Evening star., 1961-12-31
Cities
and People
Woshington's
New Buronet
BY ROBERT J. LEWIS

SSsA oAASNb SAAAy
son of the late Sir Edward
Mortimer Mountain.
Sir Edward, the father,
who would now be 80, was an
energetic lad who left Lloyds
of London and founded his
own world wide financial
empire, and thus, unwit-
tingly, set the stage for some
important events that will
vitality affect the future of
Washington, D. C.
In the United States, which
has no official titles of this
sort, a powerful industrialist
or financier is sometimes
called a baron. But we have
no baronets.
Literally, a baronet is a
little baron" But neither
Sir Edward, the father, nor
Sir Brian, the son who is now
81, were little men in Eng
land.
Though hardly known on
this side Of the Atlantic, Sir
Brian is chairman of the
board of a complex of finan-
cial institutions and, as such,
has suddenly become a big
man in Washington, too.
For 1t was he, 10 days ago,
who took the hand of Will
liam Zeckendorf and led him
safely back to a more care
free Solvency.
-
IN DOING so, Sir Brian
obtained an effective so per
cent interest in about 1,17O,-
600 square feet of the most
valuable land in Southwest
Washington, a strong voice
in what will be done with it,
and an opportunity to par
ticipate in redevelopment of
still other parcels not yet
turned over to Mr.. Zecken-
dorf.
The almost 80 acres were
leased to Mr.. Zeckendorf by
Washington's Redevelopment
Land Agency. The land was
held by seven Zeckendorf
corporations-Webb & Knapp
National Corps. /, 2, 8, 4, 5,
6 and 7.
They have now been spun
off into a newly formed cor
poration jointly controlled
by Sir Brian and Mr.. Zeck-
endOrf - called Zeckendorf
Property Corp.
Included in the deal are
four apartment buildings and
a shopping center in the
Town Center area at Fourth
and M streets S.W., the site
for another shopping build
ing, and h otel and office
building sites in the Tenth
Street Mall and L'Enfant
Plaza area on Tenth street
south of Independence ave-
nue. S.W.
These pivotal sections, to-
gether with the Maine ave-
nue. waterfront area, will
constitute the commercial
heart of the future South
west Washington in town
neighborhood.
When Mr.. Zeckendorf
gained control of this land
which he now shares with
his British colleague, he did
not have the cash needed to
develop it.
But he had the vision, saw
a bargain, and believed the
money could be made to ma
terialize.
IN SUPPLYING the key to
redevelopment of this part of
the United States Capital
City, Sir Brian stayed in the
far background.
His name didn't get into
the newspapers at all as a
direct participant. Nor did
such of his associates as Lord
Cadogan, Sir Leonard Sin
clair, Brigadier Sir George
Harvie-Watt, Sir Peter w.
Hoare, Gen. Sir Edwin L.
Morris, or the Marques of
Linlithgow - all directors of
Britain's big and powerful
Eagle Star Insurance Co.,
Ltd, which Sir Brian's father
put together way back
around the time of World
War I and which played a big
role in the new financing
arrangements.
AS chairman of the board
Of Eagle Star and other Brit
iSh firms, Sir Brian is a
formidably solid citizen. In
World War I, he was with the
9th Lancers after attending
the Royal Military College,
Sandhurst. In World War II,
he served in France as a lieu
tenant colonel on the Gen.