This rental is located at 31 Florida Avenue, NE:

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The listing says:

“Very Spacious four bedrooms two full and two half baths with a fully finished basement. In the newly rivatilized florida ave NE. Walk to shopping, Metro Bus and Train, Walk to Union Station and Capitol Hill, Walk to Bus Terminal and DC farmers Market. Priced to rent quickly. Dual Zone use.”

This 4 BD/2 Full, 2 Half BA is going for $2,800/Mo.

1309 5th St NE

Union Market’s website says:

After years spent dazzling the DC mixology scene, Gina Chersevani will be opening her own venture in Union Market. Enamored by the classic New York soda shops of yesteryear, Gina aims to bring her extreme and envied “mixtress” skills to the classics: egg creams, malts and phosphates. Her love of all things liquid promises to deliver an experience like nothing you’ve ever had before.

Anyone try them out yet? Besides the drinks – how are the knishes?

Union Market continues to grow into one of the coolest spots in DC. My wife says it feels like we’re on vacation when we go. And it keeps getting better and better. Next up – Red Apron has applied for a liquor license:

“Half café serving American food and operating butcher shop. No entertainment, no dancing. Summer Garden seating in common area. Total Occupancy Load of 20 with 15 seats.”

And on the other side of town, PoPville flickr user ep_jhu catches a shot of the progress at Red Apron’s Penn Quarter location:

709 D Street, NW

Also regarding Union Market, I continue to hear that a roof top beer garden is still being considered…

1309 5th Street, NE

This house is located at 1162 Abbey Place, NE:

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The listing says:

“T’was after election – new Congress was lurking, so close to The Capitol you could hear them not working. This home was completed w/great skill & technique; filled with love, light & logic, no room for critique. The cabinets all hung, marble laid with such care, the finish so flawless, priced so pleasantly fair. Hypnotic bedrooms – calming my head, were it not for the kitchen I’d never leave bed.”

You can see more photos here.

This 3 bed/2.5 bath was listed at $568,500 but is already under contract in only 7 days. What do you think it actually sold for?

I had no idea there were stores devoted exclusively to the lottery. I’m guessing area liquor stores are pretty pissed about this… It’s located on the first floor by the Amtrak ticket sales desk.

Dear PoPville,

Yesterday morning my girlfriend and I discovered her car, parked on Pierce St (corner of 1st ST NE in NoMa, with a busted passenger side window, along with her car, there were at least 3 other cars with busted windows as well. This seems to mostly happen on this street only, so it might be good to warn people about not parking on this street. The police came promptly and even looked for fingerprints.

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Dear PoPville,

I live on Sherman Ave (near Lamont) in Columbia Heights and wanted to share something that happened on Saturday night. I was sitting in my house and saw something move out the corner of my eye – I looked up and saw nothing, but a minute later a man leaned over and looked into the window on my back door. I alerted my husband, who got up and we approached the door – the guy leaned in again, saw us, and ducked under the window and took off. We went out on the deck, and saw that he had run a couple houses over in our back alley, then stopped and was watching us. As my husband moved to go down the stairs, the guy took off.

He was wearing a black ski hat and obviously deliberately came all the way down our back alley and up on to our deck – scary thing is, he had to have seen me before I noticed him as I was in direct line of sight from the door, yet that did not seem to deter him from continuing to look into the house.

We notified the police and they did a patrol of the area. Haven’t heard anything since. I still think its generally safe as our neighbors tend to float around out back (for a late night smoke and so on). Just wanted to let more neighbors in the area know so they can be extra alert.

1309 5th Street, NE

From a press release:

EDENS, one of the nation’s leading retail real estate owners and developers, announced today that 2011 New York Rising Star Sustainability Chef, John Mooney, will open a restaurant in Union Market in Spring 2013.

Mooney’s latest venture, Bell Book & Candle in New York’s West Village, has received critical acclaim for his ability to fuse conventional cooking with a more recent and driving inspiration, sustainability.

“I am thrilled to come back to DC and become part of the Union Market community with its storied history in the DC food culture. The authenticity and commitment to quality of the Market is very aligned with our approach to the food and hospitality experienced at our restaurant,” says John Mooney.

At Union Market, Mooney will open a restaurant with a contemporary American menu. His philosophy is to keep things closest to their natural form, which will result in a seasonal menu based on which ingredients are available at the specific time. Most of the food items used in the menu will be sourced from Union Market vendors and his Union Market rooftop garden, where he plans to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs.

1200 1st Street, NE

Petco’s Unleashed opens Monday at 9am at 1st and M Street, NE:

“Welcome to Unleashed by Petco. You’ll feel right at home in our neighborhood pet stores. We’ve got your everyday pet essentials along with the best in premium, natural, organic and raw nutrition.”

Yesterday I shared some news that Barnes and Noble was closing at the end of the year in Union Station. A lot can change in a day! According to the Post’s Jonathan O’Connell:

“Twenty-four hours after saying Barnes & Noble planned to close its store in Union Station at the end of the year, a company spokeswoman said Thursday that the company has received and accepted a one-year extension from its landlord and will keep the store open at least through 2013.”

Streets of Washington, written by John DeFerrari, covers some of DC’s most interesting buildings and history. John is also the author of Lost Washington DC.

Union Station probably reflects better than any other single Washington building the remarkable self-assuredness and imperial aspirations of its age. The architecture is stunningly elegant, both outside and in, and it was one of the first properties in the District of Columbia to be named to the National Register of Historic Places. After having been brought back from near-death in the 1980s, the station is once again the subject of development debate. Instead of dreaming up improbable and unneeded functions like the ill-conceived National Visitor Center of the 1970s, planners are now focusing on the hard realities of the station’s increasingly heavy use as a transportation hub, which strain its resources and demand modernization. A vision of an almost unrecognizably transformed space has been put forth.

Photo by the author

While the feasibility of this multi-billion dollar plan is debated, a more immediate proposal is on the table to make alterations to the station’s main waiting room (primarily by cutting two escalator holes in the floor) to allow visitors to more easily access the retail space that has been created in the basement. Repairs have also been underway in the main waiting room and surrounding areas as a result of damage sustained during the 2011 earthquake. All of this activity raises questions about how well the station’s grand interior spaces have been preserved and whether it is time to revisit compromises made back in the 1980s. Most notably, a few of the building’s finest public spaces—the Ladies’ Waiting Room, the Lunch Room, and the Smoking Room (or Men’s Waiting Room)—suffered in the 1980s rehab and could once again be grand if finally given the chance.

To the casual observer hurrying to catch a train, it would appear that Union Station’s interior has been carefully preserved, and in many ways this is true. A group of architects and developers, including Benjamin Thompson & Associates, who had worked on Boston’s Faneuil Hall and Baltimore’s Harborplace, as well as Harry Weese & Associates, who had designed the Metro system’s stations, collaborated on the redevelopment under many watchful eyes, including those of the National Park Service and the D.C. Historic Preservation Office. Painstaking attention was paid to bringing the building’s four most prominent public rooms—the Main Waiting Room, West Hall, Dining Room, and Presidential Suite—back to something close to their original appearance. Approximately seven pounds of 22-karat gold were applied as leaf to the 320 octagonal coffers that line the main waiting room’s vaulted ceiling. The original white marble floor, long since replaced and cut into for the visitor center, was carefully reconstructed. Plaster everywhere that had suffered deterioration and water damage was meticulously restored. Original wall colors, buried under twenty-two layers of paint, were recreated, as were delicate murals in the former dining room. The entire effort, from 1985 to 1988, was widely acclaimed as a preservation success.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE

Thanks to Rebecca for sending word that Barnes and Noble is closing in Union Station. A call to the store confirms that their last day is Dec. 31st. Barnes and Noble still has a store near Metro Center at 12th and E St, NW.

The former Barnes and Noble in Georgetown recently opened as a Nike Store. And earlier this week we learned the former Borders at 18th and L St, NW is becoming a Nordstrom Rack.

It’ll be interesting to see who takes over this large retail space in Union Station.

1219 9th Street, NW

Not sure the likelihood of this one but thought it was pretty interesting – I hear that Old Dominion Brewery could be looking to open another brew house location in the renovated Union Market at 1309 5th St, NE. And what could be even more interesting is that I heard there could be a rooftop beer garden involved. It wasn’t clear to me if would be like the one by the convention center or more like the one in Hyattsville. Purely scuttlebutt at the moment but I’ll be sure to update if this turns out to be true.

This building will is set to become a rental building called Aria on L Street:

“Two blocks from the Noma/Gallaudet Metro Station, a new voice is emerging.

Aria on L promises to be a new style of living. Clean, simple, elegant apartment homes composed with features that make living easy. Unexpected amenities engineered to bring harmony to everyday life, complimented by social features to keep you engaged. We want ‘welcome home’ to be music to your ears.”

You can see the floor plans here.

And here’s a rendering from their Website:

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From NBC Washington:

“D.C. police say that four people were shot in the 1300 block of North Capitol Street about 9 p.m. Friday. Three males and a female were shot.”

More from MPD when they issue a press release.

Photo courtesy of TaKorean

From a press release:

Just a little over two years after the TaKorean food truck took the DC lunch scene by storm, TaKorean will open a new, permanent outpost at the new Union Market. TaKorean started its operation out of a 1985 Ford Step-Van in August of 2010 and has remained one of the most popular DC food trucks through the explosion of mobile vending in the District. Union Market, located at 1309 5th St, NE, is a newly opened artisanal food market dedicated to offering the DC metro area a culinary experience that is unmatched. TaKorean Owner/Operator, Mike Lenard says, “TaKorean is thrilled to be involved in Union Market along with several other industry leaders and top artisanal vendors.“

TaKorean’s recipes continue to be made from scratch using the freshest ingredients available. In addition to delicious Korean style meats, TaKorean serves vegetarian and vegan options, along with occasional specials. TaKorean will be open from 11AM-8PM Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to start. In mid-November, the market is expected to expand hours to Tuesday through Sunday and will remain open year-round as a permanent establishment. The TaKorean food truck will continue to operate daily for lunch service downtown and additionally for events and catering requests.

Owner Mike Lenard has created a variety of Asian inspired taco combinations and menu items to “consistently provide customers with fresh, interesting, healthy, and delicious tasting food that gives them something to smile about.” A native of Washington D.C., Lenard is determined to provide healthy, well-balanced meals at a reasonable price ($3.50-$9 for food) to his fellow Washingtonians while also giving back to the community and local environmental causes. TaKorean is continuing to pledge 1% of gross sales from both locations to local environmental and youth based non-profit organizations.

At TaKorean in Union Market, one can enjoy a choice of Korean-style Bulgogi beef, tangy chicken, or caramelized tofu tacos topped with fresh spicy or mild slaw, cool lime crèma, Sriracha chili sauce, fresh cilantro and sesame seeds on top of warm corn tortillas.

Photo courtesy of TaKorean