Everything may not be coming up roses yet for the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., but the future is certainly looking brighter for this downtrodden former bastion of the African-American middle class. Upscale new condos are under construction, sleek house renovations are going on, national retailers are moving in, and Washington’s biggest shopping mall is set to open in the area next year.
Unlike in better-known Dupont Circle, Logan Circle and Georgetown, all of this revitalization comes with a lower price tag. Homebuyers are being pulled into the centrally located area by prices that are one-third lower than in Georgetown or the West End.
“Columbia Heights is definitely cheaper. You have the advantage of being in the city, but you are not paying quite as high a price,” said Mike Ryan of Domus Realty.
Heather Abraham, a 24-year-old Senate staffer who moved from Minneapolis in January, is one person who has taken advantage of the lower living costs in the neighborhood a mile north of the White House. “I pay a lot less in Columbia Heights than I would for a nice place in Dupont or comparable neighborhoods.” Abraham pays $1,000 for a room in a two-bedroom condo apartment on 14th Street, the neighborhood’s main drag. The condo was renovated in 2004.
Lower prices for old construction are one thing, but even new construction goes for less in Columbia Heights. According to William Rich, a vice president at real estate advisory firm Delta Associates, average prices for new condominiums, including conversions, are $535 per square foot in Columbia Heights. Prices in Logan Circle, just to the south, are $610 per square foot. Condos in Dupont Circle go for $685, and in ritzy Georgetown, $735. The highest average price — $745 per square foot — is in the West End, near Foggy Bottom and George Washington University.
Several new projects illustrate the price differential. Kenyon Square, a condominium built by Donatelli Development, will open in October. Ryan said that 112 of 153 residential units have been sold since sales opened this summer. Units include one- and two-bedrooms ranging in size from 616 to 1,181 square feet and priced from $354,000 to $689,900. Duplex loft units with 1,111 to 1,226 square feet cost between $616,500 and $646,000.
Another new condo is the Lofts of Columbia Heights on Girard Street and 14th Street. Forty-eight of the development’s 56 units, which range from one- to three-bedrooms, have sold since sales opened in late spring. Two-bedrooms cost between $500,000 and $625,000 and range in size from 1,025 to 1,220 square feet.
The past few years have also seen a dramatic rise in the renovation of houses — mostly three-story Federal and Victorian homes. Fairmont Street, between 13th and 14th streets, is a striking example of the trend. Half of the homes on the block are undergoing renovations.
Resale prices are strong, too, said brokers. A house that cost about $580,000 in 2003 goes for $750,000 now. Brian Creamer, a buyer’s specialist at Habitat Real Estate, said that it takes about three months to sell a house now. A few years ago, when the market was really hot, it only took two to four weeks.
According to Creamer, the median sales price for three- or four-level traditional row houses — typically 16 to 20 feet wide with 2,500 to 3,500 square feet of interior living space — is $630,000 in 2007, up from $575,000 last year.
“There are many homes that are now selling close to $1 million,” said Creamer, who’s lived all his life in Washington.
The biggest buzz among residents may be the coming of DC USA, a 546,000-square-foot shopping mall that will be Washington, D.C.’s largest. The mall, developed by a partnership involving the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights, the National Capital Revitalization Corporation, Grid Properties and the Gotham Organization, is located steps away from the Columbia Heights Metro station at 14th and Irving streets. Metro stations have been spurs to economic development in Washington, D.C., and that promise is finally being realized in Columbia Heights.
Target, one of DC USA’s anchor tenants, will take 173,000 square feet for what is to be its first Washington, D.C. store. Other major tenants include Marshalls, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples and Modell’s. Another dozen or so tenants, including Whole Foods, have leases pending.
Storefront merchants are also hustling to get into the neighborhood. The Kenyon Square condo development has eight retail spots. Seven of them, totaling 20,000 square feet, have been rented, with tenants to include FedEx Kinko’s, Starbucks, BB & T Bank and D’vines, a high-end beer and wine store. The Lofts of Columbia Heights has commercial spaces that will house Baskin-Robbins/Dunkin’ Donuts, Nu America Bank and a charter school.
Restaurant reviewers are praising the newly opened Logan at the Heights, owned by the same restaurateur who runs the popular eatery Grillfish in the West End, and Logan Tavern and Merkado Kitchen in Logan Circle.
In the early 1900s, Columbia Heights was home to the likes of Chief Justice Melville Fuller, Justice John Marshall Harlan and author Sinclair Lewis. Duke Ellington lived there in the 1930s, when the neighborhood became home to growing numbers of middle-class African-Americans. The neighborhood now is home to a diverse population, including a substantial number of Hispanic residents.
Columbia Heights suffered in the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. Revitalization has not completely erased the fear of crime in the area. Safety in the neighborhood is still a concern for some. Drug dealing and other crimes have been real concerns in recent years.
While most say that the neighborhood is much safer now, some believe that improvement is needed. Domus Realty’s Ryan noted, “Petty crimes, muggings and stuff like that are often several times higher there than in most parts of the city.”
But Abraham, the Senate staffer, sounds an upbeat note. Before she moved into Columbia Heights, her roommate assured her that the neighborhood was a lot safer than before. “I am not afraid to walk around here after dark,” she said.