U Street

Dear PoP – Union Row Retail Filled

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Union Row (2125 14th St, NW) seems to have its retail completely leased up now; the Sales Office has transferred to a new store that sells sliding doors. Oooo! And there’s a serious build-out going on in the last retail bay on V Street (next to Eatonville); the permits say build-out of an office, so not sure what to expect. But they’re adding a second floor (like the 2nd floor bar at Eatonville) so it’ll be interesting to see what goes in.”

Anyone know who is going in next to Eatonville?

Thurs. Afternoon Rental Option – Shaw/U St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

This rental is located at Vermont Avenue NW at T St, NW:


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The Craigslist ad says:

“1 Bedroom English Basement Apartment in a corner rowhouse with great light, lots of windows in every room. 1 block from the U Street Metro and near all the U Street and 14th Street shops, restaurants and clubs.

It has access to a patio, a full kitchen and a washer/dryer. All utilities included. Sorry, no pets.”

Normally I’m not a fan of basement apartments but this one actually does look like it gets good light. Does $1500 for this location sound reasonable?

Good Deal or Not? Weekly Wed. House Porn edition (Reader Request)

By Prince Of Petworth

This house is located at 1721 Swann St, NW:


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The flier says:

“Gorgeous 3BR/3.5BA w/ LL studio on beautiful and sought after Swann Street. Features include, gourmet kitchen with limestone floors, massive dining room, huge living room with tons of light, European inspired MBA with Jacuzzi tub, extraordinary floor-to-ceiling windows, multiple skylights, fire place, hwd floors, Bosch W/ D, covered porch & a terrace, and garage parking. Location=10!”

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

The reader writes:

“I walk by it every day, and it’s my favorite house on the best block of Swann St NW b/w New Hampshire and 18th. They have the most beautiful garden and landscaping, and it looks pretty good from the virtual tour too. Hopefully the new owners will keep the great plants!”

Wow, good choice! How do you guys think this one ranks among other house porn? This 3 bed/3.5 bath is yours for $1,499,999.

Dear PoP – What Happened at 18th and Willard St, NW Last Night?

By Prince Of Petworth


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“Dear PoP,

Last night around 11:30 I noticed significant police activity in my alley. At least three cop cars, several bike cops, a helicopter with a spotlight flashing around the alley, and a foot chase along the roofs across the alley, and the largest gun I’ve ever seen in person (held at the time by a police officer on the roof)! From my window I heard something said about a neighbor calling the police after seeing a burglar on one of the roofs. It seems bizarre that so much force would come out so quickly for just a burglary. Any idea if this was a bigger event, or if the Dupont-ish location brought more police attention than say a Trinidad address? The activity seemed to be along the north side of Willard Street between 17th and 18th.”

MPD writes:

“-On Monday, September 20, 2010, at 11:30 p.m. an Unlawful Entry offense occurred in the 1700 block of Willard St., N.W. (PSA 208) and was subsequently reported to the MPD.

A subject was observed climbing the fire escape in the rear of a structure in the listed area. MPD members responded to the complaint of a person on the fire escape who was also peering into the windows of various apartments. Once on the scene the suspect was located hiding under the rooftop deck. The suspect was arrested. This is a closed case.”

I wonder if it was from one of my favorite fire escapes. I’m not sure about the response but I’m certainly glad they caught the suspect.

Dear PoP – What is Going on with Building at 14th north of W St, NW?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Did you ever find out what was going in at the empty building on 14th and W?”

Well I don’t have a lot of info but I can finally say it is going to become a restaurant. You can see from the photo above that this is a complete gut job. On one of the renovation permits you can see that the proposed use for 2208 14th St, NW, between Midtown Youth Academy and Dynasty Ethiopian Restaurant, is a Restaurant.

AM PM Carry Out Becoming Tex-Mex Restaurant at 14th and V St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

Back in July a reader wrote in speculating that something was going on at the AM PM Carryout at the corner of 14th and V St, NW. He was right. It is going to become, La Fonda, a Tex-Mex restaurant. The liquor license application says:

“New Mexican restaurant offering “Tex-Mex” styled cuisine with live entertainment featuring a single musician and karaoke. Seating capacity is 220. Total occupancy load is 332. Sidewalk Café with seating for 48.”

Do you guys think a sidewalk cafe will work well at this location?

For fans of Tex-Mex, what’s your favorite dish?

GDoN Revisited by Hipchickindc – 1306 W St NW

By Prince Of Petworth



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: 1306 W St NW
Original List Price: $729,999
List Price at Contract: $699,000.
List Date: 06/10/2010
Days on Market: 50

Settled Sales Price: $660,000.

Settlement Date: 09/07/2010
Seller Subsidy: $3750.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN is: here.

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

Whereas the Good Deal or Not (GDoN) commenters on the GDoN-Revisited property featured last week underestimated, this week’s subject property saw quite a bit of exuberance. At $729,999., it was remarked, “It will sell at this price for sure.”

True, it is a three level property in a location close to Metro, an organic market, and U Street. I think the challenge for this property was likely the lot size of less than 1000 square feet, which makes for a rather vertical floor plan. There is also no parking and no basement level.

Since 1999 the house has changed hands a total of four times. Although a relatively short period of time, like so many other properties we’ve looked at here, there’s been significant change to the neighborhood through those years. Back in 1999, pre-Whole Foods, pre-Harrison Square, pre-The Lincoln, and pre-all the other new condos around the corner, this property sold for $213,000. with a $6300. subsidy toward closing costs. Two years later it fetched $385,000. In 2004, it went for $585,000. I can’t actually tell if the bulk of the renovations happened between these two sales, but the exterior did get painted.

Dear PoP – Progress at American Ice Company

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I know I told you a while back about the progress made at the American Ice Company (on V St across from the middle school). Well, last time you featured it, it was a ramshackle warehouse with some crummy brick work on the ground in front. They have finished the patio – I am guessing they will paint or do some sort of mural on the wall. They also put up new gutter, redid the brick work on the front of the building and painted. As for the inside, you can peek in the windows on the side and see that the bar is about 80% finished, the duct work on the ceiling is done, the floor (assuming they are going with exposed finished concrete) are finished. All in all, it is looking good and moving along very fast compared to others in the neighborhood.”

We first learned of the American Ice Company, located at 917 V St, NW back in May ’10. I’m curious what you guys think of the new brick wall?

Here’s what it used to look like:

Back in May the liquor license application said,

“Small neighborhood gathering place with entertainment to include dancing, DJ’s and occasional
3-piece combo band. Total occupancy load is 143 with 44 seats included for Summer Garden.”

At the time a commenter who associated himself with the project wrote:

“I am one of the people putting this place together. First off, it is not going to be a dance place. As a matter of fact, we probably won’t even have DJ’s. When you apply for a license with ABRA it is necessary to ask for these endorsements even if you have no intention of using them.

It is going to be a very low key neighborhood bar and taqueria. The Summer garden, that will only have ambient music until 11:00 PM at the latest, is on the side opposite of the Rhapsody and noise should not impact the residents. in any case, we have reached out to residents of your building and are in the process of setting up a meeting to discuss our plans with them and hope you will attend.”

Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Thurs. Afternoon Rental Option – U Street, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

This rental is located at 13th and T Street, NW:


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The Craigslist ad says:

“Light-filled 2-story townhouse just one block from the U Street Metro Station 2 BR, 1 1/2 BA

First floor features:
Living room with fireplace, built-in cabinets and bookcases, large bowl-shade light fixture
Spacious dining room with original pocket doors, china cabinet and rustic chandelier
Sunny gourmet kitchen with ceramic cooktop range, large refrigerator and limestone countertops
Powder room
Rear deck overlooking private gardens
11′ ceilings and restored original heart pine floors throughout

Second floor features:
Front bedroom with bay and windows; heart pine floors; wide reach-in closet and second closet
Rear bedroom with garden view, wall-to-wall carpet; wide reach-in closet
Laundry center with full-sized washer and dryer, storage space
Full bath with large medicine cabinet and window”

It ain’t cheap but I’m a huge fan of the location. Think this 2 bed/1.5 bath can go for $3300?

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