Remember this brutal fire back in August? It’s great it’s getting repaired so quickly, I was fearful that it may be a shell for a while. You can see some amazing photos from an eyewitness of the fire here.
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Park View
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Just received an email from Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham:
“Dear Friends, I have just returned from 14th and Columbia, where a short time ago shots were fired on the 1300 block of Columbia. An innocent bystander was sitting in her car, which was about to be parked, when a bullet penetrated the chassis and struck her in the leg.
The 1300 block of Columbia has been heavily patrolled with a squad car and a light tower present since Paul Jones was shot in January. (His alleged, barely 18 year old murderer was with this and another murder and is now in jail.)
Indeed, just last night, I attended a community meeting with MPD on the violence at 1300 block of Columbia.
However, another tragedy tonight–a fatal stabbing at Gresham and Georgia–led to the officer on the 1300 block being pulled to the location of that homicide. (There are very good leads, I am told in thta case.)
In the brief time that followed–when the police were not there, and the light tower was still dark–shots were fired and the person was wounded.
This has all the earmarks of more gang violence.
More information will be revealed as it becomes available.”
Good grief, it almost makes you want to weep out of frustration. I do wonder why they couldn’t have left the light tower on? It seems absolutely crazy. Do you think the shooters were just waiting for the moment the cops were gonna leave?
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Back in September I did a quick update on this corner. But since then it seems a new developer has taken over. This is an old picture so I believe the fence is now down and there is more empty space. Many thanks to a reader for tracking down this update:
“A new, big, permanent looking sign was put up today. It has the exact same plan as the previous signs but this one is from Sperry Van Ness. They specialize in condos and retail spaces.
I did some digging and found this http://www.svn.com/aspx/pws/
It looks like they are still looking for investors. $3,000,000 for .18 acres of land plus building permits seems pretty steep to me.”
If you click on the link – what do you think about the rendering?
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Remember this? Remember all that debate about a public park? I guess it was all for naught.
The Washington Post had the big story on this yesterday. They wrote:
“The sagging real estate market has prompted the Armed Forces Retirement Home to freeze an ambitious plan to build housing, a hotel, a supermarket and medical offices on a sprawling portion of its Northwest Washington campus.”
Wow. This is really big news. I know this development was super controversial because a lot of green space was going to be developed. So I’m super curious to find out what you guys think – glad the development has stalled or will miss the development?
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This home is located at 3546 Rock Creek Church Road, NW:
The flier says:
“This single family home is waiting for your touches. Home is sold strictly as-is. Seller will make no repairs. Home features 3 possible 4 bedrooms 1 possible 2 full baths, parking in rear of yard, upper and lower entry to home. Large living room, separate dining room, partially finished basement. This is perfect for investors or contractors”
More info but sadly no photo found here.
I think this is a great location as it’s close to the Petworth Metro but also close to all the development on 11th Street. But for a clear fixer upper the asking price may be a bit high. Do you think $399,000 would be a good deal or not? What would be a more realistic price?
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I totally dig their sign. It’s interesting that it says soul food and curry chicken – I think that’s an interesting combo. Sadly, it was closed when I walked by but I peeked in the window and it looks like it’ll be a casual dining spot.
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This home is located at 753 Gresham Place, NW:
The flier says:
“RENOVATED home in the heart of Columbia Heights. 3-levels (nearly 2,500) of finished living space. Features include wrap around porch, high ceilings, BEAUTIFUL HW floors, (newer) windows, large living room, dining area, upgraded eat-in kitchen, Jacuzzi bath tub, bathroom on every level, fully-finished basement with 1BR, 1BA, recreation area, washer/dryer, walk-out to back yard. Hurry, won’t last!!”
More info and a virtual tour found here.
The reader writes:
Interested in your and your readers’ thoughts on the area between Columbia Heights & Park View, south of Petworth–and I’m not sure what the hard boundaries of either neighborhood are considered. If I had to draw a rough outline, I’d say Sherman as the western border, Park Pl. as the eastern, Newton Place northern border, Euclid as its southern.
I guess that’s Park View and its southern end–I just don’t really know much about what the neighborhood is like. I saw a listing for a renovated 3 BR with finished basement on the 700 block of Gresham Place for $249k:
Which (unless it’s a terrible renovation that’ll end up costing $$$ in fixes down the road), seems like a pretty good deal. But to be honest, that area has always seemed like a bit of a wasteland. Is there anything going on on Sherman? Any development plans? Safety issues? I don’t expect any area in a big city to be 100% safe, of course, just more concerned with outright gang activity the way there is around Girard/Fairmont closer to Columbia Heights.
I guess this is a twofer–GDON and any info you or readers have on Park View/Eastern Columbia Heights.
Well, for $249,900 this seems like a great deal. It was originally asking $499,900. I happen to think this is a pretty good location not because of development on Sherman Avenue but because of it’s vicinity to 11th Street. On Sherman you have a nice coffee shop called Coco Libre but I’m not sure of any other projects coming up. However on 11th Street you of course have Wonderland, Red Rocks, Columbia Heights Coffee, and the upcoming Meridian Pint (bar/restaurant) and Room 11 (wine bar). So I’m going to go with good deal. What do you guys think?
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Back in September I asked if anyone knew the deal here? At the time “Animal Mother” told us:
“According the contact at the Cesar Chavez website (http://www.cesarchavezhs.org/prep/contact/), as of last month they planned to begin substantial renovations this month. I’m also skeptical, but that was their position as recently as three weeks ago. They also claim that substantial demolition has been done on the interior.
But yeah, I’ll also be surprised if they actually open in 09, since they said the same thing about this time in 07 about what was going to happen in 08.”
But I saw some bulldozers so maybe the substantial demolition has begun?
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This home is located at 3573 Warder Street, NW:
The flier says:
“PARK VIEW CONDOMINUMS!. .Luxurious 2-Level Loft-Style Condominium Residences w/ gated PARKING INCLUDED! Large (1175-1420 SF) units w/ balc, granite, cherry kit. cabs, SS Appl. , Brazilian wood flooring, video-monitored secure entry & ADT system, Jacuzzi baths, recessed lighting, flat-screen ready, walk to METRO! (2/2 & 2/2/1 floor plans available! Eight units offered from $369K – $423K”
More info and photos on the 2 bed/2.5 bath can be found here. More infor and photos on the 2 bed/2 bath can be found here.
A reader writes:
“I received this glossy postcard (like the kind strip clubs scatter about) trumpeting the virtues of this house. I remember some time back you featured it while it was under construction; your readers proceeded to flay it. Now it’s been gussied up, repackaged as “green”…You might want to revisit.”
Revisit I shall! So the 2 bed/2.5 bath is going for $423,000 and the 2 bed/2 bath is going for $369,000. Do you think either are a good deal? And of course what do you think about the units and building itself?
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A reader writes:
“This seems really low, given the prices of the houses around it. I wonder if PoPville has the inside scoop on this unit and the street that might explain such a low price.”
This home is located at 529 Newton Place, NW:
The flier says:
“BANK OWNED/VACANT. RENOVATED IN 2005 AND IN NEED OF ROOF AND HVAC REPAIRS. .. .CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS.”
More info and photos here.
So does a house renovated in 2005 that needs a roof and HVAC repairs sound reasonable for $189,900 at this location?