Dupont Circle

Dupont Underground Slowly Rising

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to Paul Ruppert for sharing these photos and letting me know about the Dupont Underground Web site which says:

The Dupont Underground is coming – are you ready?

This visionary and ambitious development will bring to life 100,000 sq feet of galleries, multi-use flexible exhibition spaces, a teaching library, interactive archives, an arts café friendly to urban nomads and cloud-commuters as well as multi-media labs and arts-related retail. Central and accessible by Metro from all points across the city, The Dupont Underground will be a linking institution for the arts, architecture and design communities and establish a stimulating multi-sensory destination that will attract a new audiences to the city.

From the departure of deserted and forgotten infrastructure to the arrival of a stunning hub of creative critical mass, The Dupont Underground will establish the District as a place where innovation is an exciting, active and accessible part of daily urban life.

Through the adaptive reuse of the historic abandoned trolley station that lies directly beneath Dupont Circle, The Dupont Underground aims to establish a new landmark cultural institution to serve as a vital hub for innovative public exhibitions of contemporary art and design (including architecture, graphic design, new media technology, industrial, fashion, etc.). It aims to serve as a transformative incubator and accelerator for creative innovation and provide a physical cutting-edge locus for the diversity of the arts community to intersect. Committed not only to the current generation of artists, but to the city’s future, Dupont Underground will additionally work with the city’s public and charter schools to provide access to art programs along with apprenticeships, career guidance and professional training.

The Dupont Underground is organized by the Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground, a registered not-for-profit organization, comprised of artists, arts administrators, architects and business and community leaders working together towards transforming the Dupont Circle trolley station into a high-impact, world-class cultural destination.

I’ll be posting updates about upcoming events and fundraisers and how you can get involved. In the meantime do you think this will be a good use of the Dupont Underground?

Good Deal or Not? Weekly Wed. House Porn edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 2123 Leroy Place, NW:


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The flier says:

“EXQUISITE 1912 Twnhse renovated to the 21st cty. w/ AWESOME attn to detail. Huge 5 STAR CHEF’S kitch. w/ bkfst area to priv terr. Gorgeous Liv & Din rms w/ fplcs. Entire 2nd lvl mster suite w/ 2 lux MARBLE baths, den, fam rm & lndry. 3rd flr has 3 scrumptuos bdrms & 2 luxe baths. Top lvl boasts lge fam rm used as priv home/offc. Bdrm & ba. LL newly finished in-law suite. ELEVATOR all flrs. GARAGE + pkg”

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

Wow, I’m thinking that stove cost more than my college education, granted I went to a state school… What’s your favorite part of this home? How does it rank in terms of house porn? It’s yours for $3,750,000.

Good Deal or Not? “garden level condo” Edition (Reader Request)

By Prince Of Petworth

This condo is located at 2103 S Street, NW:


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The flier says:

“Embrace chic city living in this 1,165 sf 2BR/1BA garden level condo steps from Dupont Metro. Warm hwd flrs; rec lighting; LR w/ cozy frpl; window filled turreted DR; eat-in kit w/ 42″ cabinets and a sizable pantry; PLENTY of closet space & spacious room sizes. Enjoy peace & quiet in the private courtyard garden- a rare find in the city.”

You can find more info and photos here.

The reader writes:

“I stumbled across this listing and it kind of surprised me.

A: It’s huge
B: It’s quite nice, but does need some updating in the kitchen/baths
C: It’s CHEAP for that location, it seems

Just surprising. My partner & I just purchased a 2 bedroom in Kalorama/Adams Morgan, but this listing gives me a bit of buyer’s remorse! With the lack of good, affordable 2-bedroom inventory in the area, I can’t imagine this will last long.”

What do you guys think – is this 2 bed/1bath a good deal at $499,000 ($398 condo fee)?

Block Party in North Country and Stead Park Fun

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to a reader for sending the word:

“MPD is sponsoring a block party in the 500 block of Kennedy Street this Friday from 4-8pm.”

I remember a previous block party hosted by MPD wasn’t very well publicized so for the folks up in North Country this sounds like fun.

“Dear PoP,

I snapped this image of my 2-year-old at Stead Park (16th and P, NW) … I thought it was kinda cool. Amazing how many kids are running around the neighborhood now … compared to 10 years ago.”

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 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 Properties: 1830 18th St NW (Four Condo Units)

Original List Prices: $753,900.-$847,900.

List Price at Contract: $639,000.-$764,000.

List Date: 09/14/2009

Days on Market: Average for all 4 listings is 114 days

Settled Sales Price for first settled unit: $775,000.

Settlement Date for first settled unit: 04/22/2010

Seller Subsidy for first settled unit: $0.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: FHA…Another Super Conforming (last week’s GDoN-R featured one as well). Until the end of this year, the upper limit for FHA loans remains at $729,000. A “Super Conforming” or “Jumbo Conforming” is a loan that is above the conforming loan limit of $417,000. yet below the current upper limit. There are lobbying efforts in place to make the higher limits permanent, which is significant for a high dollar market area like DC. A purchaser in this price range would have to put more than 3.5% down (the typical down payment for FHA loans) in order to not finance more than $729,000.

Original GDoN Post is: here.

Listings for the building are: here.

The original Good Deal or Not (GDoN) post for this new construction building with four condo units appeared back in October 2009, when the original pricing for these units was in place. At that time, the units were priced with a very broad range of $453 per square foot all the way up to $642 per square foot. In December 2009, pricing was reduced 10-15%, which seems to have been a good move. We only have settled sales information for the one unit that recently settled, but it appears that this unit went under contract shortly after the price redux. The settled sales price is $11,000. above list which could mean that either the Purchaser negotiated a parking space into the deal or that there were possibly competing offers. (If it was for a deeded parking space, that’s a helluva deal in this location where deeded spaces can easily sell in the range of $35,000-$50,000.) Two additional units are under contract, and one unit (1669 square feet listed for $639,000) is available. Continues after the jump. (more…)

Good Deal or Not? Former House of the Day Edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This condo is located at 1741 Q Street, NW:


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The flier says:

“STUNNING PENTHOUSE CONDO IN DUPONT BROWNSTONE. DRAMATIC OPEN SPACE WHICH OCCUPIES TOP 2 FLOORS, WITH CATHEDRAL CEILINGS & SKYLIGHT PROVIDING AN AMAZING EFFECT. HARDWOOD THROUGHOUT, PRIVATE ROOFTOP DECK! 1 CAR COVERED GARAGE. 2 BDRM/2 FULL BATHS MAKE THIS A RARE FIND ON TREE LINED Q STREET. WALK TO DUPONT METRO, SHOPS, RESTAURANTS. PETS ALLOWED. .. LOW CONDO FEE $324/month”

You can find more info and photos here.

I’ve always wanted to see what that circular room looks like from the inside. No doubt these are some fresh digs but do you think this 2 bed/2 bath will go for $875,000?

Cafe Green Finally Has Soft Opening

By Prince Of Petworth

Cafe Green is located at 1513 17th St, NW and takes up two floors. There had been a coming soon sign at this spot for ages, so when I walked by last weekend I was, happily, shocked to see them open. I was able to chat with one of their owner and GM, Jimmy Cooney (the other partner owns Java Green located at 1020 19th St, NW).


Upstairs dining area

So here’s what I learned:

They will be having their grand opening in late May but they “will be having a big opening party this coming Saturday, May 1st, from 11 am to 11 pm. A Gift Card Raffle, Music, and Specials on the menu will round out the day”.

They will soon have a full bar including liquor, wine including organic wine, beer, juice and coffee.

Below is a desert and beverage menu that will have some minor changes:

Café Green Beverage Dessert Menu 4.19.10

Below is the dining menu:

Cafe_Green_Dining_Menu_4_27_10

They will soon be serving brunch as well.

A few more photos after the jump including a photo of the soft opening menus. (more…)

House of the Day

By Prince Of Petworth

Here’s a couple of 16th Street, NW classics that we’ve probably seen before in some capacity. They are looking phenomenal. If you had to pick which do you like better?

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