2025 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 693
Celebrating the life of Giuseppe Cecchi.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 18, 2025
Agreed to by the Senate, February 20, 2025
WHEREAS, Giuseppe Cecchi of McLean, a prominent real estate developer who guided the growth of the National Capital region over the course of his long and distinguished career, died on April 4, 2024; and
WHEREAS, Giuseppe Cecchi was born in Milan, Italy, to Antonio Cecchi, the head engineer of the city at that time, and followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a professional engineer; and
WHEREAS, Giuseppe Cecchi graduated from the University of Milan with a master's degree in 1955, then joined Societ Generale Immobiliare (SGI), which was once the largest real estate and construction firm in Italy, and was sent to the United States to scout potential real estate investments in 1959; and
WHEREAS, as a member of SGI, Giuseppe Cecchi oversaw the development of the first mixed-use project in the National Capital region, the Watergate complex, a group of six buildings with offices, commercial space, and residences that quickly became some of the most desirable living spaces in the area in the late 1960s and early 1970s; and
WHEREAS, Giuseppe Cecchi went on to create the Watergate at Landmark, the first resort-style luxury condominium development in Alexandria's West End, then formed his own company, International Developers, Inc., (IDI); and
WHEREAS, with the expertise of many of the same developers who created Watergate, Giuseppe Cecchi and IDI developed several large residential communities with extensive recreational facilities throughout the region, including The Rotonda, The Belvedere, Montebello, Porto Vecchio, Altavista, and Carlyle Towers; and
WHEREAS, in 1977, Giuseppe Cecchi pioneered a widely hailed program of tenant-sensitive condominium conversions when IDI acquired and redeveloped the 1,684-unit Parkfairfax complex with no evictions; the company successfully upgraded apartments and converted them into condominiums at sale prices that were affordable to existing tenants, providing a private solution to the need for affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, thanks to Giuseppe Cecchi's visionary strategies, the Parkfairfax community continued to thrive and was named the Best Condominium Community in the region in 1999; and
WHEREAS, Giuseppe Cecchi and IDI replicated the no-eviction conversion method at other properties and created new neighborhoods such as Burke Centre and Franklin Farm; IDI's condominium complexes were considered models for other developments throughout the Commonwealth and the nation; and
WHEREAS, in 1980, Giuseppe Cecchi teamed up with California-based developer Ross Cortese to complete the active adult living communities at Leisure World of Maryland and Leisure World of Virginia, now Lansdowne Woods of Virginia; and
WHEREAS, under Giuseppe Cecchi's leadership, IDI created homes for more than 25,000 people and earned dozens of prestigious industry awards for design, construction, and special programs; he was inducted into the Arlington Chamber of Commerce Best Business Award Hall of Fame in 2019, recognizing his transformational legacy of service to the region; and
WHEREAS, Giuseppe Cecchi will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Mercedes; his sons, Enrico, Antonio, Carlos, and Giuseppe, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Giuseppe Cecchi, a visionary real estate developer in the National Capitol region who set new trends in mixed-use development and was known throughout the nation for his commitment to excellence; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Giuseppe Cecchi as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory.