2008

Today it is still boarded up and for lease with a bicycle parked out front:

2013

14th and Meridian Pl, NW

From CM Jim Graham:

I wanted to share with you an update on the empty building at the Bacon Funeral Home at 3449 14th St., NW.

As you may know, for years I have been involved and worked to have this dreadful cinder block shell finished and put to productive use. District agencies have responded. The Office of Tax and Revenue placed the highest real estate tax possible on the property, the blighted rate. This has also come before DCRA’s Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings, which took up the matter on November 14 and ordered that the building be secured, windows and doors boarded up and a missing portion of the roof replaced.

On Wednesday, March 13 the condition of the structure was again taken up by the Board. I was holding a hearing but a member of my staff attended. Documentation was presented showing the windows and doors have been secured, but a significant portion of the roof is still open to the elements and has not been enclosed.

The Board again took action and approved a motion to wait for thirty days to allow the owner to take concrete steps to enclose the roof. After thirty days the request will be forwarded to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Enforcement Branch to do this work. In other words, if the owner does not put a roof on the building, the city will hire a contractor to complete the entire roof and charge the owner by placing a lien on the property.

There was a welcome announcement. Counsel representing Mr. Bacon informed the Board that financing to resume construction on the property is moving forward and presented a letter of commitment from a bank and closing is expected by the end of the month. I am certain this is welcome news to all.

Securing the building is necessary but not enough. I have received multiple complaints over the years that this building is an eyesore to the community of benefit to no one. I commend the owners for their efforts to finally get this building finished and look forward to the day I can share that news.

Dear PoPville,

Curious to know if you know the story with this house at: 1402 12th St, NW. Certainly not horse’s ass status, but the facade has looked like that for as long as I’ve known it. I had heard a rumor that it was covered in copper, which was stolen/stripped(?), but even if that’s true, I don’t know why it’s been left like this. Any idea?

This was actually nominated for a horse’s ass award back in July 2010.

Multiple readers have sent in this property at the corner at 8th and Webster St, NW. One writes:

“I remember you showcasing it in Good Deal or No Deal a few months back. There were quite a few comments. I drive past this house everyday and I noticed about 3 weeks ago it was totally gutted and the roof was removed. Soon there after, a orange sign was posted over the existing permits. All work stopped at that point. Is that orange sign a stop work order? Did they not have the proper permits? This is depressing and a huge eyesore.”

Ed. Note: This was a GDoN post back in Dec. 2011.

Here’s what it looked like in 2011:

The reader writes:

It is located at 300 Florida Ave NW… there are several building permits in the window, but there hasn’t been any substantive work done on the place in at least a year and from the PIVS documents it looks like they “planned” to start construction back in 2006 with the issue of their first permit to turn the building into a restaurant. However, it just sits vacant these days. The basement windows are all broken, and I can only guess that this property needs serious work inside. Giving credit where credit is due… PIVS does have a new permit for “supplemental/plumbing and gas” issued on 1/30/2013, but forgive me for being skeptical of the sincerity of this request. The number of building permits issued in the past doesn’t give me any faith that work will start soon.

This complete gut job on Park Road just west of 13th Street, NW is progressing nicely. I can’t remember if this is going to be condos or rentals – does anyone know? Either way, nice to see this former boarded up shell getting fixed up.

14th and Meridian Pl, NW

Thanks to all who’ve sent emails about the notorious horse’s ass award nominee at 14th and Meridian Pl, NW next to the Bacon Funeral Home. Let’s hope this is for real:

1400 Block of 11th St, NW, Sept. 2012

Thanks to a reader for sending word that a former horse’s ass award nominee is getting fixed up on the 1400 Block of 11th St, NW. Anyone know if it’ll be condos or rentals?

Here’s what it looked like in May 2011:

Looks like 2329 Champlain St, NW was a beauty back in the day…

A reader nominates these from 14th and Newton St, NW by Pan Lourdes.

Back in March we looked at this oft nominated horse’s ass award candidate at the corner of 11th and K St, NW. It has always seemed like there was tons of potential here. Thanks to the Location blog for sending an email saying that a raise permit has been applied for to demolish the building. Sad development.

Dear PoPville,

I’d like to nominate a property for the Horse’s Ass Award. This building on the 1400 block of A Street, SE has been in the process of being renovated over the last couple of years. Someone posted several months earlier on neighbor concerns and the legality of the renovations. The work seems to have stopped recently.

This is a real eyesore to the block. Note the different bricks on the front of the house and the shoddy second floor addition. The other picture shows the hideous roof line to this house. Several neighbors jokingly expressed disappointment that the earthquake felt this past summer didn’t topple down the ugly addition.

Dear PoPville,

I’d like to nominate a property for the Horse’s Ass Award This building on the 700 block of Morton has had a checkered past after being shut down in 2009 for illegal construction. Somebody else (seemingly related) reinstated the project in the summer of 2011. After some very poor exterior upgrades including mismatching windows, it now once again sits vacant with no activity with a large dumpster and littered unkept front yard.

Best case for this is to knock it down and build two nice townhouses to fit the zoning regulations and surrounding neighborhood but now it sits completely vacant (though it may be squatted in at the moment).

Last week a reader nominated 624 8th St NE for a horse’s ass award. Thanks to another alert reader for sending an update:

“April 10th @ 11:00AM
Substitute Trustees’ Sale: Buildings Under Construction near the H Street Corridor in NE Washington, DC
624 8th Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002
Auction to be held at: The Office of Alex Cooper Auctioneers”

Stay tuned.

Dear PoPville,

I live in the 700 block of 8th St NE and have for about 20 months. There is what appears to be a halted-construction condo building at 624 8th St NE. This shows a church that was sold in 2005 (and obviously razed), and the Google maps street view shows the new construction.

Any clue what is going on here? It’s pretty prime real estate these days, which makes it all the more odd that nothing seems to have happened there in the entire time I have lived there. They look mostly finished.