Written by DCist contributor Rob Birgfeld

While stories are often traded about “that guy” who made millions because he was ahead of the real estate curve, few match that of a Brazilian family interested in little more that auto repair.

Just one year after riots decimated much of downtown Washington in 1968, Pedro Petrovich opened an auto repair shop on 13th Street, one block north of Logan Circle. Soon after, he moved Petrovich Auto Body to a larger facility one block away, replacing the historic Peerless and REO Automobile showroom at 14th and P Streets. This strip of 14th Street, known through the 40s and 50s as the District’s “Auto Row,” struggled to regain what was lost after the riots, but business was good and Petrovich maintained a solid client base.

In 1987, with the area beginning to show signs of growth and renewal, a young theatre company was looking for a new place to call home. The company now known as Studio Theatre purchased the building from the family and Petrovich Auto Repair Shop relocated up the road to 14th Street between Belmont Street and Florida Avenue.

Seventeen years and a Starbucks or two later, the Petrovich family once again found themselves in the middle of an urban metamorphosis. With their old Logan Circle enclave firmly cemented as the District’s “it” neighborhood, the growth around their 14th and Belmont location had become something of a spectacle. One block away, along Meridian Hill Park, new developments such as The Fedora, CityView, and The Mercury at Meridian Hill were taking shape, while one block down at 14th and V Street the Union Square and the Langston Lofts (which now houses Busboys and Poets) projects were moving along. Up the road, mega-complexes and shiny new condominiums were rising all over Columbia Heights. Once again, it was the Petrovich family’s turn to move along.

So, in July 2005, the family sold their hulking mass of concrete and boarded windows to a joint-venture group that have planned a nine story, 275,000 square foot project with approximately 170 residential units and street-level retail. This property, which will be known as View14 (because of the view residents will be privy to), is further evidence that the development of the 14th Street/U Street Corridor will soon link arms with that of Columbia Heights.

According to Level Two Development, View14’s principle developer, the building’s design will embrace 14th Street’s history as “Auto Row.” While we can be sure that this goal will not be achieved with the “wi-fi media study” or “Zen garden with reflecting pond” planned for the building, we can be sure that 14th Street’s recent history of high-end boutiques and coffee shops will only continue up the hill towards View14. The ground-breaking is planned for 2007, with completion not expected until 2009.

So where does the Petrovich family go from here? Petworth? Shaw? The Southwest Waterfront? None of the above — the family plans on investing in real estate in the suburban areas surrounding Baltimore and the District.

If history serves as any lesson, pack up your things and buy a condo in Timonium. Real estate booms seem to follow the Petrovich family.