Thursday, February 4, 2010

Next in Line for Restorations

Gray skies and wintry forecasts got you down? Never fear, the spring renovation / restoration season is near and promises to cheer you up. I've compiled a list of a few houses (I'm sure there are more, but I happened upon these this morning) that are either just starting or soon to commence their makeovers.

This house (on the left) on the 1300 block of W is part of one of my favorite twins. I bet it's going to look great when it's finished:

I mean, how classic are the sidewalk-level front porches?

High Street has, to me at least, always been a bit of a downer, but there are at least three homes on the block that will soon change for the better:


this one isn't falling apart by any means, but will see roof and trim repairs


this solid brick home is getting new windows and a restored wood-columned porch


Haunted? not sure ... but this one is getting a COMPLETE restoration (pretty much a re-build) and is going to look fantastic

the 1600 block of V has been seeing some good progress lately. New condos at the top of the block (yet to be blogged about), and a spattering of good-looking restorations in the past year. This particular house on the left is being completely remodeled and will soon (I hope) look as good as its next door neighbor:


I wonder what color they'll paint this one...

So yes, Anacostia is still very much under construction despite the downturn. Seriously cannot wait for spring.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Question: are these homes being renovated by the owners on GP, developers, or land lords looking to rent them out? I always wonder what moves homeowners to bring their homes back to life after 30 of neglect.

David Garber said...

I think it is a combination. A lot of the houses are Historic Homeowner grant recipients, so they could be residents both old and new.

Otherwise it is usually houses that have been recently bought by homebuilding companies ..

And then there are the spattering bought by people who just love the neighborhood and the houses and want to make them look pretty again.

Anacostiaque said...

Great post, as always!

Fixing up these homes is very nice. IMO, what we need more of in and around Anacostia are newer quality homes for folks considering this area. There doesn't seem to be much to choose from...

Near Nats Stadium, there are brand new BRICK row-house developments underway. The quality seems to look far superior than what I see going up around here. I like the potential of our area, but this is an important element. The character of our area is strong...but not enough inventory to go around.

If it were my call, I would significantly alter the ratio of subsidized to market rate for all new and existing housing. Perhaps, the quality of what we are building would elevate as well.

Respectfully...

被リンク said...

The first one looks nice. I like it to be my house.

bob said...

wow, look at that, very creative and inspiring, I wish I could design something like that