Alongside his wife, Mr Rose built a $690 million fortune through his development projects, appearing on the AFR Rich List 12 times.
In 2000, the Rose’s master-planned residential community located on Sydney’s Parramatta River, Cape Cabarita, was awarded ‘Best Residential Lifestyle Development’ by The Urban Development Institute of Australia.
In 1999, the boutique developer beat rival giants like Mirvac and Multiplex to become preferred tenderer for a 51-hectare development at Sydney’s Breakfast Point on a former AGL gasworks site.
Former NSW planning department boss Sam Haddad said Mr Rose shifted the focus from density to design, raising the urban development benchmark across Australia.
“He was always visionary, and his project at Breakfast Point was a transformative piece of urban planning,” Mr Haddad said.
Bob and Margaret Rose met with King Charles in 2002 to discuss architecture and urban design.
About a decade later, in 2008, Bob and Margaret Rose were made members of the Order of Australia for service to the construction industry. Two years later, Mr Rose was named the Property Person of the Year by the Urban Taskforce, joining past winners including Meriton’s Harry Triguboff and Goodman Group’s Greg Goodman.
More recently, the Rose Group has developed residential communities in Catherine Hill Bay and Gwandalan in Lake Macquarie, south of Newcastle.
Along with helming development projects, Bob Rose was also known for buying and selling some of Sydney’s best real estate, including Kerry Packer’s former penthouse in Elizabeth Bay’s Toft Monks, along with a luxury holiday house on Palm Beach’s prized Ocean Road.
Their weekender, Bellona – named after the ship that brought Bob Rose’s forebears to Australia – was a surprise gift to Margaret from Bob.
When speaking to AFR Weekend in late 2022 about the decision to list the beachside escape (which had since been pulled from the market due to Bob’s deteriorating health), Margaret remarked the business had been their “fifth child.”
“That’s been the joy of my life, Bob and I being partners in life and in work,” Mrs Rose said.
Mr Rose is survived by his four children, daughters Marisa and Sacha and his sons Stuart and Bryan, who now run Rose Group.