Chicago parking magnate Joseph Feldman dies

Chicago’s commercial real estate history includes one man who turned a childhood job into a major asset portfolio. Joseph Sidney Feldman died at his Naperville home on Saturday, October 24, at the age of 84.

Feldman began working in the parking industry at age ten. He parked cars on vacant lots on Chicago’s South Side to support his family. That early work shaped his professional path. He later purchased the specific lots where he had started as a youth.

His business interests expanded beyond parking. He owned the International Amphitheater and the Chicago Stadium. He later held ownership stakes in the United Center. In 1982, he took over the Bridgeport News, a neighborhood newspaper in Chicago, after his father died. He served as publisher until the paper closed in 2020. Colleagues described him as a visionary who found value in properties others overlooked, including buildings in Chicago and resorts in Florida.

Feldman had lived in Naperville since 1975. Before that move, he resided in the Canaryville neighborhood of Chicago. He married Mary Ellen Feldman in 1963. They shared 51 years of marriage. He is survived by six children: Joseph, Mary Carole, Margaret Ann, Colleen, Michaeline, and Timothy Michael. The family also includes numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Feldman split his time between three locations. He wintered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, and spent summers in Montello, Wisconsin. He was an active member of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Florida and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Wisconsin. His family noted that he frequently worked alongside his children and grandchildren.

A visitation is set for Friday, October 30, from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Naperville. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Saturday, October 31, at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Aurora. Interment will follow at SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery in Naperville.

The family asks that donations be made to Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Aurora or Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Sunny Isles Beach in lieu of flowers.