Comments on: Zuppa Fresca Abruptly Closes in NoMa

By: D

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:48:30 +0000

As a resident of LG, the leasing agents tell you when you sign your first lease that they are giving you a “concession” in the form of “below” market rate and show you the supposed market rate. Most residents after the first year see a 9-12% increase, and often move out because of it. If you’re just going to rent it to someone else for a similar “below-market” rate, I don’t see the point in not offering that “below-market” rate to the current resident as opposed to paying your people to get it ready for new residents.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 16:18:36 +0000

Let us make it clear that Bozzuto is not the Landlord. Did we forget what happened between the Cohen Companies and TIAA-CREF. I am pretty sure the shaky Landlord situtation did not help Zuppa at all. From what I hear the space was misrepresented in the first place and Zuppa was trying to work it out with the Landlord and Bozutto ignoring them completely. (My friend lives in the building)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 20:43:31 +0000

Not my experience. My rent only increased $50 a month between the first and second lease at Senate Square.

By: dt

dt — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 21:04:13 +0000

Yes, Bozzuto plays the same games at Senate Square. Their “market rent” for a 1br was something like $2500 (more than I was paying in the heart of Dupont Circle, and this was in 2008 when nobody wanted to live in near NE) and they gave ‘discounts’ of many hundreds of dollars to fill the units. Then there’s all the fees (amenities, parking, etc), and then things started getting ridiculous with the amenities (reservations and payments for things which you supposedly already have paid a fee for). I finally simply moved out and bought a house in Trinidad – same monthly payment, but with more space, more freedom, free parking for 2, a private backyard, plus a fixed rate mortgage means my payments will never, ever increase. I’m amazed that people stay in these places so long but I guess it’s a real landlord’s market these days.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:20:25 +0000

I went to Zuppa Fresca several times. While the food was creatively conceived and sometimes well-executed, the service was always awful. They could not get an order straight or the food out in a reasonable amount of time. I watched many times while other tables around me had the same problem. I don’t think the problems were about the location- it was about not being able to get a drink or food in less than half an hour. Really disapppointing. I’m dying to have a place in the neighborhood to go regularly.

By: E

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 01:16:32 +0000

Our rent increase was 17% between the first and second year lease. When we signed our first lease they were giving away 6 months free parking and a waived amenity fee just to fill the place and then after we were there for a year they decide that they want to bank on the fact that it is more of a hassle to move than to pay the increased rent. The real slap in the face was the fact that an identical unit was listed on Craigslist for significantly less than what our renewal was quoted. They think that Senate Square and Flats 130 are “comparable” units and determined the rent based on that. If I wanted to pay for hardwood floors, higher ceilings, and a pool in my building. I would have done that in the first place. The fact that my rent is being based on those units is ridiculous. To top it all off, they closed the dog park (a major reason we bit the bullet and renewed) about a month after we re-upped. Despite promises of a replacement, nothing has been done.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the management company did something shady to Zuppa Fresca. They know that they have the power and aren’t shy about exploiting it to their full advantage

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:45:18 +0000

I live at Senate Square so i am probably biased, but I don’t think the interiors are even close to being as nice as ours (i.e. at Senate Square we have granite counter tops, real hardwoods, etc whereas Loree has carpet etc….). This probably all goes back to the fact that Senate Square was supposed to be all condo but went bankrupt under construction in the depressed economy of 2007-08…long story short you have rentals build out like condos at Senate, whereas Loree is strictly a rental property (and it shows).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:40:46 +0000

Sorry to see it close so quickly, but I’m not surprised. I live close (Senate Square) and I could never bring myself to try this place because of (a) the tepid Yelp reviews and (b) the fact it was ALWAYS empty. Seriously, if I wanted to dine in a silent, empty room I would just make something at home – kind of defeats the purpose of going out to dinner.

By: Gonzo

Gonzo — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:13:41 +0000

I live in the Loree Grand. Here’s the deal with leases and rent. It’s becoming VERY common in DC and particularly in new buildings, so expect more of it in the future.

The so-called ‘standard’ rent at LG is incredibly high. $2200 to $3000 or so per unit. HOWEVER, what the management does is they give nearly everyone some form of discount. This allows them to keep the ‘standard’ rent higher than the actual market rate. What’s the market rate? It’s what people actually pay WITH the discount. But the problem arises during the second year of the lease when tenants are suddenly hit with MASSIVE rent increases. This has caused a continual exodus from the Loree Grand. Now, of course, this is all legal and the LG is at capacity, so they are working with a high-demand market and pricing as the market bears. No debate to be had. Tenants right have been shrinking and I personally find many rent control laws bad for development a detriment to civic improvement… but that said, I do find the particular approach that the Loree Grand or Bozzuto have to be dishonest. Nothing illegal about dishonesty, but I don’t have to respect a dishonest person either.

By: kristendub

kristendub — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 19:38:17 +0000

I brought this up about Loree Grand because Bozzuto now manages several bldgs in the area. As a result, they tie rent increases to the prices paid at these other properties. That’s all well in good, however the other buildings, like Senate Square and Flat 130, have better finishings and amenities. At the time we were resigning they were also listing the same unit on CList for almost $300/month less than they were offering us, their current tenants. We negotiated since we wanted to avoid moving this year (may have long distance move next year), but many chose to leave.