Remember those breathtaking views from the Kenyon Square Condominiums? We’ve immortalized them in a special video. Check it out:

Best: Kenyon Square
1390 Kenyon St. NW
Second-Best: The Residences at Market Square (pictured)
701 and 801 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Here’s a bit of real estate lingo special to D.C.: “Monument view.” Tour a condo in this city, and the term comes up as often as “recessed lighting” and “half-bath.” But if your eye’s always scanning south toward the Mall, then you might as well be a tourist. Read More “Second Best Rooftop View:The Residences at Market Square” »

This category comes from a place of pure home lust.  Washington D.C. is a town of great views. From all over the city, you can spot the monuments, the Capitol, and other images that make this city so iconic and photogenic.

Frankly, sometimes, it really sucks to live in a townhouse with no rooftop access. The closest thing I have to fresh air and urban vistas is a back patio that faces an alley. There are some occasionally interesting (and not altogether unfamiliar) local sites: High schoolers smoking weed before school, shattered windshields, cars idling with their music blasting.

They leave something to be desired.

Read More “Best of D.C.: Accepting Nominations for “Best Rooftop Views”” »

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’” »

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’” »