Lots of people are mentioning to me how this building is really taking shape. I can hardly believe my eyes. Accordign to DC MUD:

The matter of right development will come in at five floors, plus a penthouse, and will be no higher than 50 feet. A side yard area will be covered in brick and provide 11 parking spots for residents of the one- and two-bedroom units. What about retail? Linde said the area has a dearth of quality housing and is rife with vacant lots. “You need to put heads in beds before you start building any retail,” asserted Linde. Adding, “doesn’t do any good to put in a Trader Joes… or a Starbucks if there aren’t any people to drink the coffee.”


This home is located at 3615 Warder St, NW:


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The flier says:

“STUNNING RENOVATION IN COLUMBIA HEIGHTS/PETWORTH. BLOCKS TO THE METRO. ELEMENTS OF ORIGINAL CHARM MAINTAINED IN TRANSOMS/DOOR HANDLES ETC. OTHER THAN THAT, NEW TOP TO BOTTOM. END UNIT WITH A GARAGE AND SIDE YARD. STUNNING BRAZILIAN CHERRY FLOORS. SS APPLIANCES AND GRANITE KITCHEN. MARBLE BATHS. THIS HOUSE IS PERFECT FOR YOUR PICKIEST CLIENTS. FINISHED ATTIC AND BASEMENT.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

Does $549,000 sound reasonable for this 5 bed/3.5 bath house?



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On Sunday afternoon @dcfireems sent the word on twitter:

“@dcfireems: 3318 Warder St NW – CO leak – malf furnace – 1 adult male DOA, 2 adult females evaluated by EMS w CO poisionig”

WUSA 9 writes:

When emergency workers arrived the woman was disoriented and they detected high levels of carbon monoxide inside the home. Piringer says a woman found upstairs was unconscious and a man found in the basement was unconscious and not breathing. He says the man was pronounced dead at the home.

Piringer says the likely cause of the high carbon monoxide levels is a malfunctioning furnace in the basement.

A reader who sends in the article implores people to please have their furnaces checked regularly and carbon monoxide detectors installed in your homes.

If you would like to follow news like this as soon as it happens you can follow me on twitter @PoPville here.


The following is in response to a post last week titled, Provocative Protest Signs Plastered Up and Down Georgia Avenue. I also noted [on Sat. afternoon] that most of the signs have been torn up. I’m not sure why Everlasting Life was listed on the poster in the first place but please take a few seconds to read the following:

I am writing as a representative of Everlasting Life Cafe concerning our restaurant hosting a meeting for an extremist group.

Please be advised that this meeting has been moved.

The messages and opinions expressed by this group are in no way, shape or form, associated with the views of Everlasting Life Cafe.

Rather, we would like for the service that we provide remain a reflection of our appreciation for every single customer that walks through our doors and in no instance would we allow anything within our control to offend anyone who contributes to our business, in turn, providing a source of enrichment for the community in which we currently reside.

We do not support any extremist groups and that the messages and opinions expressed by this group are in no way, shape or form, associated with the views of Everlasting Life Café. We are in business to provide healthy alternative food to everyone, that’s all. Because of this post we’ve lost countless customers over a misunderstanding.

We appreciate your patronage and hope to receive the continued support from you and all of your friends and family.


Well, I really wasn’t going to post about this because I think they are an absolute fringe group and have little influence and are really not representative of the greater communities up and down Georgia Avenue. Having said that, I’ve gotten more emails about these posters than I’ve gotten about any other one item in a long time. It is not terribly surprising since the subject, “keep DC a chocolate city” is obviously provocative. And in yesterday’s post about a near laptop theft the issue was raised. So hear it is – and I’m not saying this sentiment isn’t shared by some, all I’m saying is that I don’t believe this group is representative of DC’s residents.

The sponsor is a group called Uhuru:

The Uhuru Movement recognizes that we are in a war of ideas. This is a war between the dying forces of white power imperialism and the emerging forces of African Socialism for the minds of the masses of poor and oppressed people. Today Imperialism has constructed a media cartel that serves the interest of the white ruling class. This international media apparatus serves to justify the brutal oppression carried out by imperialism every day. Moreover, its objective is to ideologically unite the European nation at the expense of the African nation.

This Imperialist media propaganda machine currently has a monopoly on the distribution of ideas. These ideas are intended to define our reality and shape our worldview. However, it is time for the African working class to speak for ourselves. It is time the world be seen from the perspective of the poor and oppressed masses.

UhuruNews.com is Black Power in the 21st Century. It is the vision and voice of the African working-class. Our interest is to tell the truth; showing the world as it is. Our mission is to bring voice to the most oppressed and exploited sectors of the African world.

I’m guessing they are about as representative of DC’s residents as is Lyndon LaRouche and his followers.

So yes, they’ve papered Georgia Ave with provocative posters and they are having a meeting on Dec. 18th at 12noon at Everlasting Life 2928 Georgia Avenue NW. But I think the original photo above explains it all – I think more people will inquire about selling their unwanted car than will attend this meeting.

Personally, I prefer the following sign that I also passed in my weekend walk:

“No One Should Bite Another, Outrage, or Provoke Another”

The Uhuru Movement would be wise to heed this advice.



Photo by PoPville flickr user jsmjr

I’m not gonna lie – when a weekend ends and I post about 4 shootings, a stabbing and a fire that occurs across the city – I can get a bit blue. So I thought you guys might feel the same and would also enjoy a bit of good news. No scratch that, a bit of fan-freaking-tastic I can hardly contain my joy potential news.

Unfortunately I can’t get into details about an exact location but let’s just say somewhere on Georgia Ave (not in a newly constructed building). I got word from a business owner who is looking to open up a new neighborhood bar. And let me say that this is not a novice but a group with a great track record. Frankly I nearly fell off my chair when I read the news. Anyway, the group is familiar with PoPville and knows from time to time we can be a bit opinionated. They also know that many of us love and respect beer and a good neighborhood bar. And they want our opinion – what is the theme of a bar you’d most like to see open up on Georgia Ave?

Initially I was thinking something like a Busboys and Poets or a Tryst type spot. However, I heard that a Beer Garden was also a possibility and I nearly fell off my chair once again. I would still do backflips for a Busboys or a Tryst but I’m gonna make my vote for a Beer Garden. What type of neighborhood bar/restaurant would you most like to see on Georgia Ave?


Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, hipchickindc aka the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais is an Associate Broker with Urban Pace. She lives (and sells a lot of houses) in Bloomingdale, but works all over DC, with everyone from first time buyers to highly regarded developers. 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: 748 Princeton Place NW
Legal Subdivision: Columbia Heights
Original List Price: $598,000.
List Price at Contract: $569,000.
List Date: 09/18/2010
Days on Market: 48
Settled Sales Price: $575,000.
Settlement Date: 11/30/2010
Seller Subsidy: $20,000.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN is: here.

The Listing can be seen: here. To see pics of each listing open the listing link, click on the main pic, and scroll through.

Purchased as a foreclosure in May for $324,000., this property was back on the market completely renovated by September. Although it hung around for over a month on the market, it sold at a net of $555,000.

The recent owners of 748 Princeton Place NW travel under the name of Superior Properties, LLC. In 2010 alone, they show up on record as having purchased a total of six properties (including the subject), all located in Petworth and Columbia Heights. Of those six properties, one is active, one has not yet hit the market, one is under contract, and three have sold. If you’re interested in other examples of their work, you can see those listings here.

Continues after the jump. (more…)


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