Martin W. Taplin's Obituary
TAPLIN, Martin W.
Prominent Miami real estate developer Martin W. Taplin, a community philanthropist, renowned art collector, owner of the Sagamore Hotel, and principal in the real estate company Harbour Realty Advisors, Inc., has passed away. He was 77 years old.
Taplin’s involvement in the cultural communities were numerous on both a local and national level. As a major force in the burgeoning Miami art movement, Marty was instrumental in helping bring the organizers of Art Basel to Miami Beach and for 15 years the famous Sagamore Art Basel Brunch has been one of the most sought after invites of Art Week. He has also been a member of the boards of the Bass Museum, MoCA, PAMM, and many others.
Marty was also an active philanthropist and served on the Board of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. As a Trustee of the Sol Taplin Charitable Foundation, he made it his mission that a wide variety of charitable organizations including those dealing with education, homeless shelters, Judaic, medical institutions, museums, non-profits, and more received much needed funds. Marty was also passionate about the law and was a life-long member of the American Bar Association.
He was a pioneer and innovative thinker who always saw things outside the box. Marty had recently been working closely with members of Congress relating to mortgage securitization. A licensed real agent, he bought, managed and sold more than $6 billion in real estate throughout the United States and was one of several companies approved by the FDIC to manage troubled real estate portfolios of over $1 billion. His company, Harbour Realty Advisors, Inc., is an investment firm that owns and manages a large portfolio of rental apartments in Florida and Connecticut. In addition, Martin W. Taplin & Associates owns and has developed several key pieces of real estate in South Florida.
A life-long long resident of Surfside, Marty Taplin loved the ocean, boating and fishing. He graduated from Miami Beach Senior High, went on to the University of Miami and received his law degree from Stetson University College of Law.
A true family man, he loved spending time with all of his children and grandchildren. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife of 29 years, Christine; daughter, Jennifer (Neil) Sazant; sons, Kristopher Taplin, Andrew (Nicole) Taplin, and Joshua Fuller, and 5 grandchildren, Connor, Sydney, Reese, Chloe, and Asher; his brother, Jack Taplin, his daughter Jacklyn (Joshua) Schifrin and their children Ryder, Brooklyn and Skylar, step-mother Sheila Elias Taplin; cousins Norman (Karen) Taplin, their children Andrew and Shain, and Jay (Shain) Taplin as well as their children Benjamin and Zachary, loving family friends Osmilda Silva, Tom Grant and Father Pat O’Neil, and everyone who worked for him.
Words cannot accurately describe what we will all miss about him. He was larger than life, charismatic, smart, giving, a fighter, and an optimist.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Marty’s memory to the
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
1120 Northwest 14 Street, Suite 1455
Miami, Florida 33136
Phone: (305) 243-6400
Website Donations: https://advancement.miami.edu/netcommunity/sslpage.aspx?pid=297
Chapel Service at 12:00 noon on Friday, March 11th at Blasberg-Rubin-Zilbert Memorial Chapel, 720-71st Street, Miami Beach, FL 33141. Interment at Mt. Sinai Cemetery
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