Columbia Heights

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc

By Prince Of Petworth

In real life, hipchickindc is licensed as a real estate broker in the District of Columbia and Virginia, and as a real estate salesperson in Maryland. 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: 1025 Kenyon St NW

Original List Price: $425,000. prior to completion of full gut renovation

List Price at Contract: $420,000.

List Date: 11/16/2008

Days on Market: 73

Settled Sales Price: $420,000.

Settlement Date: 03/23/2009

Seller Subsidy: 10,000.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: Conventional

Recent Purchase and Re-Sale?: Not according to MRIS or Public Records. Reader comments suggest that the property may have been an estate-owned property

Original GDoN Post is: Here

Pics and details: Click here.

Based on comments to the original Good Deal or Not? (GDoN) post, I’m guessing that a few people are going to be shocked to see that this sold at list price less a subsidy toward closing costs. Continues after the jump. (more…)

Dear PoP – What’s Up With These Trailers?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Every day I walk on Irving St NW, and at the cross section with Hiatt Street (in between 14th & 16th st) there is a fenced in area, almost always with a security guard, and a few trailers inside. There are people walking in and out at all times, and the place seems rather busy at night. Any clue what this is?”

A cop once told me that this is a (temporary?) homeless shelter. The trailers look like they might be for (temporary?) housing. I’m pretty sure this is what he was talking about. Can anyone confirm this or know specifically what the trailers are for?

Dear PoP – What Happened at Irving and 14th Last Night?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Do you know what happened on Irving and 14th Street, just in front of the Columbia Heights Metro around 7:00 pm last night? I didn’t see everything but I pieced it together from the other people standing there and was hoping you might have the full story. I guess a guy was trying to mug an older lady or something and when she didn’t give up her purse, he cold punched her in the face and started to walk away. The mugger took about two steps and then got drilled by some random dude who just laid him out like a linebacker – just form tackled the dude and put him on the ground. The mugger kept yelling and trying to get up, but the dude had the mugger pinned down with his face in the sidewalk, holding him until the cops got there. It was pretty awesome. Anyway, the cops came and took the mugger in. I didn’t stick around to see what else happened. Wondered if you have the rest of the story.”

Sounds like you got the whole story! Wild. I’m just glad they caught the would be mugger. Did anyone else witness this incident?

PoP Pho Patrol – It’s Official Grand Opening Thursday!!!

By Prince Of Petworth

Great news – they passed their inspection! Pho 14 (Park Road just west of 14th Street) will have their grand opening this Thursday (they’ll be doing some final training on Wed. but you might be able to convince them to let you dine in if you can’t wait until Thursday)! They will be open from 10am – 10pm. For the grand opening on Thursday they will be serving free egg rolls with your order. I’ll do a post on Friday/Monday to see what folks think. Bon appetit!

A Legend Leaves The Looking Glass Lounge (But Won’t Be Going Too Far)

By Prince Of Petworth

Dan Searing is one of the best bartenders (general managers) in the city. We were lucky to have him for so long at Temperance Hall and then Looking Glass Lounge. The only solace in his departure is that he won’t be going far. For those who are looking for classic posts/comments, surely, you remember this epic battle?

From the man himself:

“Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Some of you know me as the former General Manager of Temperance Hall and its successor the Looking Glass Lounge. Since stepping down as manager this summer to work on the soon-to-be-open wine bar, Room 11, (in Columbia Heights at 11th and Lamont) I have continued to work as a bartender. Tuesday, March 31st is my last shift. Please come by to say farewell and enjoy a free taste of some homemade limoncello and other drink specials. To receive updates about Room 11 please email me at [email protected]. To all I had the pleasure of serving, thank you.

Cheers,
Dan Searing”

PoP Pho Patrol

By Prince Of Petworth

Well, as reported last, Pho 14 was hoping to open today or tomorrow. Sadly, that was a bit optimistic. But fear not, I am in daily contact with the folks at Pho 14 located on Park Road a bit west of 14th Street. Today I heard, they have been promised an inspection tomorrow and aim to open this Thursday. Again, I promise to post the official news as soon as I hear from them. Hang tight for just a few more days!

Pho 14 – Still Not Open (Maybe Monday/Tuesday)

By Prince Of Petworth

I know folks were super excited about the Pho 14 preview a couple weeks ago. But I’ve been emailed some false rumors by multiple people that they will open on Sat. This is not true. I just spoke with one of the managers who told me it is likely the inspection will be held Monday morning. I have been told that I will be contacted immediately after they receive the ok. So trust me, I will make a separate post when they are open. And I’m just as excited as you guys, so keep your fingers crossed that the inspection happens Monday. Stay tuned…

Development Watch – 11th and Park

By Prince Of Petworth

This is the spot where the new bar called Meridian Pint will be opened by Aslyum owner, John Andrade. Any predictions on when you think it’ll be finished? Seems like they’re making good progress now as the lower level has been fully dug out.

Well, It Finally Happened To Me

By Prince Of Petworth

This is another one of those situations in which you have no idea how you will react until it happens to you. Lots of folks have told me about the problem of rock throwing in Columbia Heights but I’ve probably spent half my time walking around CH and have never seen it and certainly hadn’t experienced it. Sadly, that changed this evening. I was heading up 14th Street on my way to an interview at Commonwealth (more on that later).

At 7:50 pm I felt something hit the top of my head. It was more of a lob shot than a fastball. I was actually quite confused. There were 4 twelve year old boys behind me. So I had to decide what to do. Oh yeah, this happened at the corner of 14th and Harvard. So I have my ipod on and am just staring at them, thinking to myself, ‘did they really just throw a rock at me’. I was definitely in disbelief.

Well, I’m not a super tough guy but I’m pretty sure I can beat the shit out of a 12 year old kid. So I’m thinking to myself, do I just go over there and punch one of the kids? No, I can’t do that. You can’t punch a 12 year old kid. I’m also thinking, ‘well I don’t want to break my ipod if they all jump on me’. I swear to you, these are the thoughts going through my head. I’m not necessarily proud of them.

I decided to just turn around and continue my walk up 14th Street as I had an appointment and all. But then an older man comes up to me and says, “did those boys just hit you with a rock”. I said, ‘yeah they did, I was just deciding how to react’. He said, “yeah I saw that”. Then he said, “what you should’ve done was grab a stick and whoop them good, then they’d know not to throw rocks”.

So, I don’t know if there is a lesson here but this is not good. I don’t necessarily think violence would’ve prevented this in the future. Not to mention violent crime is not unheard of on this street corner and who knows how these things could escalate if someone else decided to get involved. I don’t know if there is a proper response. What would you have done?

I Checked Out the New Chicken Place – Kikos

By Prince Of Petworth

I’m happy to report Kiko’s Chicken, located at 3703 14th Street, NW, has some pretty good chicken! And I’m also happy to report that the store itself looks really nice for a fast food place. It has two levels (see photos after the jump). Also the folks working there were really nice except for one guy who threatened to sue me if I took his picture. But honestly everyone else there was super nice. I had a delicious biscuit, plantains and buffalo wings (and a fountain soda). It was good but all that cost me 10 bucks. So not fast food cheap. But then again the food is of higher quality than fast food. Anyone else check them out yet?

More photos after the jump. (more…)

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