Columbia Heights

“it should come as no surprise to hear that there is a serious deficit of affordable homes to buy in the District”

By Prince Of Petworth

gdon-r

Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R) is a weekly post that reviews the settled sales data of a recent individual real estate transaction in the District of Columbia. Each post is a snapshot of the real estate market at a particular moment in time. GDoN-R generally posts on Friday in the late morning.

GDoN-R has been written exclusively for PoPville since 2009 by Suzanne Des Marais. Suzanne is a practicing Realtor with the Bediz Group, LLC at Keller Williams Capital Properties . 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 and/or Smartcharts by Showingtime). Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 1415 Girard St NW #303
Legal Subdivision: Columbia Heights
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Columbia Heights
Bedrooms: 1 Baths: 1 Parking: Street Ownership: Cooperative
Original List Price: $275,000. List Price at Contract: $275,000.
List Date: 10/13/2016 Days on Market: 14
Settled Sales Price: $275,000.
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Settlement Date: 12/09/2016
Transaction type: Standard

Original GDoN post can be seen: here.

The listing can be seen here: here.

inside

If you read these Revisited posts regularly, it should come as no surprise to hear that there is a serious deficit of affordable homes to buy in the District of Columbia. DC Government has tried numerous strategies to address this problem over the years. In the case of the subject property, which has an income restriction for purchasers in what is considered “Moderate” or “Work Force” range income (based on Area Median Income or AMI), the property was developed specifically to provide units that are affordable over the long term. Non-profit CityFirst Homes developed the building, which is cooperatively owned by the residents. (more…)

Today’s Rental has “free in building laundry”

By Prince Of Petworth

1340-fairmont-street-northwest

This rental is located at 1340 Fairmont Street, Northwest. The listing says:

“This two bedroom Columbia Heights apartment can be yours! The large master bedroom makes for a spacious sleeping area, with the second bedroom perfect for an office or visitor. The unit features Silestone countertops, cherry cabinets, free in building laundry (shared in bsmt), a jetted tub and lots of natural light. Just steps away from the Metro, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment.”

rental

You can see more photos here.

This 2 bed/1 bath is going for $2,100/Mo.

KBC Closing Early January – End of a (mini) Era but new Bar and Restaurant Coming this Summer

By Prince Of Petworth

kbc
3410 11th Street, NW

When KBC (Kangaroo Boxing Club) first opened on 11th Street back in 2012 they were riding the 2nd wave of the street’s revitalization. The excitement and anticipation was huge for BBQ from the (former) Porc food truck folks. They were instantly a smash hit, complementing next door neighbor Meridian Pint, the pizza centric Red Rocks across the street and fellow new comers Maple and The Coupe. Alas 2012 is a lifetime ago in District years and change is not uncommon. Props to KBC who were a big part of the block’s revival – following the closure of Acuario.

aquario-before-kbc

From a press release:

“After four-plus years, countless renditions of “The Victors”, three engagements (Mazel Tov!), and more Alex Combos than we care to admit (RIP Kevin Combo), Kangaroo Boxing Club will close its doors early January 2017. While we are devastated to have to close our doors at KBC, we remain dedicated to our wonderful staff and the neighborhood we still call home. With that in mind, we are working quickly to redevelop the space and plan to launch a new community focused bar and restaurant this summer.

Long-time bartender and friend, Carrie Dzwil, along with the team from Ivy and Coney, will be the creative force behind the new project. While the bar will be new, you can expect to see many familiar faces when we launch this summer. In the meantime, some of our KBC staff can be found at Ivy and Coney and the newly-opened Midlands Beer Garden. (more…)

“We are 100% volunteer run so all proceeds from our fundraiser will go directly to supporting our bike clinics and classes.”

By Prince Of Petworth

bikehouseinaction

From an email:

“The Bike House is a non-profit, volunteer run community organization that brings bike repair clinics to neighborhoods around DC. With your support, we held 94 events around the city in 2016 including our clinics and classes in Petworth, Bloomingdale, and Anacostia.

We’re getting together for our end of the year celebration and fundraiser to say a big thank you to our community, guests, and volunteers. Come join us at Zeba Bar in Columbia Heights (3423 14th St NW) on December 10th from 5-9pm. A $10 donation (online or at the door) gets you in the door and a raffle ticket.

We are 100% volunteer run so all proceeds from our fundraiser will go directly to supporting our bike clinics and classes. Our raffle is made possible by the generosity of the good folks at Big Bear Cafe, Yoga Heights, The Pub & The People, Glen’s Garden Market – Dupont, Colony Club, CRISP Kitchen + Bar, and REI. Raffle starts at 8pm!

With your support, we can continue to maintain our tools, provide basic supplies, and fulfill our mission to build a place where people can learn about, work on, and enjoy bikes.”

“standing her ground this morning to keep developers from encroaching on to her property.”

By Prince Of Petworth

ch
Photo of Tonya Butler-Truesdale by Rose Marie Berger

“Dear PoPville,

Tonya Butler-Truesdale, a fifth-generation Washingtonian, is standing her ground this morning to keep developers from encroaching on to her property.

Butler-Truesdale bought her home at 1240 Fairmont Street NW in 1997 and she knows from experience the kind of troubles that arise when higher-income homeowners come into a neighborhood and start to bother the lower-income ones. She’s an attorney and the housing provider ombusdsman for DHCD Department of Housing and Community Development.

Now she’s fighting the development of the property adjacent to her own home that has encroached on the “airspace” above and disrupted the foundation below.

Right now she’s taking days off work to protect her property line and make sure the construction workers don’t use her property to advance the work she’s trying to stop.”

“To make room for bike lanes, the project reduces 14th Street from four lanes to two”

By Prince Of Petworth

14th

A reader reports:

“new lanes are getting painted on 14th street above Florida Avenue. Now one lane either direction with a bike lane. That’s going to make traffic better…”

img_8464
14th and Florida looking north

Last week DDOT explained a bit about the plans:

“DDOT is adding bike lanes to 14th Street NW between Florida Avenue and Columbia Road, closing a gap in the city’s longest stretch of bike lanes.

To make room for bike lanes, the project reduces 14th Street from four lanes to two, plus a center turn lane. This “road-diet” configuration improves safety for motor vehicles by taking turning cars out of the way of cars going straight, and our extensive traffic analysis shows that it will not add to congestion.”

Columbia Heights’ Hidden Gem, Bad Saint, Finally Gets Some Recognition!!

By Prince Of Petworth

bad-saint-ch

Sorry more recognition. More recognition. (and props to Joshua Johnson who called it first a week after their opening.) And well deserved from what I read!! Yesterday’s New York Times review says in part:

“Most people with a glancing knowledge of the cuisine have tried an adobo, a garlic-laden stew braised in soy sauce that’s been soured with vinegar. But Bad Saint’s adobo of tender squid is still astonishing, its sauce deepened and darkened by squid ink and given a slow, lingering burn by long peppers.

The oxtails and bok choi stewed in peanut sauce with an intense undercurrent of shrimp and anchovies is amazing whether this is your first encounter with kare-kare or your hundredth.”

Maybe the rain will the lighten the line a bit tonight…

bad-saint
3226 11th Street, NW

“Props to the Cops-Attempted robbery”

By Prince Of Petworth

props_to_cops
Photo by PoPville flickr user KJinDC

“This afternoon [Monday], around 12pm, my partner was sitting in his car writing an email on his phone in front of Streets Market on 14th when a man approached the car and knocked on the window. He lowered the window a couple inches, and the man demanded that he hand over everything on him. Luckily a car turned up the street at that moment, distracting the would-be robber, and he was able to drive away and call the police. Police were on the scene in 20 minutes, and were able to apprehend the suspect, as he had already robbed someone right before. Thanks to the police, this guy is off the streets, at least for now.”

You can see all forum topics and add your own here. If you are having trouble uploading your question please email me at princeofpetworth(at)gmail Please Note this is NOT an events calendar.

View More Stories