Anthony Mario Natelli died March 25 at Suburban Hospital after a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 67.
Natelli was founding partner of Potomac Investment Associates. As such, he developed Potomac’s Avenel Development and the Tournament Player’s Club golf course, which has hosted a PGA tournament since 1987. Natelli was a long-time Potomac resident.
“He obviously played a vital part of, in my opinion, the most beautifully executed development in the Washington, D.C. area,” said Nancy Itteilag, a Realtor and member of Avenel’s board who knew Natelli.
The Avenel community is now more than 900 homes clustered to preserve open space.
In 1996, he was given the Urban Land Institute Award of Excellence for the finest planned community in the nation as a result of his development of Avenel.
Itteilag expects the Avenel board will construct some sort of memorial to Natelli. “I’m sure that we will want to do something to remember him by,” She said.
Natelli was born in Jersey City, N.J. on July 13, 1936. He graduated from Saint Peter’s College in Jersey City, N.J. in 1957 with a degree in accounting.
Natelli went to work for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (now KPMG) and became a partner. At 29, he became managing partner of the company’s offices in Italy. He then moved to become managing partner of the company’s Washington, D.C. offices.
In 1977, he began his career in real estate. In 1993, he merged Potomac Investment Associates with his son Thomas Natelli’s firm Natelli Associates. The new company, Natelli Communities has developed projects such as Lakelands in Gaithersburg, The Villages of Urbana, Glenbrook and Sunset Island.
Natelli stepped down as chairman of Natelli Communities in 1995, but remained involved in the company’s ongoing developments as its chairman.
He was named Businessperson of the Year by the Potomac Chamber of Commerce and given the Milton Kettler Award from the Maryland National Capital Building Industry Association.
Natelli served on the boards of the Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade, Victory Housing, the Montgomery Housing Partnership, the Kemper Open Executive Committee, the Suburban Hospital Foundation, the Strathmore Hall Foundation, the Montgomery County Economic Advisory Council, the Montgomery County Community Foundation and the Greater Washington initiative.
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Trudy, his children Nancy, Tony, Thomas, Mary and Michael, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to the Suburban Hospital Foundation, 8600 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814.