Nicholas Martell, 77, of Realen Properties

Nicholas V. Martell, 77, of Bryn Mawr, a founding partner of Realen Properties, died Tuesday, Aug. 16, at Bryn Mawr Hospital of kidney failure.

Since its founding more than 30 years ago, Realen Properties has developed hundreds of apartment and town-house complexes and communities of single-family houses in the Philadelphia region, as well as properties in the Chicago area.

As a real estate broker in 1968, Mr. Martell established Realty Engineering with Hal Davis, an engineer. The name was later changed to Realen Properties. In the 1980s, S. Joseph Duckworth joined the firm to operate the home-building division, and Dennis Maloomian became head of the commercial division. Duckworth left in the 1990s.

Mr. Martell continued as an active partner with Davis and Maloomian. In recent years, Realen Properties has focused on commercial developments, including Edgewater Apartments on the Schuylkill in Center City and the Village at Valley Forge, a community of town houses, rental apartments, retail stores, an amphitheater, and sidewalk cafes laid out in a walkable grid pattern.

"Hal and Nick started with nothing, but they always took the high road and did the right thing," Maloomian said. "The firm was built on their impeccable reputation for integrity."

Mr. Martell grew up in Bala Cynwyd and graduated from Malvern Preparatory School. He served in the Army with the 82d Airborne in Fort Bragg, N.C.

After his discharge, he worked in his father's produce business at the Reading Terminal Market before becoming a real estate broker.

Mr. Martell formerly served on the boards of Mercy Medical Center, Gwynedd-Mercy College, and Immaculata University.

"Nick was very generous to those in need," said longtime friend Jim Flanagan. But Mr. Martell was also very private, he added, and would never take credit for his philanthropy.

In the 1970s and '80s, Mr. Martell, a licensed pilot, flew his own aircraft, including a seaplane and a helicopter.

He hunted and fished at his farm in Cambria, Md., as well as in Argentina, Texas, Alaska, and Africa. He was a member of the African Safari Club.

Mr. Martel golfed at the Philadelphia Country Club and the Squires Country Club in Ambler, and at the Indian Creek Country Club in Miami, Fla., during winter vacations. He had a summer home in Avalon, N.J.

Since 1955, he was married to Mary Catherine Bruder Martell.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Martell is survived by daughters Kim Roach and Delinda; sons Nicholas and Paul; a brother; a sister; and a granddaughter. He was predeceased by daughters Theresa and Anna Marie.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church, 31 Pennswood Rd., Bryn Mawr. Friends may call from 9:30 a.m.

Donations may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 111 S. Independence Mall East, Suite 411, Philadelphia 19106.