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E. JOHN CALDECOTT, 79, INDUSTRY LEGAL PIONEER

By Dave Bodamer

E. John Caldecott

E. John Caldecott, a pioneer in the development and refinement of shopping center law, died March 1. He was 79. He was a past trustee of ICSC, a founding member of the ICSC Law Committee and a close and trusted adviser to many on shopping center legal matters.

Caldecott helped develop the reciprocal easement agreement (REA), a legal framework that has contributed fundamentally to the success of the shopping center by defining the relationship between anchor and developer. The REA grants each party access to the other’s property.

“That way everyone knew what the rules were, to reduce the chaos and to put everyone on an even footing,” Caldecott told Nancy Cohen, author of ICSC’s soon-to-be-published history of the shopping center industry, in an interview last year.

Caldecott was an attorney for Broadway-Hale Stores when he helped draft one of the first REAs for Del Amo Center, which opened in Torrance, Calif., in 1959. He later worked as a consultant, an expert witness and a lobbyist for the retail industry, both in California and in Washington, D.C.

“As far as ICSC goes, he’s been a bulwark of the Law Committee ever since it started,” said Edward J. “Ned” Sack, ICSC’s general counsel for 22 years, who retired in January. Caldecott was also a long-time lecturer at the University of Shopping Centers, teaching as recently as two years ago.

Sack set up the Law Committee in 1989 to study the impact of legal matters on the shopping center industry. Caldecott was chairman from its inception, remaining in the post even as the other seats on the committee were rotated. “If I had a legal question, he’d be the first to respond,” Sack said. “He was always extremely helpful on any problem I had.”

Howard Kane, an attorney with Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe and a contemporary of Caldecott’s in the early development of shopping center law, credited him with paving the way for shopping center growth on the West Coast.

“The shopping center industry had its greatest early development on the West Coast, and John was at the cutting edge of all that,” Kane said.

Another of Caldecott’s contributions to the industry on the West Coast was to help found the California Business Properties Association, a group that has been very active in lobbying for legislation within the state.

“John was viewed as a titan of our industry,” said Rex Hime, president and CEO of the association. “Under John’s leadership we addressed a lot of issues out here in California.”

Caldecott is also remembered for his strong personality.

“He was a man who didn’t react kindly to incompetence and ignorance,” Kane said. “He put himself under a very high standard, and he expected the same of others.”

But he was also a man of great charm, recalled John T. Riordan, ICSC vice chairman and former president, who said he will remember Caldecott for his prominent role in the development of the shopping center industry, his contributions to ICSC and his personable nature.

“John and his wife, Rosemary, were familiar figures at many ICSC functions including their regular attendance at trustee meetings and Spring Conventions,” Riordan said. “Ever willing to help others, jovial and enthusiastic about life in general, he was in every sense of the word a genial man.”

Sack said tShat in Caldecott’s death he has lost a friend.

“He really was one of the best and nicest people I’ve ever had the privilege of working with,” Sack said. “He and Sylvan Cohen were the two best. It’s been really a terrible blow to lose them both in such a short period.” Cohen, who created the first shopping center REIT and was a past chairman of ICSC, died last year.

But Caldecott has left his colleagues and friends some memories that will bring them smiles for the rest of their lives.

“About 10 years ago he grew a beard, and, of course, at his age it was white,” Hime said. “He was also a round fellow, so with the beard he was constantly mistaken for Santa Claus. Children would often ask him, ‘Is this what you do when you’re not doing presents?’ John would often just play along with it. He was that kind of guy.”

A public-spirited man, Caldecott gave generously to the Salvation Army.

Caldecott is survived by his wife, Rosemary.

A memorial service will be held May 10 at 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army Tabernacle, 960 East Walnut St., Pasadena, Calif. A memorial fund in his name has been set up, and the family asks that any contributions be made to that fund in lieu of flowers. Contributions should be mailed to: Salvation Army Tabernacle, E. John Caldecott Memorial, 960 East Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91106, Attn. Russell Prince. Contributions may also be sent to the ICSC Educational Foundation.

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