In the begining of May we learned that the old Seafood & Crab space located at 1936 14th Street, NW (just south of U St.) was becoming a Chidogo’s and many folks were psyched. So I thought I’d quickly update that a coming soon sign has gone up announcing an opening this summer.

In other U Street news, I noticed that the recently closed Polly’s, 1342 U Street, NW, looks like it has had some movement with a bit of painting. More details on this space as they become available.

Here’s what the fence used to look like:


I did a double take when I saw this sign. While it’s not too far from the 9:30 club it’s def. a bit off the beaten track. Though with Darnell’s (formerly Mocha Lounge) at nearby 944 Florida Ave, NW this spot could be picking up a bit. The alcohol application says:

“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.”

It kinda feels like it’s in a bit of an industrial area so it seems like a good spot for a small “neighborhood gathering place”. And I gotta admit, I love Summer Gardens… Stay tuned for more details as they develop.


“Dear PoP,

I saw this sign posted on the long-empty building on the northwest corner of 12th and S. I just realized you can’t read the small type on the sign, but basically the hearing will be about changing this from a grocery store to a deli/prepared food shop. Could be good news for south of U St.!”

Nice, this could be great news! I promise to update as more info becomes available.


Someone just mentioned to me how difficult it is to find card shops today. While this is mostly invitations and stationary I hadn’t realized The Written Word moved to 1926 17th St, NW.  Previously Written Word was located in Dupont Circle then in Logan Circle at 1427 P St NW but that location closed May 1st.  I’m glad to see they’ve found a new location.

So besides The Written Word, where are other good card shops around town (especially for birthdays and events like that)?


This rental is located at 2420 16th St NW:


View Larger Map

The Craigslist ad says:

“This beautiful efficiency apartment features:

– 525 Sq Ft of living space
– Parquet floors
– Enormous walk-in closet
– Dining/ office area off of kitchen
– Ceiling fan
– FREE utilities (gas, water, & electric)
– 24 hr Access to our fitness center”

I’ve been curious about apartments in this building. Does $1295 sound reasonable for this 525 Sq Ft Efficiency?


Thanks to a reader for sending this link from Alex Cooper Real Estate announcing:

“Two-story commercial building with approximately 12,070 square feet of gross building area. Land area is approximately 6,232 square feet and is zoned CR within the Arts District Overlay which allows mixed use development.”

The reader writes:

“The building that houses Station 9 – or used to, don’t know if its still open – is going to Auction on June 3rd.”

This is located at 1438 U Street, NW just east of 15th St, near the gas station. I’ve never actually been inside but from the outside it looks like an amazing building. I think a Tryst type diner would do great here. What do you think would work best here?

Keep in mind that those bidding in the auction will need at least $280,000 just for the deposit… With the deposit that high any guesses as to what price this will probably go for?


“Dear PoP,

There was a fire in a building on t street (around 1:30pm) that seemed pretty bad–there were about four firetrucks on the street and smoke could be seen coming from a first floor window. I overheard someone say the fire was out, so I hope everything is okay! Pretty scary, though, we had firemen running through our back alley with axes.”


Above is the new 4 Unit condo building coming to 10th Street, NW just north of V St. It took shape really quickly. So far would you say thumbs up or down?

And I think this pop up on 4th St, NW near Richardson is looking much better than I originally anticipated. At this point do you think it fits in on the block ok?


In real life, hipchickindc is actually the not-so-hip Suzanne Des Marais, an associate broker with Urban Pace. Voted one of the best real estate agents in DC by the Washington City Paper Readers’ Choice Poll in 2009, Suzanne is currently Chair of the DC Public Policy Committee for the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® and is President Elect of the Washington, DC Association of REALTORS®. 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: 1235 W St NW

Original List Price: $974,900.

List Price at Contract: $949,000.

List Date: 10/05/2009

Days on Market: 68

Settled Sales Price: $920,000.

Settlement Date: 05/17/2010

Seller Subsidy: $2500.

Bank Owned?: No

Type Of Financing: Conventional

Original GDoN is: here.

Listings for both the shell (a year ago) and recent sale are: here. Pics can be seen once you open the link to the listing (click on the main pic to scroll).

The DC Spring real estate market was a frenzy encouraged along by historically low mortgage interest rates and buyers eligible for the Federal Home Buyer Tax Credit. While the tax credit played an important role in motivating first time homebuyers, what about higher priced homes? As we saw from last week’s Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R), houses in price ranges not likely to be affected by the tax credit are moving along quite nicely. Today’s GDoN-R is another example of a property in an expensive price range.

This property is a complete renovation of what was, until quite recently, a dilapidated run down shell of a building. It was purchased with cash for $395,000. in May 2009 by a member of the Koutromanos family, who has been renovating DC real estate for many years. The comments in the recent listing indicate that the house was stripped down to the brick walls and is otherwise completely new construction.


View More Stories