From an email:

Wednesday, January 19, 2011
6:30 – 8:30 pm

Kingsbury Day School at 5000 14th St., NW (The Great Room)

STUDY PURPOSE:

With the help of government agency representatives and community stakeholders, the revitalization
strategy will help prioritize concerns and determine potential opportunities for revitalization and infill
development for the following commercial nodes along 14th Street:

Spring to Shepherd Streets |Webster to Decatur Streets | Jefferson to Longfellow Streets NW

MEETING #3 PURPOSE: OP consultants will present their market analysis for 14th Street to the public and
engage in a question and answer period. Community stakeholders will have the opportunity to learn
more about market demand and potential in their neighborhood. The outcome of this meeting will
facilitate the development of concrete strategies to revitalize and improve 14th Street.


Thanks to a reader for sending a brief update from the Bloomingdale blog from owner Brian Brown:

“Historic signed off on the architectural design of the replacement garage doors yesterday and those are being ordered.

Look for the ABRA application to come up in one of the next couple of ANC meetings.”

I also noticed some permits had gone up at 1626 North Capitol Street, NW:


View Larger Map

Back in July we learned after an ANC meeting that it hoped to become:

“Restaurant consist of 3 levels. lounge, banquet hall and restaurant. Late night menu will go until 2am, they will also offer Sunday brunch.”

The permits deal with demo and window replacement. More info as construction progresses.



View Larger Map

This is epic. I’m actually on vacation at the moment and don’t have much time, but I wanted to share this press release asap:

Urban Investment Partners (UIP) of Washington, D.C., in partnership with The Infinity Group of New York, NY has acquired the 99-apartment New Quin apartments directly across the street from the Petworth Metro station at the intersection of New Hampshire and Georgia Avenues in NW Washington, D.C. Marcus & Millichap’s Stacey Milam represented the seller, longtime Washington real estate owner CC Dudley, in the $8.2 million transaction. As a result of the District’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), the New Quin NHQ Tenants’ Association and UIP reached an agreement that will preserve and protect the property as part of the District’s dwindling rental housing stock.

The property, which will remain rental, comprises two separate buildings with 55 and 45 apartments respectively. The buildings have charming, highly detailed historic brick and cast concrete façades. UIP will preserve these facades while renovating, upgrading, repairing and restoring the buildings’ common areas, building systems, and individual apartments. UIP General Contracting, Inc. will begin the $4 million renovation project in January.

Common area upgrades will include new front doors, key fob- and telephone-based controlled entry access, a key-fob accessed bike storage room, and renovated elevators, lobbies, and hallways. Electric service throughout the property will be upgraded, and individual apartments will receive upgrades, as well. UIP’s property management division, UIP Property Management, Inc., has taken over building management.

“With its beautiful façade and great location in a fantastic resurgent neighborhood, this is one of the more exciting acquisitions we have made recently,” said Steve Schwat, UIP Principal. “The more time I spend in and around Petworth, the more I understand its popularity. I can almost throw a baseball into the Metro station entrance from the front door of 811 Quincy Street.” Schwat noted that the popular 14th Street restaurant Marvin’s plans to open on the first floor of a new condominium building next door to New Quin.

“The New Quin Apartments will be a great addition to UIP’s portfolio, as the property sits above the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro stop in a rapidly developing market. It was a pleasure working with a very experienced buyer that was well versed in DC rent control and TOPA laws to bring this transaction to an easy and successful close” said Milam.


Now that proper construction has started at what will become the Brixton at 9th and U St, NW and next door at 903 U St, NW Dickson wine seems to be doing well – I’m psyched to see the former copy resource center building potentially get fixed up. Looks like a lot of work is required but that section of U St, NW has some serious potential. I’ll give them a year before any horse’s ass award nominations…


I have three that jump in my head right away. I’ve always loved the old post office (pictured above) on T St, NW just west of 14th that has been for lease for ages. I also love the old Fire House on North Capitol in Bloomingdale and I love the Uline Arena (home of the first Beatles concert in the US) in NoMa. Another good challenger is the old theater in Adams Morgan on Columbia Rd, next to the old CVS. And of course there is the classic Wonderbread Factory in Shaw. What’s your favorite/which would you most like to see get fixed up?

The crazy thing is that sometimes I have people emailing me about these properties and want to start businesses/restaurants there, so in my mind something is completely fracked up that the buildings still sit vacant/dilapidated. Now I’m no economist but if we have people that want to open up in these spaces – they should not be sitting vacant this long! Somehow, some part of this system is seriously fracked.

I hate to be a tease but Bloomingdale folks would be seriously sick to their stomachs if they knew who wanted to open up in the old Fire House on North Capitol St. Ed. Note: it is an established and very good restaurant. But I digress…



Sept. 2008

After our talk yesterday about gyms in Petworth a reader asked if I could post what the building across from Qualia Coffee looks like now. (Another readers asks if I know how much rent will be, I do not but promise to update when the rental units go on the market.) So, how do you think it turned out?


Dec. 2010


This came up this morning when talked about the nearby Howard Theater restoration project. The metro construction is indeed the old Broadcast Center One project that will now become home to the United Negro College Fund. Washington Business Journal wrote:

UNCF is expected to purchase 50,000 square feet of office space at Seventh and S streets NW, in the $143 million development once called Broadcast Center One. The college financial aid provider is committed to building a 5,000-square-foot assistance center on the ground floor.

Work on the development is expected to start in August, with a grand opening in 2012.

Additionally the project, “will feature 168,000 square feet of office space, 133 apartment units and 15,000 square feet of retail space.” according to the Business Journal.

Stay tuned for more updates as construction progresses.


“Dear PoP,

Do you have any updates on the Howard Theater renovations (7th & T Streets, NW) and more specifically the vacant storefronts and empty lot next to the Howard Metro stop? The storefronts and lot are all connected to the the Theater from the side and back and we *hope* that there is some movement finally happening.”

I don’t have a huge update but I was very excited to see that Michael Marshall Architecture was involved with the project. These are the folks who did the super cool new house at 2815 Woodland Drive, NW.

Anyone know what’s going to happen to the retail spaces next to the theater?

I will be saddened when/if this mural goes away… Close ups after the jump. (more…)


View More Stories