Thanks to a reader for sending word that R. Kelly is coming to Union Station’s Barnes and Noble on Saturday.
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NoMa (Near Northeast)
Back in March we learned Jamba Juice was coming to the first floor of Union Station. I’m told they’ll be opening July 2nd and the Dupont Circle location should open shortly thereafter. No word on the Einstein Bros. Bagels though…
Looks like Dangerously Delicious Pies is coming to Union Station. @zcolman spots the scene above in the Union Station food court. He advises, “Time to invest in new belts.”
In Feb. 2012 we learned that Dangerously Delicious Pies would also be opening a new location in Chinatown at 901 7th Street, NW. While that location anticipated an April opening, they have not opened yet.
Dangerously Delicious Pies’ original DC space is located at 1339 H St, NE. You can see their menu here.
250 K Street, NE
Last night Zuppa Fresca wrote on their Facebook page:
Zuppa Fresca is closed. We have decided to close due to situations out of our control. We hope a tenant is found for the space who can comply with the outrageous demands of the Landlord and Management Company. We will be posting our entire story soon to let our customers know why we had to leave. We only hope that our story will help other young business owners who are trying to find truthful andhonest landlords and management companies.
Zuppa Fresca opened up (in what was going to be Gillian Clark’s Kitchen on K Street) in NoMA at 250 K St, NE back in Feb. 2012. They say they will be posting their entire story on their Web site soon. Stay tuned.
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Streets of Washington covers some of DC’s most interesting buildings and history and is written by John DeFerrari. John is also the author of Lost Washington DC.
The reputation of DC’s charmingly-named Swampoodle neighborhood was for its tough Irish street brawlers. Both the Irish toughs and their swampy ground are now gone, but one immense institution has remained there through it all, the Government Printing Office at H and North Capitol Streets, NW. The printing office—nicknamed “The Swamp” in its early days—has been one of Washington’s most contradictory institutions. Once a grimy factory of hard-working laborers culled largely from the surrounding rough-and-tumble neighborhood, for 150 years it’s also been an elite producer of elegant government documents, including extraordinary hand-bound volumes of the nation’s most precious records.
GPO’s 1903 building (postcard from the author’s collection).
The 1903 GPO building today (photo by the author).
There has always been a recognized need for printing official government documents; the British designated “publick printers” for this purpose in the early colonies. Benjamin Franklin was one, producing official documents for Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. After independence, the U.S. Congress continued the practice of chartering private companies to do public printing, usually at fixed rates, but as the 19th century progressed and the need for printed documents mushroomed, private companies fortunate enough to be designated as official printers were increasingly accused of fraud and corruption. Congress put an end to all that by passing a law establishing the Government Printing Office in 1861. It would be a completely government-operated facility, and its chief would carry the title of Public Printer.
To outfit the new GPO, the government purchased the printing office that Cornelius Wendell (1811-1870) had built in 1857 at the corner of H and North Capitol. Wendell had been an official printer, and most of the government’s printing work was already taking place at this site, one of the largest and most complete printing plants in the country.
Continues after the jump. (more…)
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325 Morse St, NE
Thanks to a reader for the heads up on this great hidden gem. YoonHa’s is not fancy but it has two more important traits – it is delicious and it is cheap. It is located at 325 Morse St, NE in the Capital City Market (where Litteri’s is located) very close to the NoMa metro:
They are open from 5am – 3pm from Monday thru Saturday.
A look at the menu after the jump. (more…)
65 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Council Member Jim Graham tweeted yesterday:
I am at the groundbreaking for the Central Union Mission. We are at the old Gales school at 65 Massachusetts Avenue.
Central Union Mission is the city’s oldest non-profit providing these types of shelter services to the homeless.
$12 million will be invested in Gales School. The money is from private sources. This will be a new home for the Central Union Mission.
No government money will be used in the renovation or operation of the old Gales School for the Central Union Mission.
The city will, however, lease the building to the Central Union Mission for $1 a year.
Central Union Mission is currently located in Logan Circle at the corner of 14th and R St, NW (1350 R Street, NW.)
They share renderings of the new location:
This rental is located at 37 Florida Ave, NE:
The listing says:
“This newly renovated 3 Bedroom/1.5 Bath is on 2 levels inside a beautiful building and has many new features including Spanish marble counter tops and new stainless steel appliances. The house also features Canadian maple floors, lofted ceilings, exposed brick, and high end track lighting. There is a large enclosed patio space behind the house where you can grill out and entertain.
The ground floor has an open floor plan with the living room flowing into the newly renovated kitchen. There is also a bathroom and washer and dryer on this level. On the top floor, there are two large bedrooms and a smaller third bedroom, which could also be used as an office or baby room. The master bedroom is flooded with natural light due to its 16 foot ceilings with skylights. All three bedrooms include a closet with shelves and hardwood floors. The upper bathroom is decked out with Carrera white marble floors and shower with European chrome fixtures.
The property is located only 3 blocks to the New York Ave Metro Station (Red Line). Live in style and within walking distance to some of DC’s best amenities including Harris Teeter, CVS, Potbelly and much more. NoMa is the city’s fast growing neighborhood and there are already plans for far more amenities over the next 12-24 months.”
This 3 bed is going for $2650/Mo.
In Feb. we learned where Yo Sushi will be located in Union Station. And now – they’re applying for a liquor license:
“New Japanese restaurant serving primarily sushi and other Japanese style food and beverages (including alcoholic beverages) utilizing a conveyor belt food delivery system and offering other incidental food and beverages for on-site consumption or “grab and go” takeout. Total occupancy load of 84.”
Sweet.
Hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker. She is the founder of 10 Square Team and is affiliated with Keller Williams Capital Properties. 10 Square Team is a princeofpetworth.com advertiser. 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: 333 K St NE
Legal Subdivision: Old City#1
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Capitol Hill
Original List Price: $569,000.
List Price at Contract: $569,000.
List Date: 01/19/2012
Days on Market: 18
Settled Sales Price: $569,000.
Settlement Date: 04/17/2012
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional
Original GDoN post is: here.
The listing can be seen: here. To see pics, open the listing link and scroll through the arrows on the main photo.
This home is a great example of the drastic changes in the blocks surrounding H Street NE. In 2008, 333 K Street NE looked like this when it was photographed for the upcoming DC Tax Sale that occurred in January 2009. The starting price for the auction on this property was $20,000. The District of Columbia did not share the final sale price via public tax records.
The property was renovated and sold for $459,900. less a $10,000. subsidy in October 2009. The buyer in 2009 was represented by PoP advertiser Kevin Wood, a Realtor with William Sawyer & Co. I would say in retrospect, it was certainly a good deal at that time, given that in less than three years it gained over $100,000. in market value.
For perspective, here is the paragraph from Wikipedia describing the national housing climate in 2008 and 2009:
“By September 2008, average U.S. housing prices had declined by over 20% from their mid-2006 peak. As prices declined, borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages could not refinance to avoid the higher payments associated with rising interest rates and began to default. During 2007, lenders began foreclosure proceedings on nearly 1.3 million properties, a 79% increase over 2006. This increased to 2.3 million in 2008, an 81% increase vs. 2007. By August 2008, 9.2% of all U.S. mortgages outstanding were either delinquent or in foreclosure. By September 2009, this had risen to 14.4%”
During that period of time, I frequently had conversations with buyers in DC who were “waiting for the market to hit bottom”. The funny thing is, you don’t actually know when a market hits bottom until it starts going back up. Now that it’s up again, there sure are a lot of people trying to buy in DC and not much available inventory.