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Michael T. Rose, Washington, D.C. Area Developer, Dies at 63
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Michael T. Rose | Michael T. Rose, 63, a well-known builder/developer who championed envionmentally sensitive communities and accessible housing in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for more than three decades and who was an active and influential member of NAHB at the local and national level, died in his home in Potomac, Md. on Friday, Feb. 23.
Rose, who founded the Michael T. Rose Family of Companies in 1975, was nationally regarded as a leader in developing communities and creating homes that were environmentally sound and in harmony with their natural surroundings.
Rose, his company and communities received numerous awards and recognition for environmental excellence, including The Chesapeake Bay Conservation Award by the Izaak Walton League of America and the National Arbor Day Foundation Award of Excellence.
He was also one of the first developers in the country to have one of his communities designated as an urban wildlife sanctuary by the National Institute for Urban Wildlife.
In addition, Rose was recognized for his efforts to preserve trees and conserve nature by the American Forestry Association (AFA) and has been cited in numerous books, magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post, for his environmental sensitivity in the development process.
Rose joined NAHB in 1976 and was an active member of the federation for 30 years. He was a past president of the Maryland National Capital Building Association, an NAHB life director and a member of the NAHB Executive Committee for eight years.
He was the founding chairman of the NAHB Environmental Issues Committee and was past chairman of NAHB’s Association Planning Committee, Public Affairs Committee and Land Development Committee.
“In the early 1990s, Michael was pivotal in designing NAHB’s aggressive and comprehensive environmental program ― a program that has resulted in a string of victories for the association and has helped raise the bar for all of us on the best practices for building environmentally-friendly developments,” said 2006 NAHB President David Pressly during NAHB ceremonies last year honoring Rose's contributions to NAHB and the industry. Pressly also acknowledged that Rose helped “push and prod” NAHB into the era of electronic communications.
“He always seemed to be a step ahead of the rest of us in knowing where the market might be heading,” Pressly said, “and he was always willing to speak his mind — even when it went against conventional wisdom.”
Rose also was an active supporter of efforts to find a cure for paralysis and spinal cord injuries.
He served on the boards of directors of the American Paralysis Association/Christopher Reeve Foundation and the National Organization on Disabilities and was a founding director for the National Coordinating Council on Spinal Cord Injury. He also served as chairman of the President's Advisory Committee on Housing for Handicapped Families for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President George H.W. Bush.
Rose is survived by his wife of 40 years, Carol; two sons and their spouses, Marc and Kim and Greg and Amy; four grandchildren, Sophia, Addyson, Carly and Theodore; and a brother, Jason.
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