May 2011

Located on Embassy Row in Kalorama, 2540 Massachusetts Avenue is luxury pre-war co-op that is featured in James Goode's Best Addresses, A Century of Washington's Distinguished Apartment Houses.  The building features a distinctive circular glass and iron marquee positioned over a limestone framed front entrance.  It is great to see distinctive marquee's making a comeback in the District with several recent developments including Solo Piazza, Residences at Gallery Place and Fennessy Lofts featuring them over their entrances.

2540 Massachusetts was designed by Harry L. Jones and features Georgian Revival architecture consistent with other buildings in the neighborhood.  The building was developed by Monroe Warren and was originally called Army Navy due to

A recent article in Realtor Magazine about the real estate preferences for Generation Y buyers detailed this demographic groupings wants and desires.   This sector, who were born in the late 1970s through the early 2000s, has a strong preference for an urban living experience.  Walkability is a key desire for this group as is living in the now rather than taking a long-term view of its housing needs.

DC's Logan and Dupont neighborhoods are tailor-made for Generation Y buyers.  With WalkScores in the mid and high nineties, walkability rules the day in this part of DC.  Life without a car is a reality for many of the residents in these two neighborhoods. Many residents are able to walk to work Downtown from their Logan or Dupont home and commute via

5th Avenue in New York.....North Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.....Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas and Louisburg Square in Boston are widely recognized as the most expensive streets for residential real estate in these cities.  This begs the question of what is DC's most expensive street?

In a quick informal poll, Tracy Place in Kalorama was the popular answer, although not a clear-cut winner like some of the other cities.  Wikipedia anoints Woodland Drive as DC's most expensive street, but lacks a citation backing up this proclamation.  Woodland Drive was also recognized as DC's most expensive street by Forbes Magazine in a 2007 story about the nation's most expensive blocks.

In reviewing MLS data of sold listings over the last two years, three

Dumbarton Street in Georgetown's East Village runs a mere 5 blocks from Wisconsin Avenue to Rock Creek Park.  It is a one-way street that has an east-west orientation between N and O Streets. The street is lined with older brick row houses which have been meticulously restored to their 19th century grandeur.  Mature trees and brick sidewalks enhance the beauty of Dumbarton Street.

Dumbarton Street was in the news this week as it is home to troubled IMF head Dominique Straus-Kahn.  Other notable Dumbarton Street  residents have included Henry and Nancy Kissenger, Cyrus Vance, Harold Ickes, Ben Bradlee, Kitty Kelly, and Don Ritter.  Dumbarton Street is also home to the United Methodist Church, the First Baptist Church of Georgetown, the Epiphany

Georgetown and the West End have top sales

The most expensive condo to sell in the District during April 2011 was in Georgetown at the Residences at Harbourside, located at 2900 K Street NW #606, Washington, DC.  This 3 BR / 4.5 BA, 4,337 SF condo also includes three parking spaces.  The selling price was $3.325M / $767 SF which was 94% of asking price.

Congratulations to Sandy Haffler of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for closing the most expensive condo sale in the District in April 2011.

Honorable mention for the 2nd most expensive DC condo sold in April 2011 was in the West End at 22 West, located at 1177 22nd Street NW #6A, Washington, DC. This 2 BR / 3 BA, 1,501 SF condo includes two parking spaces.  The selling price was $1.3M /

The revitalization and overwhelming growth in popularity of DC's Capitol Hill neighborhood has spurred significant investment and redevelopment in this neighborhood.  Obsolete commercial buildings throughout Capitol Hill have been acquired and converted to upscale residential housing.

Anyone in the market for a luxury loft condo on Capitol Hill currently has options in two of the Hill's finest redevelopments:

Bryan School Lofts

Abdo Development project which converted long-vacant Bryan School into 20 luxury Tribecca-style lofts.  This 40,000 SF school building, which was constructed in 1909, features 13 ft ceilings and 10 ft tall windows. The location at 1315 Independence Ave SE is within walking distance of both Eastern Market and Lincon Park . 

When touring Penn Quarter condo buildings, Mather Studios almost always gets high marks from clients.  Highly respected developer PN Hoffman converted an under-utilized commercial building located at 916 G Street into 50 loft-style condos.  Mather Studios industrial touches include exposed brick walls, open ductwork, high ceilings, commercial-grade windows, frosted glass sliding doors and ultra-cool metallic doors entryway doors.

Mather Studios is a truly pet-friendly building, a rarity in downtown District condo buildings.  Mather Studios residents enjoy the manned front desk, bike storage room and underground parking.  Five Metro Stations are walkable from this Downtown Penn Quarter location as well as the Verizon Center, Gallery Place

A recent WaPo article details the changing demographics in the District.  Over the last ten years, DC has seen a five percent increase in overall population and a  whopping 23% of this growth has come from young adults in the 20 to 34 age group.

DC Wards 1 and 2 are dominated by young adults with over 40% of their residents in the 20 to 34 age grouping.  Wards 3 and 6 are also strong draws for young adults with over 30% of their population between the ages of 20 to 34.  

Neighborhoods cited in the article contributing to the growth in DC's young adult population include Capitol Hill, the Northeast, downtown, Shaw and Logan Circle.  This certainly makes sense as a significant portion of the District's new development over the last decade has been

Is there a smidgen of truth to the rumor that the real purpose of Prince Charles visit to DC this week is to buy a new home for Will and Kate so they can relocate to the District?  We are definitely not confirming that one, but it would be great for the city if it was true. 

 With all the joint military missions involving the UK and the US, it makes sense for the Brits to have one of their own on the ground over here.  Also, DC would be a wonderful market for Kate to launch her photography career out from under the watchful eye of British paparazzi.

If you are still reading this far-fetched tale, the million dollar question is just where would Will and Kate live if they relocated to the District?  Our relo experts have scoured the DC MLS in search