Hello,

I've been reading a lot about planned developements for everything South of K Street, but haven't read anything about the parking lot at NY Ave between 5th and 6th or the lot/building at 5th between L and NY Ave.  Does anyone know who owns those/if there are any plans for them?

Please come celebrate the transformation of 444 M Street into M Street Flats this Sunday, April 18 from 1 to 4 PM. 

1238 & 1242 New Jersey Ave NW have been sporting some sad and suspiciously not serious for sale signs (and reportedly no one calls back) for quite some time, perhaps to skate on the massive tax bills.  BUT my wish was granted today and I saw them both listed on the MLS for 410k and 225k respectively! and officially :)

you all might remember 1242 NJ as the sight of one of the more spectacular and tragic house collapses back in 2006.  The elderly resident had to run for her life because the owner was doing a very bad and unpermitted underpinning job.  she was displaced & we took up a collection for her.  plus the next door neighbors were displaced for a long time.  half the house hung on for a while looking super blighted while the tranny hos made use of the property.  finally the owner secured it with a fancy plywood wall. 

He then attempted to obtain TEN zoning variations for the properties which met with vehement neighborhood opposition & BZA testimony.  Thankfully denied...Since then nothing but that little for sale sign.  but now they are on the market woo hoo!

This is fabulous! Square 0523 has been utterly plagued with vacant property but one by one they are being sold and developed. oh! and there is more good news! I'll call it wish #3...

This month's meeting was very well attended and had many interesting presentations and discussions, as well as our annual officer election.  Check out the notes for the full story.  Highlights include the welcome news that the O Street Market got HUD financing, DCRA is working with Liberty Market to get them into compliance with required licenses, and the city never notified anyone that 5th and I was going to be a temporary parking lot.

Greetings all on this rainy weekend!  Its wet out but that wont stop us from delivering the latest MVSNA newsletter to your house, apt. or condo...you can also check it out online here:  http://www.box.net/shared/9akboa5xsk

The next MVSNA meeting will be this Tuesday March 16th, at 7:30pm, in the Yale Loft common room, 437 New York Ave NW.  We've got a full agenda since DC decided to grace our neighborhood with another parking lot at 5th & I.  We will have attendees from all parties to address this situation.  Also Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans will be dropping in & we shall be holding our belated officer elections.  Check the newsletter for the full agenda, you wont want to miss it. Come on out and see your neighbors!

Si Kailian

Sometimes I go off on tangents while doing taxes and start reading all kinds of IRS publications...but this caught my eye.  take it with a grain of salt as I am no expert and not a CPA - consult a professional:  Did you know that the Mount Vernon Triangle is an enterprise zone?  For tax purposes (check out form 8844) certain 2000 census tract sections of DC with 20%+ poverty (page 11) are classified as Empowerment Zones.  Why is this important?  well if you have a business in the Triangle (or one of the other sections) and you employ DC residents (who live anywhere in DC), you may qualify for a big tax credit - up to 15k per employee if i am reading that right.  There are also other benefits, like some sort of tax exempt financing and increased section 179 deduction.  this is part of form 3800 General business credit.  I hope all of the new & exisiting Triangle businesses know about this, its pretty neato.  but it wont last for long...this year is census year and its pretty evident that the demographics downtown have been severely altered.  One more thing, if you look at the map, PQ & parts of Shaw are included.

First the FANTASTIC news that Mandu is coming to the space next to Kushi in City Vista!!! This means KOREAN BBQ in the hood!! (Mandu has a current restaurant at 18th & S) Ok now that I've finished my happy dance, the meat n potatoes...

The Stuearts are coming soon so they promise.  The committee voted to support their zoning appeal which was hugely confusing but in a nutshell they want to build: a 400 unit residential building on the 400 block of NY Ave/L and a commercial/retail building on the 500 block of NY/K.  the appeal has to do with transferring residential sq footage and the confusing nature of the zoning code, bonus densities and all sorts of crazy things that made even me (who normally geeks out to this stuff) utterly cross eyed.  check out Rob's explanation from the meeting announcement post below, he does a much better job.  Anyhoo if they dont get their way, they will "re-examine the project" which could very well mean parking lot for all eternity.  They arent seeking to do 100% office so thats really good that they are embracing mixing it up.  No concepts as of yet.

One of the committee members gave em some hell for their crappy nonexistant snow removal for all of their properties during the blizzards.  I also tried to convey that it was also the issues with weeds, trash, hookers etc plus the semi recent murder on their property that the neighborhood has a problem with.  And of course the long history of silence from them which we would like to change.  So I asked them to come visit us in April or May which they were amenable to, and we look forward to dialog with this major Triangle landowner.

also got a look at NPR's new building on North Capitol, It looks pretty neat but imho teeters on brutalism.  Its hard to tell but it could be really neat.  They are also toying with the idea of putting a giant light saber or flagpole or somebig red stick thing on the corner of L.  Will be interesting to see what that turns out to be.

The committee also discussed some things pertaining to the new comprehensive plan but I had to bug out 20 min into that.  I do have to say that Rob Amos is doing an absolutely fantastic job chairing this committee!  They are a very knowlegable bunch and he leads them in a well and even tempered manner.  y'all should check out this meeting on occasion, very interesting content.

http://ccca-online.org/ShawDevelopmentUpdate [ click link for video ]

At the Wednesday, March 3, ANC2C public meeting, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans gave an update about the District of Columbia's finances and the effect of the current economy on development in Shaw. He discussed most of the large local developments in the area:

• CityCenter (financing not available)
• Convention Center Hotel (in litigation, when solved, we'll be in the ground the next day)
• CityMarket at O (positive steps being made)
• Kesley Gardens/Addison Square (stuck, cannot find equity partners)
• Parcel 42 (stuck, proposed project no longer doable financially)
• RadioOne (RadioOne bailed out, United Negro College Fund may do the project)

I just recieved my new property  tax bill. My assessed value  went down and the property tax has more than doubled ! My first half payment  for 2010 is more than I paid all of last year. What's up with that. I know some people on my street that pay no property tax.  This is not fair...

Wondering what the sentiment is on this new complex (http://mstreetflats.com/) at 444 M St. NW. Seems like there's a significant lack of inventory in the Mount Vernonarea, and they are being finished right behind the second phase of the Yale Steam Lofts. Just hit the MLS today... seems like prices vary from $329,900 for a Jr. 1Br. to $549,000 for a penthouse. Thoughts? Potential Good Deal or Not? What have folks heard about the developer?