Bob Novak Lived Here

Ruth Samuelson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:00:49 +0000

Bob Novak passed away today. The columnist spent most of his life in Washington DC, and picked a home that showed his complete and total embrace of this city.

Back in January, I wrote a story about the Residences at Market Square, where Novak owned a condo. It was, in my estimation, the best piece of real estate in the world on January 20, 2009, the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, because of its prime Pennsylvania Avenue location.

Maybe Novak didn't care too much about that. But he must have loved residing blocks from the White House, and within view of the Capitol Building. Across the street sits the Federal Bureau of Investigation building, and in the other direction, the Department of Justice and the National Archives and Records.

His neighbors included Geraldine Ferraro, the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and former senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson.

Novak died this morning of brain cancer. He was 78. While writing the story in January, I tried to contact him, figuring maybe he'd have some fond memories of late night debates with Moynihan—or something of that nature.

I left a message on his work phone and got a response back from an assistant or co-worker saying he was unavailable for interview.

Image by Darrow Montgomery

Off the Market: The Residences at Market Square East, #PH157

Ruth Samuelson — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:48:58 +0000

What sold in the District this past week…

701 Pennsylvania Ave, #PH157 (Penn Quarter)
Two bedrooms; Two bathrooms; 1,035 square feet

List Date: Nov. 7, 2008
Original Listing Price: $799,000
Close Date: April 30, 2009
Final Price: $730,000

Analysis: This building—Market Square East on Pennsylvania Ave.—has been featured prominently on Housing Complex in the past, and I'm not in the mood to reverse the trend today. The property is remarkable for a few reasons: Numerous DC notables have rested their heads here: Esteemed New York senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Former VP candidate Geraldine Ferraro, columnist Bob Novak. It's one of few condominium buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue, which provided prime inauguration parade views. With these thoughts in mind, I wanted to see how this particular property had appreciated since its last sale. The previous owner bought #PH157 in May 2004 for $610,000. He hoped to get roughly $200,000 more for it some four-plus years later. In the end, he profited $120,000 on the place. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Housing Complex » Bob Novak

Bob Novak Lived Here

Off the Market: The Residences at Market Square East, #PH157