Ted Lerner, billionaire real estate mogul and the Washington Nationals' founding principal owner, has died at 97.
The Washington Post was first to break the news, reporting the 97-year-old died from pneumonia complications Sunday. A spokesperson with the Nationals confirmed Lerner's death to News4.
Lerner helped bring baseball back to the District, which has transformed the Navy Yard neighborhood into what it is today. The Nats brought a championship to D.C. in 2019, the first baseball title in the city since the Washington Senators won in 1924.
Lerner was also the entrepreneur behind landmark developments such as Maryland's Wheaton Plaza, which became the largest mall in the D.C. area when it opened in 1960; Tysons Corner Center and the upscale Tysons II in Northern Virginia, as well as a broad swath of residential real estate in the region; he also was a founding investor in Manhattan's famed Chelsea Piers. He also helped secure the deal for Nats Park in the 2000s and was a part of the team's World Series win in 2019.
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RIP Ted Lerner. Built this city, built Tysons Corner. The Lerner name is impeccable everywhere. He won a World Series for the fans of the Nationals. Family First. Husband, father, grandfather, great-grand father, business icon and GIANT. Will never be another like Mr. Ted Lerner.
Ted Leonsis, Monumental Sports owner
Former D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans knew Lerner well. The two worked closely together to help bring the Nationals to D.C., which Evans said was a challenge.
"We were never anybody’s first choice for a baseball team," Evans recalled. "We had had two teams prior to the Nationals and lost them."
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Lerner purchased the Nats for $450 million in 2006. Thirteen years later, the team lifted the World Series trophy.
"Sports teams do something that almost nothing else can do," Evans said. "They unite a city, every aspect of a city – a winning sports team."
The Nationals put out a statement Monday on Lerner’s passing that said in part:
"From his humble beginnings as an usher in Washington D.C.’s old Griffith Stadium, to the ushering in of a new era of championship baseball in his hometown, Mr. Lerner literally and figuratively built a legacy through his signature mix of tenacity and humility. Guided by love for his family and passion for his hometown, Mr. Lerner dedicated his life to the creation of a better city and a winning ball club."
But it wasn’t just a winning product on the field. Investments near Nats Park renewed the surrounding neighborhood in Southeast D.C.
"It became the catalyst for the entire development of an area that was largely deserted," Evans said.
Lerner was also instrumental in the creation of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, which "provides year-round programming and resources in one of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods," the team said.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke about the importance of bringing back baseball to D.C. As part of a generation of Washingtonians who grew up without a team, she said she's grateful now that the Nats are here and serve as a way to bring the community together.
He's the sort of man who did a lot, but he also set into motion a lot more that continues to reverberate across the region.
Dan Sernovitz, Washington Business Journal
And beyond baseball, Lerner was well known for his real estate empire. In addition to destinations such as Tysons Corner, the Washington Post reported that Lerner Enterprises constructed more than 22,000 houses and 7,000 apartments in the D.C. area.
If you were to write a book about the development of D.C., there definitely would be a chapter on Lerner's contributions, said Dan Sernovitz, senior reporter with the Washington Business Journal.
"He's the sort of man who did a lot, but he also set into motion a lot more that continues to reverberate across the region," Sernovitz said.
Lerner is survived by his wife of 71 years, Annette Morris Lerner, and his children, Mark D. Lerner, Debra Lerner Cohen and Marla Lerner Tanenbaum, as well as nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. The Nationals named Lerner’s son as managing principal owner of the team in 2018.
Lerner's contributions are also being remembered by another D.C. sports giant, Ted Leonsis, who owns the Washington Wizards, Capitals and Mystics, as well as NBC Sports Washington.
"Ted Lerner was a very, very tough but fair man, and people looked at him as an icon for business in that he tried to do the right things in the right way, and he really believed in Washington, D.C.," Leonsis said.
Leonsis also posted a tribute to Lerner on Twitter, writing: "RIP Ted Lerner. Built this city, built Tysons Corner. The Lerner name is impeccable everywhere. He won a World Series for the fans of the @Nationals. Family First. Husband, father, grandfather, great-grand father, business icon and GIANT. Will never be another like Mr. Ted Lerner."
