The NorThwesT CurreNTWednesday, March 9, 2016 Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967 Vol. XLIX, No. 10

Calendar/22Classifieds/30 District Digest/2Exhibits/23In Your Neighborhood/20Opinion/6

Police Report/4Real Estate/19School Dispatches/8Service Directory/28Sports/9Week Ahead/3

INDEXSPORTS

Back on topSt. John’s takes down Georgetown Visitation to win the DCSAA girls basketball championship / Page 9

SHERWOOD

Bridge in perilWashington’s iconic Memorial Bridge exemplifies nationwide infrastructure crisis / Page 6 Tips? Contact us at newsdesk@currentnewspapers.com

AGING, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Healthy varietyExperts praise the fitness options found in today’s gyms and studios as encouraging exercise / Page 11

Brian Kapur/The CurrentThe Janney Players presented the classic Broadway musical “Annie” at Deal Middle School over the weekend. The cast of Janney Elementary students performed hit numbers like “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “Tomorrow.”

THINKING ABOuT TOMORROW

By MARK LIEBERMANCurrent Staff Writer

Early last year, residents of The Georgetown, a senior living facil-ity at 2512 Q St. NW, moved out temporarily to accommodate a large-scale renovation of the 41-unit building.

Demolition of the facility’s restrooms began shortly after the residents moved out — but the rebuilding process never began. And last month, the Holladay Corp., which owns the property, announced that it would instead convert it into a conventional apartment building.

The company revealed more details about its plans at the Febru-ary meeting of Advisory Neigh-

borhood Commission 2E (George-town, Burleith).

The proposal calls for 96 apart-ments at an average size of 535 square feet, including several in the basement, and 11 parking spots on the premises. In addition to six-month and one-year leases, short-

term rentals would also be avail-able for as few as 30 days.

Some community members are asking Holladay to account for the expected increase in foot and vehi-cle traffic at and around the build-ing, and to drop its short-term lease plans.

Regarding the project’s broader change from renovation to new apartments, Holladay’s Jessica Sterchi told The Current that the decision came because of a per-sonnel shortage, not because the corporation was looking for some-thing more economically viable.

In 2013, the head of Holladay’s retirement division retired him-self, leaving a void in the compa-ny’s oversight abilities, according

Senior facility set for apartment conversion

Brian Kapur/The CurrentFormer residents of the Q Street building will stay in Chevy Chase.

By MARK LIEBERMANCurrent Staff Writer

American University’s East Campus project might not be fin-ished in time for the start of the fall 2016 semester, university rep-resentatives conceded at a com-munity meeting last Wednesday — meaning that the school would be out of compliance with a key component of its 10-year campus plan.

After a long-fought battle, the university in 2012 received per-mission from the Zoning Commis-sion for a series of development projects. As part of that process, the commission ordered the school to ensure it could house 100 per-cent of its freshmen and sopho-mores and 67 percent of its total undergraduate population on cam-pus by fall 2016. The commitment was crafted in response to com-munity complaints about off-cam-pus student conduct.

But the four-building East Campus project has repeatedly fallen behind schedule, prompting

the university to extend construc-tion hours using “minor modifica-tion” applications to the Zoning Commission.

The school now intends to ask the zoning panel for another modi-fication, this time to waive the fall 2016 housing deadline, officials reported to Advisory Neighbor-hood Commission 3D last week. (ANC 3D includes Foxhall, the Palisades, Spring Valley and Wes-ley Heights.)

“The conditions under which we’re operating leave us with no other options,” Linda Argo, the university’s vice president for external relations and auxiliary

AU likely to miss deadline for East Campus housing■ Development: University will arrange off-campus sites

By CuNEYT DILCurrent Correspondent

Opposition to a proposed homeless shelter in Ward 3 has grown louder, as residents and community leaders call for more scrutiny of Mayor Muriel Bows-er’s plan for replacing the dilapi-dated D.C. General family home-less shelter. Last Saturday hundreds of resi-dents squeezed into Stoddert Ele-mentary School, about an eight-minute walk from the proposed facility’s site at 2619 Wisconsin Ave. NW, to hear from city lead-ers. Many who spoke had ready opposition for the Department of Human Services chief, Laura Zeil-inger, also a Ward 3 resident. Grievances addressed the scale of the proposed building — which would need zoning relief to build 38 units on a vacant lot, currently zoned for three town homes, across from the Russian Embassy — and the lack of transparency in the site selection process. Stoddert parents also said additional chil-dren from the shelter would over-

Ward 3 critics of shelter seek transparency

By BRADY HOLTCurrent Staff Writer

Ward 3 homebuyers know that the market there is tight, with houses typically selling quickly — and often for more than their asking prices. But the District’s Office of Tax and Revenue saw relatively little increase in the ward’s residential property values in the last year, according to data the agency released last week. An increase of

2.96 percent was barely half the rate of the next-slowest ward — Ward 2, whose values grew by 5.74 percent. Ward 8 in far South-east and Southwest led the growth with a whopping 13.54 percent increase compared to last year, followed closely by Northeast’s Ward 5 (11.45 percent). Overall, the agency found that the District’s real estate market has remained steady, with an aver-age increase in residential proper-ty values of 6.60 percent and an average increase in commercial property values of 5.11 percent. Ed Krauze, CEO of the Wash-

Assessment gains show D.C. market’s strength■ Real estate: Rise in values highest in city’s eastern wards

Brian Kapur/The CurrentOne of three East Campus dorms is two months behind schedule.

See Assessments/Page 5

See Zoning/Page 3See Georgetown/Page 5

See Shelter/Page 18

The two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom Federal-style row house at 1750

Seaton St. NW is just entering the

market after extensive renovation, listed for $1,100,000. Though the blue circa-1900 row house sits in the midst of several bustling areas — U Street, 14th Street, Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle — Seaton Street itself is a one-way road off the beaten track, so the location offers a rare convergence of quiet and convenience.

The front door accesses the open-floor-plan living, dining and kitchen area, featuring an entire wall of exposed brick. The floor is done in a pew-ter maple hard-wood that complements the contempo-rary color pal-ette of soft gray tones and balanc-es with the brick. Light comes from north- and south-facing win-dows as well as creative contem-porary chandeliers and recessed lighting.

The home is filled with state-of-the-art amenities, including a Sonos wireless audio system,

which can run Spoti-fy and other pro-grams and play dif-ferent music in dif-ferent sectors of the house. The house also comes wired for Verizon FiOS activa-tion. Central heating and air is controlled through a Nest smart thermostat, which can learn which tem-peratures residents prefer at different times of day and adjust automatically, while offer-ing remote access and alerts through a smartphone app. Also installed and ready to activate is a Honeywell security system.

In the living area, a Moda gas fireplace sits ready for cozy evenings. The dining area, large enough to fit a table for six, is lit with a south-facing window set

into the side where the house nar-rows to the back.

The kitchen is designed for those who love good food and drink, with a specially outfitted wine nook under the stairs and a Vissani wine refrigerator oppo-site. A half-bath in the kitchen area saves guests from having to

take the stairs during a dinner party.

Simple and efficient white Ikea cabinetry offers ample space for storage around the Bosch appliances. The gas range and hood provide helpful extras, such as a retractable faucet over the cooktop for filling pots. The sink is fitted with a long-reaching pull-down spray faucet.

The kitchen area opens onto the back patio, with space for a small car and access to the wood-en rooftop deck by way of a brand-new staircase. It’s perfect for watching the sun set over the rooftops of Adams Morgan.

Inside, the exposed brick con-tinues up to the second floor and into the master bedroom, which has two full closets and an en-suite bathroom. A hand-forged iron sink vanity is topped with

gray marble and two farmhouse-style square porcelain sinks. The marble shower is fitted with a Grohe rainshower head and shower wand.

The second bedroom faces south for optimal light and is served by a luxurious hall bath-room, a jewel of a room. A tiny crystal chandelier and wall-mounted glass bell lights illumi-nate the antique clawfoot tub with refurbished original hand-held shower head and faucet. The backsplash wall is done in gray marble, and the floor is tiled with soft gray and black marble in a basket-weave pattern. The sink is a second iteration of the hand-forged iron vanity with marble top. The final doors in the hall

hide the stacked Samsung washer and dryer set and the water heater.

This home will suit the city dweller who wants the best of everything — a quiet hideaway only steps from the action, and the charm of an Old City row house with the technology and contemporary updates that make for a relaxing environment, where everything is just so.

This two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath row house at 1750 Seaton St. NW is listed for $1,100,000 and has 1,304 square feet of living space. For details, contact the Mandy and David Team of Compass Real Estate at 202-425-6417 for Mandy Mills, 202-557-5411 for David Getson, or team@mandyanddavid.com.

Old City house offers apex of modern urban living

Photos courtesy of Compass Real EstateThis two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath row house at 1750 Seaton St. NW is priced at $1,100,000.

ON THE MARKET lEE Cannon

Northwest Real estateA Look at the Market in Northwest Washington The Current March 9, 2016 ■ Page 19