Philip Seltzer, developer

Philip S. Seltzer, 86, of Jenkintown, a real estate developer who pioneered the concept of the suburban industrial park, died of heart failure Sunday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1955, Mr. Seltzer and his brother Nathan broke ground in Upper Dublin Township for Fort Washington Industrial Park, an innovative commercial complex of light-industry companies in a campus-style setting. At the time, most industry was housed in multistory buildings set side by side in urban areas. There was no room for expansion, Mr. Seltzer told a reporter in 1993, and insufficient parking.

His concept, Mr. Seltzer said, was "never to do anything ugly or obtrusive." In fact, he said, the sylvan surroundings were seen as "a salable commodity to the businesses."

The brothers' company, the Seltzer Organization, would go on to develop similar industrial parks around the country and in Canada, including in Atlanta; Tulsa, Okla.; and Toronto. It also built homes and apartment complexes.

"If you have a brother like I have who is always buying land," Nathan Seltzer told a reporter in 1973, "then you've got to keep moving to figure out what you are going to do with it."

Mr. Seltzer never retired, his son, Eric, said. A week before he died, he was working on concepts for land he owned near Hazleton, his son said.

After graduating from Olney High School at 16, Mr. Seltzer later told a reporter, "I had a new job almost every day." He worked at a grocery store and a hardware store and sold real estate.

In 1944, he and his brother established a brokerage firm in Philadelphia. They bought homes and apartment complexes to sell and eventually got into construction.

Mr. Seltzer served on committees for the United Way; was past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia; and was past chairman of State of Israel Bonds of Greater Philadelphia.

He narrowly missed winning a scholarship to college, his son said, and took courses late in life in world civilization and philosophy. "He believed that being curious and seeking knowledge made life fulfilling and meaningful," his son said.

Mr. Seltzer was married for 44 years to Rose Katz Seltzer, whom he had met when he offered to pay for her lunch at a soda fountain in Philadelphia. She died in 1998. His brother Nathan and son David also preceded him in death.

In addition to his son Eric, Mr. Seltzer is survived by a brother, William, and four grandchildren.

The funeral will be at 1 p.m. today at Beth Shalom Congregation, 8231 Old York Rd., Elkins Park. Entombment will be in Montefiore Cemetery Mausoleum in Rockledge.