Herman Chanen, Phoenix construction company founder and philanthropist, dies at 94

Herman Chanen, founder of Chanen Construction Co. and well-known philanthropist, died Monday at the age of 94.

Chanen founded the company in Phoenix in 1955 and built some of the most recognized buildings in the Valley.

“My dad was always an advocate for excellence,” Steven Chanen, president and CEO of Chanen Construction, said. “He made sure work by the company was perfect, and it was perfect the first time.”

Steven Chanen said his father was especially proud of some of his notable real estate developments, including the 111 W. Monroe office tower in downtown Phoenix, which was first named the Arizona Title Building, which he built and served as co-developer.

His company also built the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel in downtown Phoenix, Talking Stick Resort on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Midwestern University in Glendale.

When Steven was 9, a crew from Look magazine featured the Chanen family and stayed in the family’s home for weeks while working on a story. In the article, Chanen predicted Phoenix someday would become a major city.

“It was a big splash. It was unusual for someone from Phoenix to be featured in a national magazine like that,” Steven Chanen said.

Shannon Smith, who served as Chanen’s executive assistant for 22 years, called him “my boss, who evolved into a mentor, into a father figure, into my best friend.”

Chanen was close friends with some of the Valley’s biggest business leaders of his era, including grocery CEO Eddie Basha, attorney Dan Cracchiolo and educator Roy Herberger, Smith said. Chanen and his group of close friends often met for lunch and always invited former Gov. Rose Mofford to join on her birthday, Smith said.

“No day was ever the same with him,” Smith said. “He knew so many people and they were all so great. He surrounded himself with great people, or, really, great people wanted to be around him. He’s just got this pull.”

Chanen was involved in various leadership positions and philanthropic causes around the state. He served on the Arizona Board of Regents, the governing body for the three state universities, and the board of Barrow Neurological Foundation and was involved with HomeBase Youth Services, the Phoenix Symphony and the United Way.

He was one of the founders of the Phoenix Economic Growth Corporation, now the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

The family established a preschool at Congregation Beth Israel Church in Scottsdale and created a scholarship fund at Midwestern University, Steven Chanen said.

Chanen was a lover of animals and devoted a wall in his home to pictures of his dogs, Smith said. He always donated to animal welfare organizations and visited his dogs’ graves at a cemetery after they died, she said. He kept photos in a hallway of his house of people throughout the years, and it featured some well-known names, like his close friend Johnny Carson, the entertainer.

“He was, in every way, a personality larger than life,” Steven Chanen said of his father.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Congregation Beth Israel, 10460 N. 56th St., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253. In lieu of flowers, for those desiring, a contribution is suggested to the Chanen Scholarship Fund at Midwestern University or the Chanen Preschool at Congregation Beth Israel.

Reach the reporter at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @CorinaVanek.

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