investors,” Baum said.
“And in the office,” added Baum, “Joe displayed love, kindliness, and humor that Inlanders will always remember.”
Cosenza piloted Inland’s spacious booths at the ICSC Las Vegas and New York shows with the brightest smile and bow ties on the exhibit floor. Chain Store Age’s interviews with him on show days were blunt on business, but always concluded with updates on the current state of his enduring passion —classic car collecting.
“Joe was an unwavering source of inspiration for us all,” said Inland CEO and president Tony Chereso. “Joe is a commercial real estate icon who, along with the other Inland founders, transformed the alternative real estate marketplace.”
A funeral service will be held for Cosenza on the Friday of Jan. 3 at St. Mary’s of Gostyn Catholic Church, 445 Prairie Avenue in Downers Grove, Ill.
