Way back in 1865, the Surratt house at 604 H Street, NW, was a boarding house run by Mary Surratt and was where John Wilkes Booth was alleged to have met with co-conspirators to plan President Lincoln’s assassination. Now it’s a pretty good Chinese restaurant. We think they should put back on the shutters, it would add back some lost charm! What do you think?
[Right Photo: JNG003]
We just got word that in order to provide funding for phase II of the Capitol Quarters project, the DC Housing Authority is applying for $9.5M in HUD stimulus money to get the ball rolling. Considering that the credit markets aren’t exactly an open source right now, this should serve as a nice funding bridge.
The funding will help with both the public infrastructure work necessary to begin as well as the private work to start the 163 unit mixed income development (47 are public housing rentals). Sounds like the stimulus money is working.
[Photo: EYA]
The DC Office of Planning and Economic Development recently released for public comment an economic development plan (PDF) for the Rhode Island Avenue NE Great Streets Corridor. The document which is being called “Rhode Island Avenue: Diamond of the District” outlines recommendations which are expected to guide an estimated $1.2 billion in private and public investment through the year 2025.
Is “Diamond of the District” a new nickname that we missed? Anyways, pictured above is one of the main areas the document covers which is 3rd Street NE to 12th Street NE. The public meeting on the plan isn’t until September, so there is still plenty of time to get your comments in.
We got a chance to checkout the new 90 unit Metropole development at the corner of 15th and P street NW and have to say that the modern, high ceiling, glass and brick building has certainly got a lot going for it including great views, and an in-house gym and spa, not to mention its great looking architecture (which even lived up to its rendering).
It’s so fun to check out new buildings because they always have such good interior design ideas. At Metropole all the interior space is designed by the award-winning Cecconi Simone. As for the units, the Metropole offers 1 and 2 bedroom homes, many with dens and 2 floors, in sizes ranging from 630 to 2,400 sq-ft.
Check out our photo tour after the jump, including some great looking units, the courtyard, and first class bicycle parking…
Georgetown - On the agenda for this months ANC meeting… a liquor license, Restorante Piccolo (pictured right), and the Kingdom of Sweden is expanding. [The Metropolitan]
Columbia Heights - DC council member extraordinare Jim Graham is on Twitter! Can we expect bowtie updates? [The Heights Life]
Bethesda - Donohoe’s 457-unit project in Woodmont Triangle is approved only days before the moratorium on residential development starts. [WBJ]
Congratulations are in order for Liz whose comment was randomly chosen by Random.org, but whose comment is certainly worth repeating again.
Liz’s must have design item is “The large black & white photos of my family framed in white teak wood hanging in a collage in the living room. The most important design items make a statement about who you are, and what says who you are better than priceless family photos.” Very nice!
Special thanks to Allmodern.com for providing the prize choices (pictured)!
As of 10:30am today the Eastern Market’s historic 138 year old building is back open for business. Shuttered over two years ago by a tragic fire, the renovation is complete, the vendors are back, and we couldn’t be happier! There are all sorts of events this weekend to celebrate, including an all day street party tomorrow. So come on down to welcome back a DC institution to its home.
[Photo: Regina Romano Reynolds]
You know those games in magazines where you have to compare two pictures and see if you find the differences? Well playing that game with the Velocity Condo building in Near Southeast wouldn’t be that fun, unlike some other projects there really aren’t any differences. There’s nothing that special, but talk about delivering to the design.
A bi-weekly take on the area from our friends at UrbanTurf.com
The Best Open Houses in the DC Area this Weekend
This week we have a special open house feature where both properties have experienced a price reduction. The homes include a two-bedroom condo on Swann Street in Dupont Circle and a three-bedroom Victorian row house in Columbia Heights.
A couple different market statistics were released today giving us a slightly clearer picture of how the market has been fairing over the last few months. Washington-area home prices rose by 3.4 percent (PDF) according to research firm Radar Logic, and the AIA’s Architecture billings index managed to hold steady for April and May. It’s hard to draw definitive conclusions, but every month things seem to be getting better.
[Photo: Sushicircus]
Don’t forget about our All Modern giveaway contest. All you have to do is share with us what you think is your must have interior design item. You have until tomorow to enter here.
Walking down Florida Ave passed the new View 14 development in NW we noticed how along 14th street there is a nice covered walkway, but there is no such luck for the pedestrians along Florida Ave. It’s been over a year since sidewalk closings were disallowed by the city, any guesses to how long before the entire city comes into compliance?
[Photo: Sean Robertson]
Have you seen the City Vista Banner touting the interior courtyard? So much press and buzz has centered around the new Safeway and the rooftop pool, that we forget that there is actually an entire one-acre park in the middle of the whole development. Clearly it’s a nice amenity considering the surroundings, and certainly something that sets it apart from the other high end residential developments in the city.
On a related note, we have to say that the City Vista’s use of banners is going a little overboard, we count seven on just this one side of the building. In a city where billboards aren’t even allowed, seven may be at least one to many.
[Photo: Sean Robertson]
We checked in on the progress of the new Waterfront Station project in SW and it looks like a lot has been going on since they topped out in May. As you can see the full exterior is up along with most of the windows. Something that we didn’t notice in the original Shalom Baranes renderings, but that we think is looking pretty good, is the cantilevered overhang on the West side of the closest building. Nice right?
[Photo: Lolabunee]
A bi-weekly take on the area from our friends at UrbanTurf.com
The Best New Listings in the DC Area
This week’s best new listings include a two-bedroom loft-style condo in Adams Morgan, a two-bedroom row house in the U Street Corridor and a three-bedroom colonial with old-fashioned charm in Arlington.
