One of the terms most commonly used by Realtors when marketing a DC Mid-city listing is "Close to Whole Foods." 

In our thinking there are two kinds of close to Whole Foods……one is the spring Sunday afternoon eight-block stroll from U Street……the other is the two over-loaded (reusable) bags of groceries on a cold and blistery January night close.

While Cooper Lewis and the Metropole get the gold star for being on the same block as the P Street Whole Foods, there are several other condo developments that qualify for the two over-loaded (reusable) bags of groceries on a cold and blistery January night close including:

• 1441 Rhode Island
• Berret School Lofts
• Church Place
• Citta 50
• Cooper Lewis
• Lofts 14
• Lofts 14 Two
• Logan Mansions
• Matrix
• Metro
• Metropole
• Q14
• Rainbow Lofts
• Saxon Court

Here is a resource to view all the condo developments and active listings in the Logan Circle neighborhood.

photo courtesy of Flickr user M.V. Jantzen

The DC real estate blogosphere has been buzzing this week about a Dupont Circle studio apartment listing where Washington Post columnist Bob Woodward lived during his days investigating the Watergate scandal.  The balcony of this unit was used by Woodward to signal his source "Deep Throat."  Woodward would plant a flag in a flower pot to indicate to Deep Throat that he wanted to meet.

It was incorrectly reported that Woodward owned the Webster House unit where he lived.  This is not accurate as the Webster House was an apartment building from its delivery in 1968 until it was converted to condos in 1978 by Holladay Corporation.  Bob Woodward confirmed to me renting at the Webster House " I believe that is the correct apartment number.  Never owned it because it was a rental building.  I rented it for about $115 a month beginning in late 1969 to early 1973."

At the time of the Watergate break-in, Woodward was a young journalist in his first year of working for the Washington Post.  Prior to joining the Post, Woodward worked for a newspaper in Montgomery Country, MD.  Before this, Woodward served in the Navy for five years after graduating from Yale University.

Woodward's career was forever changed when Post editor Ben Bradlee assigned him and Carl Bernstein to report on a burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building.   Upon discovering that the Nixon operatives were responsible for the break-in Woodward found himself at the core of one our country's biggest political scandals.  Woodward skillfully reported on the scandal and over the last for decades and has arguably been the nation's most influential and respected journalist.

Woodward's unit, 1718 P Street #617 is now on the market and listed for $215,000.  This 500 SF studio has been stripped back to the shell and is ready for a new interior.  Webster House residents enjoy the rooftop pool, staffed front desk, interior courtyard, underground parking and bike storage room.

Have you heard about the new mezzanine-level people watching perch at the P Street Whole Foods?  Now you can sit high above the action and watch health-conscious mid-city-ites shake melons, squeeze oranges and occasionally sneak a grape or two. People watching doesn't get any better than this!

For those who like to people watch.....and who doesn't in DC...how about a DC condo with a prime-time people watching balcony?  What could be better than checking out the scenery from your private balcony?

Much of the DC housing stock has outdoor balconies and space orientated away from the action towards the rear property.  After much introspective thought, here are our picks for the best people watching balconies in the District:

Q14 - Tough to top a balcony on the prime-time corner of 14th & Q
Metropole - 15th & P is a corner everyone walks by
Cooper Lewis - Check out who is heading into the P Street Whole Foods
Langston Lofts - Enjoy the Busboys & Poets scene from above

What is your favorite DC people watching balcony?

Logan Circle at the intersection of Rhode Island and Vermont Avenues and 13th and P Streets is the last surviving residential-only traffic circle in the original L'Enfant Plan.  The Victorian row houses that ring Logan Circle are among the most famous and photographed in the entire district.

The post-war economic downturn and white flight in the Logan Circle neighborhood stifled investment and stalled development that would have replaced Victorian-era row houses with denser developments.  As gentrification has consumed the Logan neighborhood, block after block of row houses have been brought back to life in a grand manner.

Row house architecture in Logan Circle includes Renaissance Revival, Second Empire, Richardson Romanesque and Romanesque Revival styles.  Row house materials include brownstone and brick and range in height from two to five stories.  A bayfront window adjacent to the front door is a common design element of many Logan row houses that creates irregular but visibly pleasing streetscapes.

While some Logan Circle row houses have been carved up into individual condos, many remain intact as single-family homes.  A common renovation in these single-family structures is the conversion of the basement level into a income generating rental unit.  Restored Logan Circle row house tend to sell for approximately 20% less than comparable homes in Dupont Circle.  Currently, restored Logan Circle row houses are on the market in the $1M - $1.5M range.  Here is a resource to view active Logan Circle row house listings.

When searching for a new home in the District, it is tough to find a better spot to call home than the location of the Cooper Lewis Condominiums located at 1413 P Street, NW.  Within a couple of hundred steps from your front door you can caffeinate at Starbucks....shop at Whole Foods and CVS....chow at the Logan Tavern and party at Vegas Lounge!

It only gets better when you return to the your Cooper Lewis condo. High end finishes, coupled with walls of glass, European kitchens and generous outdoor terraces deliver one of the best luxury experiences in Logan Circle.  Cooper Lewis magically joins the historic Pelz Building at the corner of 14th Street.  Units in the Pelz Building section of Cooper Lewis offer walls of exposed brick.

Currently, there is one unit on the market at Cooper Lewis.  It is a 1290 SF 1BR/2BA + den with parking for $859,900.  Check out the entire inventory of Logan Circle condos currently on the market.