The new Cooper Hardware’s sign at 3459 14th Street looks great. And who knew, they sell gardening stuff too. Let’s hope these awesome new signs inspire some other local establishments to drop their flimsy banner signs.
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Columbia Heights
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Although this was the mural of the week a number of months ago. But I just noticed that this boarded up building has another cool feature besides the mural – the windows. That’s one of the things I like about our neighborhoods, you can walk by the same thing a thousand times and on the thousandth time you notice something new. Anyway, the windows here are the super cool old school stained glass variety. Check out a close up after the jump. (more…)
Red Derby at 14th and Quincy invites you to drink Mint Julips all day long.
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Located right above the Columbia Heights Metro at 1400 Irving Street, this building is truly phenomenal. This evening I heard a story from Councilmember Graham at the opening party of D’Vines where he recounted the fact that five years ago McDonalds refused to open up a store in Columbia Heights because they thought the area was too risky. We laugh at that now, but five years ago it was very hard to imagine that there would be a building as sweet as Highland Park. Forget McDonalds, these apartments sit above the Pete’s Apizza, Potbelly’s (and soon) Five Guys, Mocha Hut, Commonwealth (the new store from the Hanks Oyster bar folks), Zinnia (Caribbean) and Sake Club. It is unbelievable what can happen in five short years.
As for the apartment building it is truly posh. You recognize you are in a special place as soon as you enter the lobby which has a very modern feel. Just behind the 24 hour front desk you will find a gigantic salt water aquarium (I happen to be a huge tropical fish enthusiast so I was pretty overwhelmed at this point.) Apartment buildings are often throwing around the term luxury. I think I finally understand what a real luxury apartment building looks like. There is a business center, a pool table, a full Gym, a social room, an unbelievable roof deck (pictured above), and of course beautiful apartments. Most folks remember that this building was originally supposed to be high end condos. As a result the apartments themselves are top of the line. The building itself is quite large – 229 apartments of which 61 are lofts. Despite the size it doesn’t feel institutional like I feared. It is seriously posh.
Now a posh apartment building comes with a posh price. However, 20% of the apartments have been set aside as affordable and prices range from $700 to $1600 depending on income category. There are still some available so I’d hustle because there is no way those are going to last. If you are not lucky enough to fall into that category then one bedrooms one bath run $1810-2300. One bedroom loft one and half bath run $2680-2950. One bedroom loft with Den Two Bath runs $3580-3875. Two bedroom two bath run $2775-3095. Two bedroom with den and two bath runs $3035-3940. You do however get one month’s rent free. Now that’s over my budget but I know plenty of folks who live in these types of buildings in northern Virginia. I think it is super cool that they now have the option to live large right in Columbia Heights. And I’m super psyched that we all get to benefit from the awesome restaurants that this project has brought to the neighborhood. Check out lots of cool photos after the jump. (more…)
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It is very rare to find these cross walk signs that still say walk instead of the little man blinking. It’s good to see despite all the great development in Columbia Heights it can still rock old school.
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It’s funny, I’ve never gotten off at the Columbia Heights metro before. For real. I was stunned to see this mural. It is wild and totally unlike the ones in Petworth and U Street. So do you prefer this style better or the more traditional ones depicting DC back in the day? I always was pleased to see a Chevy Chase bank machine in CH. I remember writing a while ago how bogus it was that Petworth doesn’t have one. And U Street doesn’t have one. But I guess one out of three isn’t too bad.
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Some potentially good, some potentially not so good.
Disclaimer: The following is scuttlebutt, rumor, things I’ve heard. Take it with a grain of salt. Although I have a 95% success rate with these rumors turning out to be true, nevertheless there is always a possibility the following could fall in the 5% false category.
The last retail space in the strip of new retail on Irving Street will be… A Mocha Hut! So now Columbia Heights will officially be a coffee lover’s haven. You’ve got Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, Mayorga, Columbia Heights Coffee and now Mocha Hut. So what do you think – a good addition?
Now for the not so good – I’m hearing that the new Yes! Organic Market that is coming to Georgia Ave. is facing some difficulties. What are the difficulties? Well, apparently there is a moratorium on liquor licenses and they may not be able to get one. This would be very bad for their business. And for us. So start whatever grassroots action you can to make sure that the Yes! Organic Market gets a liquor license. Of course I have no idea how that happens. So do you think the Yes! Organic Market should be allowed to have a liquor license?
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Ed. note: Following, Karen does a wonderful write up of Columbia Heights’ newest pizza option. As I am a fanatical pizza devotee I will be writing a smaller post with my own impressions shortly.
Tonight I went to Pete’s (www.petesapizza.com) for a slice of pizza from this new New Haven-influenced Italian eatery located right outside of the Columbia Heights metro (southbound), which just opened Monday. It might be tempting at first to compare Pete’s to Red Rocks–and, of course, heh, that’s exactly what I’m going to do–but even though the main attraction of both places is pizza I would put the two restaurants in completely different categories. While Red Rocks is a sit-down restaurant with individual tables and a bar, Pete’s is set up for quick service–you order at the front of the restaurant and await your meal among the snazzy cafeteria-style tables and either eat there or take your pie to go. And given the fact that Pete’s has almost a similar buzz to a coffee shop or cafe–a single room with bright light and colors, soaring ceilings, and immense photographs of Italian scenes (taken by Alicia’s twin brother Michael Wilkinson, who is a professional photographer based in Columbia Heights ) donning the walls–I’d be much more inclined to head there to read a book or do the crosswords with friends as I eat a slice than I would at Red Rocks, where the more intimate and dark atmosphere makes it very much a serious dining affair.
However, despite Pete’s cafeteria-style set-up, this pizza is anything but cafeteria-quality, and I think does a good job holding its own against Red Rocks’ brilliant Sicilian-style, individual-sized pizza. Pete’s goes back to American pizza basics with the pies large enough to feed a family. And more pizza means more goodness. According to co-owner Alicia Mehr, who I had the opportunity to chat with, Pete’s tries to use ingredients that for the most part are local and organic. But the most amazing thing about this pizza is the crust. Oh, good lord, the crust. Crispy, crunch delight that is augmented even more by the fact that you aren’t expecting it. When I was there I tried the sausage and mushroom and was absolutely wowed. Story continues along with more photos after the jump. (more…)
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I didn’t but as I was walking past Tubman Elementary school on 13th Street in Columbia Heights I saw tons of folks working on beautification projects. They were planting gardens, cleaning up and painting murals. It was a great sight to see, that’s for sure. Check out another mural in action after the jump. (more…)
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So I can’t remember what the deal is with this property. But every time I got to Columbia Heights Coffee I wonder what will be. The possibility seems incredible. Yet, it’s been like this for as long as I can remember. So what happened, a contractor ran away with the money or something like that? But isn’t this property prime enough that something is bound to go in? Does anyone know what the current plans are? It seems prime for housing on the top and retail on the first floor, no?