Petworth

The 5pm Post – Neighborhood Cleanups this Weekend

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user C. Michael Poole

From emails:

“Join your neighbors for a Petworth neighborhood street cleanup as part of National Public Lands Day, this Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 am – Noon.

Meet up at the Georgia Avenue/Rock Creek East Collaborative at 1104 Allison Street NW–corner Georgia Avenue. Trash bags & gloves provided. Free coffee & donuts to get you started!

Street litter washes into storm drains which empty into Piney Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek. Let’s beautify the neighborhood and help protect our local waters and parklands!

Sign up online here.

Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors – thanks!”

and

“Dear friends, residents of Columbia Heights, and residents of the greater PoPville Area,

You are invited to the first no-obligation Columbia Heights Community Litter Clean Up Day! This will be a day to meet your neighbors, make friends, make our neighborhood prettier for at least a day, raise awareness about the litter problem in Columbia Heights, and maybe even alert area businesses of the extreme need and desire for a Columbia Heights BID.

When: Sunday September 25th at Noon
(Should last no more than an hour, so you’re all free to attend the National Book Festival activities beginning at 1pm! Clean up as much or as little as you want. I’m a happy camper if you come to say hi and pick up just one candy wrapper.)

Where: Meet at the Civic Plaza right in front of the Columbia Heights Metro Station, at the corner of 14th and Irving.

What: Picking up trash. My goal is to clean up the entire Irving civic plaza and the block south to the 7-11, where the litter is worst, with particular emphasis on the poor rosebeds-turned-trash-dumps. I have no idea how many people will show up, so if it’s more than I think, the area can be expanded however much people want.

What You Should Bring: A pair of gloves and your own large trash bag. I will try to provide a box of surgical gloves for those who don’t already have some, but I personally prefer to wear kitchen dish gloves because I find them more comfortable. I will also bring a box of trash bags, but I can’t guarantee to supply everyone with a bag. (Just grab one from your kitchen!)

Disposal: I have had no problem in the past picking up trash and then putting the entire collected trash bag of litter into one of the emptier sidewalk trash cans up and down the street for city pickup later. (This is where the trash should have been in the first place, right?) We’ll make an effort to spread out where we place our trashbags, while leaving room for people who are actually using the sidewalk trashcans to put their trash in too. We don’t want to cause an overflow which results in more litter. Worst case scenario I can take a couple bags back to the dumpster at my place. I don’t anticipate having a completely unmanageable amount collected.

Fun: For people who feel social, lunch at Potbelly/Five Guys/etc. afterward isn’t out of the question!

Rain Notice: Currently, there is a 30% chance of isolated showers on Sunday. Look out your window at 11:30 am. If it’s raining, it’s cancelled!”

Update on Chez Billy – New French Bistro Coming to Petworth (from the Folks Behind Marvin, Gibson etc.)

By Prince Of Petworth


Rendering of Chez Billy to be located at 3813 Georgia Ave, NW

“Dear PoP,

I was at the ANC 4C meeting last week and was pleased that the commission voted unanimously to support the liquor license for Chez Billy (in the Billy Simpson’s space). The general manager made his pitch and it sounded great. They passed around a floor plan and rendering that differs a little from the last one you posted. Most notably, the main bar will now be open to the floor above with 2 interior balconies overlooking it (with bar stools and counter space) as illustrated in the rendering. See attached. It looks awesome! According to the manager, if all goes well, they will be open by December 1st.”

Chez Billy Floor Plans

I also spoke with the owners who confirmed an opening (knock wood, knock wood) of Chez Billy, to be located at 3813 Georgia Ave, NW (just north of the Petworth metro), in 8-10 weeks.

We last spoke about the space back in early August.

Like the idea of a French Bistro?

Between this and the approval for the new Petworth Safeway across the street – we are not going to recognize this stretch of a Georgia Ave in the near future. Sweet!

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 3624 New Hampshire Ave NW

By Prince Of Petworth



Hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker and a professional artist. Her official real estate bio is here and her art website is here. 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: 3624 New Hampshire Ave NW

Legal Subdivision: Columbia Heights
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Columbia Heights

Original List Price: $515,000.
List Price at Contract: $515,000.
List Date: 07/09/2011
Days on Market: 13

Settled Sales Price: $505,000.

Settlement Date: 08/19/2011
Seller Subsidy: $7,000.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original Good Deal or Not post is: here

The 2008 GDoN Edition for this home can be seen: here.

The listing can be seen: here. Pics can be seen by clicking through the arrows on the main pic after opening the listing link.

I believe this may be our first example of a home that has withstood not one, but two go arounds as a Good Deal or Not (GDoN) subject*. PoP noted that the listing description on the 2008 listing was nearly identical to the 2011 listing, which makes some sense, since it was the same agent. Same agent, however, it’s important to note that 2011 is a much different real estate climate than 2008. Subsequently, what looks like pretty much the same listing in 2008 was withdrawn after 35 days on the market and a price reduction to $504,000. In 2011, it’s not a surprise that a house this close to Metro, busy street or not, was under contract in less than two weeks.

Not even taking into consideration the decrease in active listing inventory in downtown DC since 2008, the immediate area has seen a significant increase in commercial development between 2008 and 2011. There are few pockets of DC left that are relatively close in to downtown and on top of Metro. The Georgia Avenue corridor has recently seen quite a bit of property purchased by developers, with numerous moderately priced condo projects planned or in process.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

The 5pm Post – Petworth Library Fundraiser Sept. 8th

By Prince Of Petworth

From an email:

“Join the Friends of the Petworth Library, your friends and neighbors for an evening

Of Books and Beer

At the Island Café
829 Upshur Street NW
Thursday, September 8, 2011
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Live music by Brian Franke
$10 at the door.

Great silent auction items, including restaurant gift certificates, special party packages, hand-made pottery, private tours, IT consultation and much more.

The event is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Petworth Library, which provides support to our beautiful new community library, with emphasis on children’s reading programs.

For more information, contact Carol Herwig 202-722-4385″

Annie’s Ace Hardware Coming to 1240 Upshur Street, NW

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo courtesy of Annie’s Hardware

Thanks to all who wrote about the Park View blog’s big news in this morning’s rant or revel post. Annie was kind enough to share some photos and her press release:

“Ace Hardware is coming to Petworth! Work has begun to open Annie’s Ace Hardware at 1240 Upshur St., NW.

Scheduled to open its doors in November, the store will bring its helpful customer service and quality home improvement products to area homeowners and DIYers in the rapidly developing neighborhood of Petworth in Northwest Washington, DC. Annie’s Ace Hardware will provide solutions to everyday home improvement needs through an extensive selection of products in categories including paint and lawn and garden. In addition, the on- staff “helpful hardware folks” will ease the shopping experience by offering one-on-one expert advice and
assistance.

This is the first Ace store opened by owner Anne Stom. The store will span 7,000 square-feet and stock 15,000 products and have access to more than 80,000 products from the Ace warehouse. Stom, a longtime Washington, DC, resident, has lived near the Petworth neighborhood for six years. “I am very excited to be part of the ongoing commercial development of this part of the District,” she said. “Our vision for Annie’s Ace Hardware includes being a strong supporter of our community.”

The new store will be near the newly renovated Petworth branch of the D.C. Public Library as well as the Yes! Natural Food store on Georgia Avenue. Annie’s Ace Hardware will be a half-mile from the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro on the Green and Yellow lines, and near the 60, 62, 63, 70, 71, and 79 Metrobus lines. Capital Bikeshare has also recently announced plans for a Bikeshare station at Georgia Avenue and Upshur Street, scheduled for installation this fall. Stom said there will also be two Zipcar spaces available at the store and bicycle racks.

“This isn’t a suburban store,” Stom said. “That means our model needs to be different in terms of transportation options, as well as our product mix.” For example, she explained, lawn equipment will be geared toward the smaller yards of the nearby row houses. “We will also look at home renovation products that are appropriate for houses built in the early 20th century.”

Annie’s Ace Hardware will carry the Benjamin Moore paint line, Craftsman tools, and will have a lawn and garden section. “We’ll have all the basic hardware products that people expect from an Ace hardware store, but we’ll also be revising and updating our merchandise as we get feedback from customers,” Stom said. The property, the former Rainbow Auto Body Shop, is being renovated to house Annie’s Ace Hardware. “We anticipate installing shelving and stocking products starting in October, and opening in early November.”

If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking the rest of the afternoon off to weep with joy.


Photo courtesy of Annie’s Hardware


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Good Deal or Not? “UPDATES WELCOMES AND ENTERTAINS YOU” edition

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 4118 New Hampshire Ave, NW:


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The flier says:

“EXTREMELY CHARMING TOWNHOME WITHIN 3 BLKS OF METRO, RICH NATURAL WOOD TRIM, EXPOSED BRICK, FRENCH DOORS AND JUST THE RIGHT UPDATES WELCOMES AND ENTERTAINS YOU. ENCLOSED AND UPDATED PORCHES ON TWO LEVELS PLUS A CEDAR CLOSET ON THE UPPER.”

You can find more info here and photos here.

$429,000 sound right for this 3 bed/2 bath?

Good Deal or Not? “four finished levels of living” edition (reader request)

By Prince Of Petworth

This home is located at 816 Taylor St, NW:


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The flier says:

“SIMPLY STUNNING!! A MUST SEE! COMPLETELY RESTORED and CUSTOMIZED home with four finished levels of living. * * OVER 4500 SQUARE FEET * * Beautiful BRICK/GRANITE/MARBLE/WIDE PLANK HARDWOODS surround you at every turn!! OPEN LIGHT BRIGHT CONTEMPORARY FEEL!! HUGE PRIVATE PARKING AREA. .. completely fenced yard. .large front/side porch and more!”

You can find more info here and a video tour here (careful if you’re at work, it plays music.)

A lot of folks have requested this one. It was actually featured as a GDoN back in Oct. ’09. At the time it was going for $875,000 which prompted a, uh, spirited debate.

Today this 5 bed/5.5 bath is going for $847,770.

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