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The transformation of the intersection of Georgia Ave. and New Hampshire Ave. is almost complete.

On the northeast corner sits the Petworth Metro Station, opened in 1999. The well-regarded Sweet Mango Cafe is directly south (”I want to bathe in this chicken” is a direct quote from Yelp.)  Directly to the west, there are the fancy Park Place apartments, which opened this Spring.

And then just below that, there is, well, a long-empty lot—apparently the former site of a gas station, which closed up in the early 1990s, according to DCmud.

Read More “Groundbreaking for CVS in Petworth” »

100 Bryant St. N.W. in Bloomingdale, which was bid up to
$380,000 in a January Auction.

Back in January, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) held an auction for some 30 vacant homes and properties around D.C.

Sure, most were slummy—boarded up windows, austere yards, watermarked brick—but buyers recognized the few jewels, and in two cases threw down nearly $400,000.

In total, the properties could have generated up to $4.845 million if all the sales went through. Unfortunately, some didn’t.

Read More “DHCD Lists Four Vacant Properties for Sale” »

I’m trying to be fair and balanced here. I’m really, really trying.

So after weeks of posting about homeless shelter closures and Petworth and Columbia Heights residents rejecting a planned shelter in their neighborhood, I typed up a post entitled “A (Tiny) Bit of Good News for D.C.’s Homeless.”

It was about roughly 15 homeless people moving into new, publicly-funded apartments this month.

Read More “City Chops $20 Million from Homeless Services Budget” »

This story will run in this week’s print edition of the Washington City Paper.

Update: Central Union Mission Still Pursuing the Gales School.

In September, representatives with the Central Union Mission went before community members from Petworth and Columbia Heights to explain plans for a big project on Georgia Avenue NW. The mission wants to launch a development with office space plus 37 units of affordable housing for people making between 50 and 80 percent of the area median income.

“Affordable housing” + community groups = jitters.

A rash of questions emerged about just what Central Union Mission had in mind. “The initial concern was that it was going to be low-income housing, basically,” says Columbia Heights ANC Commissioner Lisa Kralovic about one recent meeting. And that initial concern has some roots in local history.

Read More “Central Union Mission and Georgia Ave.’s Nimby Politics” »

I guess there aren’t enough development stories to go around in this town! As I was reporting on the Central Union Mission’s latest attempt to relocate its homeless shelter, DCmud was working on its own piece.

To summarize: After Petworth/Columbia Heights residents balked at a plan to open a 150-175 bed shelter in their neighborhood, the Mission re-focused its attention on moving into the vacant Gales School, located near Capitol Hill. Then came a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union–I’ll let DCmud  explain:

Originally, the plan was for a land swap in which the city would gain the Georgia Avenue property and the Mission would get use of the school as a shelter. But the exchange was derailed by an America Civil Liberties Union law suit claiming an Establishment Clause violation – i.e. separation of church and state – because the property swap would result in a net gain of $12 million for the Mission, which requires homeless men to participate in religious services in return for room, board and counseling services…

Well the latest, ahem, development with the Gales School is that the Mission is still pursuing it–and negotiating a different deal with the city, according to executive director David Treadwell.

Read More “Central Union Mission Still Pursuing the Gales School” »

Lately, I’ve been thinking about Buyer’s Market, an old feature I wrote for Washington City Paper from February 2008 into the early fall. The purpose of the feature was to identify colossal price drops for various listed homes. At first, it was easy to find examples—there were frequently price drops above 20 percent. Ridiculous expectations abounded. Denial was still alive and well.

Then, reality set in. It became increasingly difficult to locate prime examples of agents pricing their properties 100,000s ahead of the market. Plus, I got bored.

So we killed Buyer’s Market. R.I.P. Read More “Buyer’s Market Returns, Petworth Rowhouse Edition” »

Today was the official ribbon-cutting for The Residences at Georgia Avenue, a 72-unit affordable housing building in Petworth. It’s a pretty sweet looking building for below-market-rate units. Here are some of the building’s features, according to its leasing website:

• Full kitchens with Dishwasher and Maple
  cabinets
• Individually Controlled Central Heating
  and Air Conditioning
• Energy efficient windows and appliances
• Laundry Facilities on each floor; Read More “How to Build a 72-Unit Affordable Building That Looks Like This…” »

The official opening—the usual deal with the mayor, the local councilmember (Bowser in this case), and some ribbon begging for a slice—for the Residences at Georgia Avenue will be held tomorrow. This building, located roughly four blocks north of the Petworth Metro station, has 72 units of affordable housing. Read More “Residences at Georgia Avenue Opening Tomorrow” »

That’s what Prince of Petworth says.

“Currently, there are discussions about renaming the area on 14th Street from Monroe north to Shepherd. The name will be – Tivoli North. Or Tivoli North Corridor. Personally, I think it’s a great name. I know that Columbia Heights technically goes as far north as Spring St. Road but I believe the area from Monroe Street on north has it’s own distinct flavor.”

Read More “Northern Columbia Heights to Possibly Become “Tivoli North”?” »

Few developers are interested in the project, the Washington Business Journal suggests:

D.C. Deputy Mayor Neil Albert is modifying his search for developers interested in redeveloping the Park Morton public housing project off of Georgia Avenue, a sign that the city is having difficulty attracting interest in the project during the economic recession.

“Given the state of the market, we are doing everything we can to be flexible in the process and put together a solicitation that we think can generate a number of high-quality bids,” said Sean Madigan, spokesman for the deputy mayor’s offce. Read More “Who Wants to Rebuild Park Morton?” »