Bisnow did its best to draw out Douglas Jemal yesterday at its retail summit, and the glib megadeveloper didn't say much beyond soundbites (so charming: "I like old buildings and young girls," he quipped at one point). But towards the end, he gave some insight into how he sees his turf (which it appears he rarely [...]
On a fairly regular basis, the nichey news-and-events outfit Bisnow pulls together panels of (usually all white and male) power plavers to lure professionals in various fields with the promise of nosh and networking. I occasionally attend on the off chance that someone might say something interesting. Today, Bisnow hosted a Growth Expo at the [...]
It's been in the works for years, and now the Anacostia Business Improvement District—a formal structure that will levy taxes on property owners to make the neighborhood more attractive—is just waiting on its final approval from the city to get started.
The effort got rolling in earnest in 2008, when Councilmember Marion Barry introduced legislation that [...]
The Equitable Building, at 915 F Street NW, has had a troubled history as of late. Its last use, the Platinum nightclub, closed in 2009 after a shooting (and after its owner was convicted of tax evasion). The next buyers wanted to turn into a classier kind of enterprise, but never got it off the [...]
The giant Hecht's Warehouse on New York Avenue NE was one of the more notable failures of the real estate boom and bust: Patriot Equities bought the site for $77.5 million in 2007, dreaming of new mixed-use life for the old art deco building. But the firm couldn't keep up with interest payments on a [...]
Downtown property mogul Douglas Development Corporation isn't just slow on paying their taxes to the District. They're also in hock to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, which is suing the company for a rent abatement that they said they'd pay last year.
According to a complaint filed on May 25 in District Superior Court, after a dispute [...]
Toward the end of last year, the Chevy Chase development firm JBG—a real-estate titan, at least by D.C. standards—quietly bought up nearly all of the remaining empty land in the U Street corridor. It was a smart move.
One of JBG’s new chunks of real estate, the derelict and fenced-off Atlantic Plumbing lots around the 9:30 [...]
Downtown real estate mogul Douglas Jemal, newly filtered by P.R. firm 360jmg, listed his top five favorite District hangouts for Cultural Tourism DC. The main criteria? Either be within a five-block radius of his house, or be owned by him, or both. In Jemal's own words:
1. 702 H Street, NW: My office and home where [...]
Get ready, D.C. journo-landscape: the new, improved National Journal launches tomorrow. But it's not just some wonky newswire. No, media impresario David Bradley is swapping paywalls for actual walls, and will engage the customer on the street! From a memo sent around last week, the storefronts at 624 E Street NW is "designed to serve [...]
We haven't been terribly nice to Douglas Jemal on this blog. He's built some lovely buildings downtown–the Downtown BID is even giving him an award for them–and could do worse with his choice of tenants. But revelations about the amount of money he owes on his 150 properties around town, many of which are either [...]
