Giuseppe Cecchi, a native of Milan, Italy, who immigrated to the United States in 1961 and became a renowned Washington real estate developer, died at his home in McLean April 4 at 93.
Perhaps best known for building the famed Watergate Hotel, Cecchi was a beloved member of the Catholic community and gave generously to diocesan Catholic Charities.
“On behalf of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, I offer our prayers for the repose of the soul of Mr. Giuseppe Cecchi, and for God’s peace and consolation for his beloved family,” said Catholic Charities President and CEO Stephen Carattini. “We are so very grateful to the Cecchi family for their long-standing and generous support of Catholic Charities and the people we are blessed to serve.”
Described as the “Condo King” of Washington by The Washington Post, Cecchi earned a reputation as an innovative and tasteful designer, whose buildings won national accolades. Cecchi founded the IDI Group in 1975 and went on to leave an indelible mark on the nation’s capital by combining residential, office, hotel and retail properties, foreshadowing the popularity of mixed-use development long before it was popular.
Cecchi considered his 55-year marriage to Mercedes Sanchez Varela to be more important than all his business achievements. In his golden wedding anniversary toast, Cecchi said, “The best decision I’ve made in all my life (was) to marry Mercedes. She gave me 50 years of great love, great happiness, and I love her more today (than) when I met her.”
“They were honorary ball chairs in 2017 when the ball theme was ‘Together, Uplifting Families,’ ” said Catholic Charities board member and longtime ball volunteer Julie Theobald. “It was so fitting for them because family was so important to them, and they were blessed with a large extended family. They expressed that God gave them so many blessings so that they could share those blessings with others and help uplift families in our community. Supporting Catholic Charities was one of the ways they shared their many blessings.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge was the principal celebrant and homilist of a Mass of Christian Burial offered at Holy Rosary Church in Washington April 12.
