Columbia Heights

Room 11 Seeks to Expand Outdoor Patio – Columbia Heights Listserv Chaos Ensues

By Prince Of Petworth

What I thought was going to be some just straight up good news – is slowly devolving into listserv hilarity/insanity.

The super popular Room 11 is hoping to expand its outdoor patio at 11th and Lamont St, NW. I hear they’ll be adding 18 seats. To do so they’ll need to amend their voluntary agreement. Which leads us to the Columbia Heights Listserv which started with the following message at 8:25am this morning:

“Commissioner Boese,

You’re a lowlife! I was under no obligation to stay until the very end of the meeting. Other commissioners left before the meeting’s end; why couldn’t I?

–Lenwood Johnson, ANC 1A10”

An email from ANC rep 1A08, Kent Boese, sent to one of the owners of Room 11 (as well as all ANC reps) was included in the above message. Apparently the offending language was:

“1) While we were able to add the amendment of your VA to the agenda of the last ANC meeting, but the time we got to that item Commissioner Lenwood Johnson had left the meeting reducing the number of commissioners present to five. We need at least six for a quorum. Because of this, we were not able to take a vote.”

You can find the full emails and resident responses on the Columbia Heights Listserv here.

While ANCs can play a positive role in our neighborhoods, (and personally I think voluntary agreements can be very useful) this is a perfect example of why many people either actively dislike ANCs or completely tune them out.

At the end of the day – I hope this doesn’t negatively affect Room 11’s ability to expand their patio.

Good Deal or Not? “AND 2 PRKG SPACES” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This condo is located at 1312 Euclid St, NW:


View Larger Map

The flier says:

“THIS IS TRULY ONE OF THE FINEST CONDOMINIUMS IN COLUMBIA HEIGHTS AND BEYOND. IIT’S FLOOR PLAN, IMPECCABLE CONDITION, SPACIOUS ROOMS, HIGH END FINISHES, GORGEOUS HARDWOODS, EXPOSED BRICK, ABUNDANT CLOSET SPACE, LARGE BALCONY AND 2 PRKG SPACES MAKE IT IDEAL . FHA FINANCING PENDING. BLOCKS TO YELLOW AND GREEN LINE METRO STOP. MUST SEE V-TOUR TO APPRECIATE STYLE AND QUALITY.”

You can find more info here and a virtual tour here.

$579,900 ($471 monthly condo fee) sound realistic for this 2 bed/2 bath?

Mon. Afternoon Rental Option – Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth

This rental is located at 3513 11th St, NW:


View Larger Map

The Craigslist ad says:

“Located at 3513 11th st, this apartment has everything including central heat/AC, off-street parking (included), disposal, full bathroom with a bathtub, new windows, etc. It is also in a great location within 7 blocks of the Columbia Heights metro and everything that Columbia Heights has to offer. It is available October 1st, and we are showing it today (Monday) at 6pm, so please come see it.”

$1050 sound right for this 1 bedroom?

New French Bakery, Caprice, Coming to Columbia Heights!

By Prince Of Petworth


Rendering for Caprice to be located at 3460 14th St, NW

Back in Aug. ’10 we first learned of plans for a :

“French coffee shop and bakery, with authentic French pastries and several varieties of bread– including real baguettes!– baked on site.”

It’s been a long year of anticipation but I am overjoyed to say that a lease has been signed and construction has begun on Caprice, a new French Bakery coming to the Allegro retail space at 3460 14th St, NW.

I sat down with the owners on Tuesday afternoon and have been smiling ever since. It is an insane coincidence that I’ve just returned from Paris so every time they explained a pastry or a baguette, I could actually taste what they were talking about.

So let me share some details first:

Construction is slated to be completed around the end of November.

There will be a small indoor sitting area for about 10-12 people and later in the Spring there will likely be a small outdoor patio area.

The Chef Baker lived in France for 20 years.

The bakery is locally owned by a family that lives 2 blocks away.

While there will be a variety of breads including real baguettes baked daily on site, the head Chef Baker also has a passion for pastries so expect to see Pain au Chocolate, Croissants, Macarrons, Petits Choux and more. In the future they will also offer soups and sandwiches. Think cheese and butter on a baguette. Ham on a baguette…

The hours will be 7am – 7pm though they could be extended if there is enough demand (see questions below.)

You can see from the photo about that there are actually two big spaces. They are both roughly 900 square feet with one being the public area and the other being the baking area.

So this leads me to a few questions that owners had for you guys: You can see that the baking area can be visible from the street so if you wanted you could actually watch the baking process – is that something you’d be interested in? Would you like to be able to watch the kitchen/baking area from the street.

Another question they had was about coffee – is there a particular brand you’d like to see served? Illy? Counter Culture? Something else?

Finally, how do you like the hours of 7am – 7pm? Are they good or would you prefer earlier? Later?

Stay tuned for more info/details as we get closer to the opening date.

Trans woman found dead at 11th and Fairmont St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth


View Larger Map

“Dear PoP,

I live right near by 11th & Fairmont. This is the 2nd dead person they have found in this area, I feel like in the last 6 months.

Sounds like there isn’t much info yet, but I was wondering if this was on your radar?

CM Jim Graham sends an email to the Columbia Heights listserv this morning titled “Do you Know this Man? Death Investigation 11th St., NW”. He writes:

“He was the man found dead on the 2600 block of 11th. If so, please respond— Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Metropolitan Police Department at (202) 727-9099. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call 1-888-919-CRIME (2746). Anonymous information may also be forwarded to the department’s TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.”

More info from metro weekly here.

Photo of the deceased after the jump. (more…)

Judging Restaurants – Senor Chicken and “Secret” Ramen Noodle Saturdays

By Prince Of Petworth

Senor Chicken is located at 3100 14th St NW (on Park Rd) and opened back in Nov. ’09. I was intrigued to see a Thrillist report this morning about “Secret” Ramen Noodles offered on Saturdays:

“Run by the chef behind People’s Bao catering, the Noodle Bar is a Saturday-only popup ramen shop inconspicuously “located” behind the counter of Columbia Heights’ Peruvian poultry-ists Senor Chicken; to place an order, just walk up and ask for a ramen menu”

Anyone try the ramen out yet? Any fans of the chicken?

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 3624 New Hampshire Ave NW

By Prince Of Petworth



Hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker and a professional artist. Her official real estate bio is here and her art website is here. 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: 3624 New Hampshire Ave NW

Legal Subdivision: Columbia Heights
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Columbia Heights

Original List Price: $515,000.
List Price at Contract: $515,000.
List Date: 07/09/2011
Days on Market: 13

Settled Sales Price: $505,000.

Settlement Date: 08/19/2011
Seller Subsidy: $7,000.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original Good Deal or Not post is: here

The 2008 GDoN Edition for this home can be seen: here.

The listing can be seen: here. Pics can be seen by clicking through the arrows on the main pic after opening the listing link.

I believe this may be our first example of a home that has withstood not one, but two go arounds as a Good Deal or Not (GDoN) subject*. PoP noted that the listing description on the 2008 listing was nearly identical to the 2011 listing, which makes some sense, since it was the same agent. Same agent, however, it’s important to note that 2011 is a much different real estate climate than 2008. Subsequently, what looks like pretty much the same listing in 2008 was withdrawn after 35 days on the market and a price reduction to $504,000. In 2011, it’s not a surprise that a house this close to Metro, busy street or not, was under contract in less than two weeks.

Not even taking into consideration the decrease in active listing inventory in downtown DC since 2008, the immediate area has seen a significant increase in commercial development between 2008 and 2011. There are few pockets of DC left that are relatively close in to downtown and on top of Metro. The Georgia Avenue corridor has recently seen quite a bit of property purchased by developers, with numerous moderately priced condo projects planned or in process.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Capital City Public Charter School for Sale at 15th and Irving St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

Urban Turf speculates:

“3047 15th Street NW is particularly intriguing because it is zoned as R-5-B. Such zoning means the building could be used for residential purposes and that a developer could convert the building into a condo project.”

It’s yours for $8,950,000.

We judged the building back in Oct. ’08.

I’m also quite curious what will happen to the school? Will they combine with the uppers school campus? Whenever we’ve spoken about the school in the past – parents have been very happy with them. You can learn more about Capital City Public Charter School here.

Anyone have the inside scoop on why they are selling?

Ed. Note: This sale follows the July news of Maya Angelou Public Charter School sale at 9th and T St, NW for $9,500,000.


View Larger Map

View More Stories