A miniseries in which we examine the Mystery of the Vacant Condo.

The property: 738 Longfellow St. NW #108

The price: One-bedroom condos from $179,000; two-bedroom condos from $199,000

The leasing agent: Eugene Gallagher, Gallagher & Co. Real Estate Inc.

Listed since: February 6, 2008

The story: Of the 66 units listed since February of 2008, 12 remain vacant. “We were moving these very nicely and rapidly until the climate of the finance market changed,” Gallagher observes, noting as well that a stricter screening process for potential buyers and the fluctuating availability of HPAP money have proved impediments.

Second Opinion: City Lights editor Mike Riggs, who lives a block from the property, expresses reservations about the neighborhood. “I’m not surprised they can’t sell it,” Riggs says. “MPD had an enormous, generator-powered spotlight right at the corner of 7th and Longfellow. Who wants to pay to go through a police checkpoint every three months?”

Read More “Plight of the Condo: 738 Longfellow Street NW” »

Landlord Carlton Joseph came to court this morning in the hopes of redeeming some back rent from a tenant who wouldn’t pay up. He ended up renting out another piece of property: his cell phone.

Joseph has been trying to secure the rent from Karina Okoro, who occupies a one-bedroom unit in Joseph’s 23-unit Petworth apartment building, since November of last year. At one point, marshals arrived at the complex ready to evict Okoro, who asked for an hour to get Joseph his money. When he came to collect, she was gone.

Read More “Landlord Tenant Court: Judge Asks Landlord To Borrow Cell Phone” »

As someone who writes on the Internet all day for a living, you’d think I’d just suck it up and spring for the wireless. Hell, you’d think my employer would suck it up and spring for the wireless. But you would be underestimating my laziness, cheapness, and hubris—not to mention the whole bankruptcy thing.

I used to be like you. I had my own ten-character password consisting of numbers, letters, and symbols. I could stream entire episodes of Lost without interruption. I paid for the Internet. But a few months ago, one of my house-mates moved out and, in a bizarre act of vindication—long story—took our shared wireless router with her. My housemates and I are still “thinking about getting wireless.” In the meantime, I’ve been living on the edge, searching for rogue, unprotected wireless connections that lurk just within my windows.

Join me.

Read More “Adventures in Wireless Internet Poaching” »

(1) What’s the Skinny?

(2)14th and T: Room & Board Deal Falls Apart

(3)U Got Sales?

(4)Best of D.C.: Accepting Nominations for ‘Best New Condo Building’

(5)Best of D.C.: Accepting Nominations for ‘Best Building Amenities’

(6)Lots of Price Drops in Shaw, Not So Many in Cleveland Park

(7)Where Should Rahm Emanuel Live?

(8)Your Spite House Roundup

From the Washington Business Journal:

Vornado Realty Trust, the biggest owner of office properties in D.C. and New York, lost more than $200 million last quarter as it wrote down the value of some assets. Read More “Vornado Posts $217 Million Loss” »

While reporting this week’s column about Clarendon’s “Skinny House,” one of City Paper’s resident Northern Virginians informed me about “Spite Houses,” tiny slab-like houses wedged in between other properties and supposedly built out of spite.

A few people have referred to the Skinny House as a modern day version of this tradition. I don’t think that’s quite the case. You could call the property a “Tough Luck Nimbys” House. But talking with builder Clarke Simpson, I never got the sense that he was erecting his home as a pure “screw-you” to the neighbors. Rather, he just wanted to make a buck off the land, as he always intended to do.

Nevertheless, perhaps the house will fit into local lore about other area Spite Houses. Here are some from the region and beyond.

View Larger Map

This Alexandria Spite House is situated close to the intersection of Queen Street and N. Asaph Street. “It’s called the Spite House by some because John Hollensbury, the owner of one of the adjacent houses, built it in 1830 to keep horse-drawn wagons and loiterers out of his alley,” according to a February 2008 New York Times article. The house is 7 feet wide, about 25 feet deep and 325 square feet in two stories, the same piece states.
Read More “Your Spite House Roundup” »

U Street’s Moderno is certainly new—But is it the best?

As I wrote earlier, our “Best of D.C.” issue is coming soon. On that note, let’s talk “Best New Condo Building.” We had a similar category—“Best-Designed Residential Development,” won by City Vista—last year in our Reader’s Poll. But nothing written by one of our writers. And nothing quite like what I’m proposing.

Read More “Best of D.C.: Accepting Nominations for ‘Best New Condo Building’” »

A few months ago, I blogged about Royal Blue, a new restaurant supposedly coming to Columbia Heights, occupying one of several long-boarded up, brand new storefronts in the neighborhood.

At that time, I had good news to report: â€�I guess they had some issues with their build out,” John Groth, Marketing Director for Donatelli Development, told me. But he had reassuring words: “I’ve been in there recently and talked to the construction guys and they’re very, very far along…I would be shocked if it wasn’t ready in terms of the build-out to be opened in the next couple of months.â€�

Well, things have taken a turn for the worst. Royal Blue is no longer—not that it ever was really. Read More “Columbia Heights’ “Royal Blue” Restaurant Not Happening After All” »

So if the “Best of D.C.” advertisement in the corner hasn’t caught your eye. Or you didn’t spot the “Best of D.C.” ballot party invite covering the entire back page of newspaper. Well, then allow me to tell you: Our 2009 Best of D.C. issue is coming out soon—March 27 to be exact.

Unfortunately, our first round of deadlines is also just around the corner. I’m writing up some real estate/development-related categories for the newspaper. First one up: Best Building Amenities or “Why You Should Live in a Behemoth of a Building, Instead of a Nice Little Boutique Place” (because the best amenities usually are in the larger properties).

I got some suggestions (written below) already from a sales agent in D.C., but I’m still collecting nominations.

Read More “Best of D.C.: Accepting Nominations for ‘Best Building Amenities’” »

This week’s “Skinny House” story has prompted some interesting comments on Housing Complex. But perhaps the most memorable line about the home and the builder landed on the Lyon Park listserv:

“My impression is that the house on Barton is the exact shape of Mickey Simpson’s middle finger.”

(1) What’s the Skinny?

(2) Donald Trump Buys 800-acre Golf Club in Sterling

(3) None Dare Call It Development

(4) U Got Sales?

(5) McMILLAN THEORY NO. 2: Developers Have “Plants� in the Audience.

(6) Vacant Property Auction Buyers Revealed!

(7) Vincent Abell Wants to Buy City-Owned Vacant Property

(8) New 800-Acre Virginia Golf Course Aside, Trump’s Got Problems

Image by Darrow Montgomery