Yesterday a reader asked in the before and after photos of 14th Street what was happening with the old Nehemiah Shopping Center land (on west side of 14th Street north of Florida Ave and the Solea). Well, above is a rendering I was able to get from Level 2 Development. The information given was that construction is expected to begin in Fall 2010. It is now owned by the firm UDR. There will be 240,000 square feet of which 16,000 will be retail and the rest will be 225 apartments. I will update info on the project as more details emerge.

Ventor Sports Cafe

Past Tense Yoga Studio

Capture a DC Moment – Park Place Apartments

What’s the deal DC?

Duffy’s Irish Restaurant & Pub

The Metropole

Jumpstart Lab

Quiet Mind Yoga

The Looking Glass Lounge

Kevin Wood, Realtor

Fresh Off The Roast, Coffee

Chix, Organic Chicken

Capitol Hill Home Inspection

Som Records

Upper Crust Maids

The owners, Meaka and Phil, of Jam Down restaurant on Georgia Avenue asked me to share with you and your readers information about an event they will be hosting this Saturday, November 21 from 9pm until the last jerk chicken is eaten and the last reggae jam is danced!

As you know, Jam Down restaurant has been open now for a few months. Word is spreading in the neighborhood about their authentically delicious Jamaican food and their friendly service. They are having this event on Saturday to raise funds for their private liquor license so they may be able to establish a social club that will offer extra perks to customers who chose to be members. The social club will offer privileges including delicious libations, no cover charge for special music events, and credit points for food purchases. In this way, Jam Down will be able to create a comfortable ambiance for all who want to enjoy good food and good drinks. During the event, customers will be invited to sign up for the social club.

Details about the event:

What: Jam Down “Irie Jambo” Fundraiser/Membership Drive
Music by DJ Soul Doctor
When: Saturday, November 21, 9:00pm until ??
Where: Jam Down Jamaican restaurant
3303 Georgia Ave., NW (at Lamont St., NW), Washington, DC 20010
202-450-2408
Who: All are welcome!!

Continues after the jump.

From an email:

Mt P. Farmers’ Market: Nov 21 – Last Day of 2009 Market

“What a great season! Seven months of fresh food, friendly farmers, music, free bike clinic, face painting, gorillas, and beautiful weather. This Saturday will be our last day: pick up your turkey, get veggies for the Big Dinner, stock up on meat and vegetables that will freeze well, snag some end-of-season bargains, give well wishes to your favorite vendors, enjoy some FREE hot cider and hot chocolate (bring your own mug or thermos!), get some last minute advice on winterizing your bike, and take a hard look around so you can submit comments and suggestions for an even better market in 2010.

We’ve got some sales this weekend!

* Painted Hand Farm is slashing the price on goat and veal bones to $2/lb. Make your own stock! It’s stupid easy and it makes all your winter soups richer and warmer and healthier. The goat bones are extra meaty and the veal stock makes a lighter, silkier broth than regular old big beef bones. Sandy Miller will be on hand to answer all your questions about stocking up on meat and making stock.
* Panorama is bringing $2/lb bags of toasted bread cubes for stuffing.
* Panorama Bakery is selling sliced deli loaves 3 for $15 – put them in the freezer!
* Discounted cases of that warm weather sparkle locked inside Quaker Valley Orchard’s tomato sauce and strawberry jam.

Noteworthy Event:
What do you think of a Columbia Heights Farmers’ Market over at that fancy new fountain plaza thing? Not to replace MtPFM, of course, different day. Join the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace Committee on Saturday from 10-12 (I know, right during market) at 3233 14th St NW for a Planning Workshop to give your input! Get more information from CHCommunityMarketplace@gmail.com.”

Please join Transformer (1404 P Street NW) this Saturday, November 21 as we proudly present our 7th Annual DC Artist Solo Exhibition

Geoffrey Aldridge: Hole in the Wall

November 21 – December 26, 2009

ARTIST TALK: Saturday, November 21, 2009; 4pm

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, November 21, 2009; 5 – 8pm

Referencing cultural history and the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Geoffrey Aldridge: Hole in the Wall at Transformer will feature a series of art interventions within our 14th Street, NW project space. DC-based artist Geoffrey Aldridge utilizes video, sculpture, and spatial interventions to create metaphorical moments of reflection that position relationships between identity construction and gay rights activism. Associating memory, perception, and identity, this installation of works at Transformer creates moments of reflection on the continuing struggle of the gay community for recognition and acceptance.

Transformer began working with Geoffrey Aldridge in spring 2009, presenting his brick project as part of Transformer’s participation in NO SOUL FOR SALE – A Festival Of Independents (June 24-28, 2009), hosted by X-initiative at the former Dia Center for the Arts in Chelsea, New York, NY. The brick project was an interactive work that explored the creative and intellectual process of planning, fabricating, and executing an artistic concept from beginning to an unknown outcome.

Timed to take place during Pride Weekend and in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, Geoffrey transformed the Transformer space at X-initiative into a working studio, encouraging the public to engage with his process. Using video, drawing, and sculpture, Geoffrey detailed the process of fabricating yellow brick strap-on shoes, and a plan to place them in the public realm. He then placed the shoes throughout the Greenwich Village neighborhood where the Stonewall Inn is located. Much like the unpredictability of social, cultural and legal processes that gay men and women encounter daily, the brick project raised questions about futility and efficacy.

With Hole in the Wall at Transformer, Geoffrey treats the gallery space like a piece of drawing paper where he plots, positions, designs, and articulates the work to create a relationship between the objects and the space in which they occupy. Considering these spaces as ‘site-aware’, he is constantly assessing the architectural features as dismissive or affirming. Geoffrey states: “I don’t rely on the architecture to provide resolutions, per se; my interest rests in the ability to create concomitant moments between the objects.”

Investigating identity construction within his work, Geoffrey’s artistic interventions speak to the institutional defining of “identity art” throughout the late ’80′s and early ’90′s. Often promoting a stereotypical expectation about artists and their work, Geoffrey positions his work as a continuation of “identity art,” yet specifically from the perspective of a “queer artist,” (a term placed onto him) as conceptually larger than himself. Geoffrey states: “We all possess gender and sexuality. My interest is within the paradoxical moments between the objects and the viewer-it’s implicative-disrupting, or complicating the space. I want these interactions to work with an in-between-ness sensibility, like a pendulum swinging with two absolutions at either end. I position myself in the center of the swing, a place where I can question.”

Using accessible materials that can be found in any hardware, craft supply, or fabric store, Geoffrey’s intention is to provide the viewer a familiarity or a formal way to access the work. Pendulum, a sculpture consisting of yellow glittered faux bricks, encapsulates Geoffrey’s questioning of ideas on identity in a way that allows the viewer to connect with familiar visual references: “I wanted to formally create an implied swoop or curve. The contrast between a pendulum swinging and the yellow brick road, with parallel implications as a journey or timekeeper, made sense specifically to gay rights activism, past, present, and future. I wasn’t born when Stonewall happened, but I am aware of its importance and my relationship with current gay right activism only because of the pre-existing histories that I believe we have to understand in order to keep building. I don’t want to be redundant.”

Originally from the Midwest, Geoffrey Aldridge received an MFA from American University in 2008. He has been included in national exhibitions such as New American Talent, curated by Nato Thompson, Pulse Miami, and Pulse New York. He is represented by *gogo art projects, Conner Contemporary, in Washington DC where he also lives and works.

Back in October we learned that DC was trying to get Clear Channel to voluntarily remove these billboards at the corner of 4th and P Streets, NW. At the time we learned that Clear Channel refused and filed a lawsuit. I noticed that the signs were still up. But what I thought was particularly interesting was that if the “District Government” was trying to get these sign removed – does it make sense that they would use one (even for a good cause)?

call 911 taxi…?, originally uploaded by ctrl-alt-grant.

“Dear PoP,

Question for the group, why do DC cabs’ fare lights read “CALL 911 TAXI”? It pretty much says you could call 911 and get a cab, right? This makes no sense, but either does the fact that DC cabs don’t use their fare lights…”.

I think that’s actually supposed to be a safety feature for the cab drivers. If the part that says Call 911 is lit up it means that the driver is in distress and/or in the process of being robbed and that if you see it lit up you should call 911. I’d be interested to know if this has ever been used successfully or even at all.

This great shot from LGography looks like it’s straight from a film noir set. And so does the one below from *tinadelarosa

Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here.

This home is located at 137 P Street, NW:

View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Great 2 Unit Semi-Detached w/ 2-Car Garage w/ Overhead door. Fully Renovated top 2 bottom w/ laminate floors, maple cabinets, granite, new appliances. One bedroom + den unit upstairs; two bedroom on main and lower level. New Sump Pump and dry basement. Separately metered. Live in one & rent other. Condo conv. process started but not finished.”

More info and photos found here.

Anyone know what they mean by Condo conv. started but not finished? How easy would it be to finish it? Does $400,900 sound reasonable?

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. Anything good happen this week?

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland.  Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below.  Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system.  Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 610 Upshur St NW

Original List Price: $375,000.

List Price at Contract: $285,000.

List Date: 03/19/2009

Days on Market: 142

Settled Sales Price: $267,200.

Settlement Date:  10/16/2009

Seller Subsidy:  $10,700.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: FHA with loan amount of $296,726.  The property was not in condition that would meet criteria for a regular FHA loan.  This was likely a 203 streamline product.

Original GDoN Post is:   Here.

Recent Listing is:  Here. Sorry. No extra pics.

Good Deal or Not (GDoN) commenters were at a disadvantage on this one in that there were no interior photos posted with the listing. I visited this property with buyer clients back in the Spring when it was newly listed. The property had been owned by an organization called, “Anchor Mental Health” and may have been a group home. It had been cleaned out prior to listing, but definitely was in need of updating. The property is a detached brick home and, as Jamie mentioned in the GDoN comments, it is wedge shaped. Anybody who has looked at lots of houses in Petworth is used to seeing about two or three variations upon the basic porch front rowhouse floor plan, so in relation, the layout of this property is a bit unique. If I recall correctly, the staircase was straight and central, with a rectangular dining room on one side of the stairs and a rectangular living room on the other side and the kitchen along the back. There are four bedrooms on the second level. Continues after the jump.

It took several price reductions for this house to find the right buyer. I mentioned above that the loan amount was higher than the purchase price, which indicates a particular kind of FHA loan. Among the reasons that FHA loans had been out of favor during the competitive boom years were the property condition criteria that FHA appraisers must identify as part of the loan process. An example of a property condition requirement for a regular FHA loan is that the property may not have any areas of peeling paint, whether interior or exterior. Now that the market is more balanced (in contrast to the strong sellers’ market a few years ago), and that many of the previously available low down payment options are no longer available, we are seeing a resurgence in the use of FHA loan products. In cases where a property condition is not acceptable for a regular FHA deal, there are two FHA loan options that allow a purchaser to borrow additional money to complete repairs.

photo(3), originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Thanks to all the readers who sent in her column from this morning’s Washington Post titled: Columbia Heights still has far to go. She concludes the piece with this:

“On Thursday, as Oscar’s family was preparing his funeral arrangements and kids stayed away from the playground, the Prince of Petworth blog posted a reader’s complaints about the neighborhood. The reader, who has lived in Columbia Heights since 2002, was devastated by the lackluster service at the sleek new coffee bar half a block from the building where Oscar was killed.

“I ordered latté and it was a disaster. The latté smelled and [tasted] so bad I only had one sip and that was it,” he complained. He was also frustrated that there was never room to sit in the little shop.”

You know it’s a shame she decided to take the easy way out by taking an unrelated post out of context. Regular readers of this blog know that we regularly talk about serious issues, including crime, quality of life, schools etc. This site discusses 75-100 posts a week. Yes, some discuss coffee shops. They too are a part of our community. But it’s not like we didn’t and don’t discuss the horrible crime that exists in our communities. PoP readers, the same ones who complain or enjoy coffee shops, also donate countless hours volunteering at schools, libraries, mentoring programs, churches etc.

Her decision to include that quote is like me picking up the Post on the day after the Fort Hood massacre and quoting a piece from the sports page lamenting the state of the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, Fort Hood and the Cowboys are both in Texas but that doesn’t mean that the two items are related.

Columbia Heights does still have far to go and so does the Post’s coverage of this great and diverse neighborhood.

I’ll add a note written to the columnist by a reader who sums up the situation far better than I:

“Your column today would have been really good if it wasn’t for the intentional deception you added at the end to portray newcomers as shallow self-absorbed yuppies. PrinceofPetworth’s blog had a section dedicated to this murder where people listed all sorts of ways they are involved in trying to reduce crime, but your article referenced a separate issue about service at a coffee bar as if it was related to this event.

Never before have I lived in an area where newcomers and old timers alike are working together so hard to improve a community. Some of the same people who frequent coffee bars are working with groups like Mentoring Works, In the Streets, and DC Youth Power Network. In this area of Ward 1 black/white rich/poor are working together in a lot of creative ways to improve life for everyone living here, rather than move out to the suburbs where they can live in peaceful bliss. I really resent that you chose to lay insult to our diverse community rather than explore the positive ways people are working to improve the situation around here.

Cliff Valenti
Charman, ANC1A”