Ken Fields
Encyclopedia
Early Life And Education
Fields was born and raised in New York City where he attended the prestigious Collegiate SchoolCollegiate School
Collegiate School may refer to:*Bournemouth Collegiate School, Bournemouth, United Kingdom*Collegiate School *Collegiate School *Collegiate School...
on Manhattans upper west side, later transferring to The Indian Mountain School
Indian Mountain School
The Indian Mountain School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school for children grades pre-K through 9, located on two campuses in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA....
and The Salisbury School
Salisbury School
Salisbury School is an all-boys, private college-preparatory boarding school founded in 1901 and located in Salisbury, Connecticut. Its school newspaper is The Cupola. Its mascot is the Crimson Knight. The School's motto is Esse quam videri, which translates to To be rather than to seem to...
, both boarding schools in Lakeville CT. He is a graduate of Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
.
Real estate development
With a wide-ranging portfolio of projects, including office buildings and low-income housing, Fields is perhaps most well recognized as a hotel and hospitality investor and developer. In 2002 he purchased the Ankara Motel property on 23rd Street and Collins AvenueCollins Avenue
Collins Avenue runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean in Miami Beach, Florida, one block west. It is also State Road A1A. Collins Avenue was named for John S...
in the Collins Park
Collins Park
The Collins Park Neighborhood in Miami Beach sits on the north eastern point of the South Beach Historic District. It’s boundaries are 17th street to the south, 25th Street to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Washington Avenue, Dade County Boulevard and Pinetree Drive to the west.The...
neighborhood of South Beach
South Beach
South Beach, also nicknamed SoBe, is a neighborhood in the city of Miami Beach, Florida, United States. It is the area south of Indian Creek and encompasses roughly the southernmost 23 blocks of the main barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay.This area was the first...
. The motel was built in 1954 by the architecture firm of Reiff & Feldman and is one of the few remaining examples of googie style architecture in South Beach. Fields redeveloped the property into Miami Beach's first Arts Hotel, inviting artists to design individual rooms (notably Shepard Fairey
Shepard Fairey
Frank Shepard Fairey is an American contemporary graphic designer, and illustrator who emerged from the skateboarding scene. He first became known for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign, in which he appropriated images from the comedic supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. His...
, Camella Ehlke of Triple Five Soul and Kenzo Minami) and renamed the property The Creek South Beach
The Creek South Beach
The Creek South Beach is a 90 room motel located on Collins Avenue and 23rd Street Miami Beach, Florida. A classic and noteworthy example of Miami Modern Architecture situated just north of The Art Deco District, in the Collins Park Neighborhood and the CANDO in Miami Beach.The Creek South Beach,...
. The redevelopment and design concept was widely praised by the media, winning best hotel in Miami Beach from The Miami New Times. Despite joint efforts by neighborhood associations, the City of Miami Beach and private developers, the area continues to have its ups and downs.
Fields owns a 3,000-acre cattle ranch in Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
. Beef from the ranch was briefly imported and made available online in the United States under the Uruguay Steaks brand. The company spokesperson and chef was Bravo TV’s Top Chef’s Lee Anne Wong
Lee Anne Wong
Lee Anne Wong is an American chef and was one of the last four contestants on the first season of Bravo's reality show, Top Chef. She was the culinary producer for the next four seasons of Top Chef, where her duties included sourcing and styling the ingredients for the various challenges, as well...
.
Environmental activism
Fields has been an active participant in a number of environmental initiatives. He is a vocal advocate for renewable energy, and solar power in particular, quoted by the media discussing tax benefits and financial incentives as an industry expert in the The Miami HeraldThe Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
and Plum TV
Plum TV
Plum TV is a lifestyle television channel launched in 2002 by Nantucket Nectars founder Tom Scott, along with producer Cary Woods and television executive Chris Glowacki. Most recently Tom Scott has become CEO again. So far his performance has been lackluster. of The programming is locally...
. He has been a strong supporter of Ecomb
Ecomb
-History & Mission:EcoMB, originally named the Environmental Coalition of Miami and the Beaches, is a registered 5013 not for profit organization headquartered in Miami Beach Florida. EcoMB was established in 1994. EcoMB's mission is to educate and promote environmental sustainability and...
(The Environmental Coalition of Miami and The Beaches) and their efforts to establish the Miami Beach Center For The Environment. In 2010 he established the not-for-profit School Charging Program to donate electric vehicle charging station
Charging station
An electric vehicle charging station, also called EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point and EVSE , is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles) or semi-static and mobile...
s to schools and other educational institutions.