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If you didn't catch this Examiner report by Michael Neibauer this morning, make sure to take a look. The story intimates that the reporter himself was responsible for halting, at least temporarily, a Columbia Heights real estate deal that could have ended up costing District taxpayers an additional $2 million for no good reason. The vacant 32-unit building at 1483 Newton St. NW is intended to be rehabilitated into affordable housing, but there is a huge discrepancy between the building's assessed value and how much the city had offered to pay for it. Given that, as Jim Graham points out in the story, it's unclear whether the rundown building even has usable walls, Deputy Mayor Neil Albert put a hold on the deal after receiving questions about it from Neibauer.
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hey, if mr. neibauer is responsible for keeping the city from wasting money, then good on him. kudos would be in order. whether it actually is the case is debatable, at least.
In DC, is the term, affordable housing an oxymoron?
that's some really effed up use of commas there
I must-a dropped by English structure book. I, never was good, with commas.
I think that the reporter's analysis needs to be taken with a grain of salt. "Assessments" from DCRA are a far cry from a real appraisal, as any homeowner knows. And $1.2 million sounds pretty damn low for a big building on a big lot at that address, even for a shell. Think about how much single family homes in CoHi have sold for; there are rowhouse shells going for over $500K.
All I see from what I've read is a too-low assessment (and that's hardly news) and maybe a deal that was struck when real estate was worth 50% more than it is today. The true discrepancy between the actual value of the property at the time the deal was made, and the $3 mil, probably isn't nearly as big as this article would like us to believe.
I live two doors down from that eyesore in one of two buildings with similar structures. On one hand, I think it's perfect for redevelopment into affordable price housing units. Our 1.5 bedroom is not exactly spacious, but it could fit a family of three fairly easily. There should be 26 units in that building if it's the same set up as ours (6 per floor for four floors, plus 2 basement units). Condos in my building have gone for $200K & $300K in recent years, which I personally don't think they're worth (unless that deal comes with a storage space and a parking space in the basement, which our landlord did not purchase), so going off that assessment, the $2.9 million asking price isn't that bad if the building was is good shape.
On the other, I walk by that building and wonder when it's going to fall in on itself. It just looks nasty from the outside, all of the windows are gone and covered with plywood, I can't imagine what wind and weather have done to it. I think they might be better off knocking it down and starting over.
And see, if I learned to read, I would have seen the 32 unit building, not 26. It's early, what can I say.
Weeds, trash and lack of windows do not indicate a building is about to collapse. None of them contribute to structural integrity.
The discrepancy in property value and assessment is just a reflection of the current real estate market.
This building has some beautiful architectural details. Hopefully a journalists' misplaced inquisitiveness doesn't block the road to rehabilitation for too long.
I believe the $3 million price tag on this building is fair. The building is in the middle of NW DC for crying in the night, not some suburb. Christ, some brownstone style single family homes cost $3 million; this is a rather large building with plenty of units. Additionally, Columbia Heights has taken great strides towards cleaning itself up and increasing its appeal. In a few more years, provided it was renovated, this building's value will assess at many, many times the current asking price.
As for Graham, I've become disenchanted with his tactics; he's a total blowhard. Remember the big Mt. Pleasant fire?? What happened to all this promises to restore that building?? He promised those families an awful lot and 10 months on there has be absolutely zero, zilch, nada progress made. When I head over to Tonic and pass the building all I see is a burned out hull and facade. It’s quite unattractive and makes Mt Pleasant look like a war zone. Perhaps Mr. Graham has persuaded the city to hold off on that one too. Booooooo!