Last summer, my predecessor Ruth Samuelson reported on the fall of an elite Georgetown ad agency and its "flamboyant" owner, Jack Shoptaw. Hammer Communications fell on hard times like a lot of businesses tied to the real estate industry–the agency repped builders like Toll Brothers and Brookfield Homes–but threw boozy parties right up until starting [...]

First, there was a rumor. Then, there was a website.
And since you can always count on some former Hammerite to repeat the news as soon as it starts swirling around, it's time to start talking about SN Residential, Jack Shoptaw's latest project. "SN Residential will be opening their door on January 1, 2010. For any [...]

Some stories are published long before the drama ends. When I wrapped up my piece on Hammer Communications last June, I knew it would be one of those tales. All I could offer was one long chapter of this epic narrative—thankfully, this section provided plenty of twists: Happy "hours" all night along at Georgetown's Papa [...]

After 110 comments and too many correspondences from reformed, newly-sainted commenters (read: people fearful of damaging their own reputations) pleading to remove certain things they'd written from our public thread, we finally  shut down comments on the Hammer Communications story. 
That was a few weeks ago. Since the story came out, I've heard little rumors about Jack [...]

If you were selling McMansions in the heat of the ’00s bubble, you probably came across Hammer Communications, a Georgetown real-estate advertising firm. The company had squadrons of creative talent who specialized in designing brochures and advertisements to make sure your overvalued properties fetched every last dollar. Hammer’s people would get good placements in the [...]