Mr. Lerner was a pioneering real estate developer who shaped the commercial, residential, and entertainment landscape of the Washington metropolitan area for more than 70 years. He was a visionary, investing in and developing many iconic properties across our region including Tysons Corner Center, Tysons II, Wheaton Plaza, Dulles Town Center, Landover Mall, and Washington Square, to name a few.

A passionate baseball enthusiast, he spent 27 years actively pursuing his dream of bringing baseball back to the city he loved. As he explained while receiving the 2014 Corcoran Award from Washington D.C.’s University Club: “A great city deserves a great baseball team.” The crowning achievement of his family business was owning the Washington Nationals and bringing a World Series championship home for the first time since 1924. He cherished the franchise and what it brought to his hometown.

A dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Lerner saw his ownership of the team as a way to heighten his family’s impact in their community. Out of this belief – and the love he had for his hometown – came the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, a year-round program that enriches the lives of and provides opportunities for children in one of Washington’s most underserved areas. He saw to it that other community needs were met through the work of Washington Nationals Philanthropies, including a partnership with World Central Kitchen that distributed more than 925,000 meals to vulnerable populations and first responders during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, in celebration of this work, Mr. Lerner was honored with the Washington Nationals Philanthropies “Power of Baseball Award.”

In addition to his philanthropic work with the Nationals, Mr. Lerner also founded The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation, which supports a wide range of organizations, with special emphasis on causes related to Judaism and education, including the U.S. Holocaust Memorial, of which he is a founding member; The George Washington University Law School; the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School; and many, many others.

Mr. Lerner’s unconditional love for his ever-growing family mirrors the expansion of the family-owned business over a series of decades. Many family members, extending into the third generation, carry on his legacy through leadership and advisory roles within the company. Mr. Lerner often remarked that he could never have imagined that his small company would reach such heights, and told friends and family that his life had exceeded his wildest expectations. He will be greatly missed by all of us at Lerner.