H Street Country Club 1335 H Street
The Country Club building in its Phish Tea incarnation.
A while back there were some rumors about a slow down with this place, but I've noticed some recent activity. This morning a guy was moving in old birdhouses and other hanging items (possible light fixtures?). When this tavern opens it will serve American food and feature a DC themed mini-golf course (indoors).
Phish Tea, the Caribbean restaurant which used to occupy the space was, as the only "real" sit-down restaurant on H, the focus of high hopes when it first opened, but these soon soured amid patron complaints of over-priced yet mediocre food and horrible service. I was once served cold coffee there (it wasn't iced coffee). Before closing its doors Phish Tea rented out space to both a local church and a martial arts group.
A waiter delivers a patron's coffee at the now defunct Phish Tea.
The Mart 1341 (1343?) H Street
This handsome looking building is much worse for the wear. I believe it used to belong (and perhaps it still does) to local developer (he even grew up in the neighborhood) Orlando Brooks. I have recently noticed signs of activity at the site. This morning I noticed information in a window assigning responsibility to Taurus Development and Norman Smith Architects. At one point I'm told that Orlando wanted to put in apartments or condos. I don't know what the current plan is for the site, but the building could be a good candidate for mixed-use development. I think apartments, condos, or artists lofts would all be good options (we're probably a bit heavy on the luxury condos these days). This is a massive building and just putting it back in use should really help out the 1300 block. The building is sandwiched between the old Jumbo building (which now has other tenants) and a dollar store.
Gallery O/H (not sure of the address, perhaps 1352 H Street?)
I've seen the owner of the not yet open (the original opening date was over a year ago, but he encountered a few delays) Gallery O/H (pronounced Gallery Oh!) lurking about. I've heard he's been talking to an architect and working on the other two buildings (which will also be galleries) that are adjacent to the pictured gallery that you have, no doubt, noticed.
Removing paint from the gallery's facade in fall of 2005 (only days before annual H Street Festival).
Festival goers lounge in front of the gallery.
The adjacent gallery buildings
Despite not being open ,the gallery has had artists booths at the H Street Festival since 2005. This is nice because it gives you an idea of the type of art you might expect to see on display there (so called "outsider art").
You may have also noticed that the front window on one of the buildings has been boarded up for a while. This is the result of a particular vandal throwing a hammer through the window. Hopefully the gallery will be open soon.
The Ice Cream Place (not the actual name) 1358 H Street
Ok, this is an old photo, but that white building in the middle (currently blue) is supposed to house an ice cream and sweet shop.
While under renovation
This is the owner selling some of her wares during the 2007 H Street Festival.
Originally they were aiming for a fall opening date, but I suspect that at this point they might choose to hold out until the spring.
The Ohio 1380 H Street
The Ohio suffered a fire several years ago and both the interior and exterior are in need of some repair.
Until a little over a year ago this corner building held the Ohio Restaurant and Lounge. The Ohio had been on H Street for decades (I believe it first opened in the 1950s).
Photos of the Ohio's original owners still hang on the wall.
It's definitely a piece of H Street history, and like that of H Street, the history of the Ohio hasn't always been pristine. Before its acquisition by members of the Ayele family the place was considered by a many to be a bit too rough and tumble. I recall once asking an area resident about the Ohio and being told it was just a bar for derelicts and alcoholics. By the time I first walked into the Ohio in the spring of 2006 the place was already being transformed. The original owner had died and an Ethiopian family from Virginia had purchased the building the previous December. Their plan was to beef up the menu to attract some new customers. The Ohio was really an interesting place, and it may be the only restaurant I've ever frequented with a "wine list" that consisted entirely of Manischewiz. The dishes were styrofoam and mixed drinks were served in disposable plastic cups. Yet the Ohio won many converts in its final months (including the City Paper reviewer Tim Carman, Fritz Hahn of Going Out Gurus, and various posters the Chowhound boards) because the food really was great (if occasionally uneven). The place had a very distinctive vibe and the jukebox was amazing (mostly old school stuff like Sam Cooke and Billy Stewart). Mostly I think the place had promise. That promise was unfortunately cut short when one of the sister who ran the place, Betty Ayele, was murdered in her car in Del Ray on October 25 2006. Betty had a bit of criminal background (drug related) and had previously testified against members of the notorious Murder Inc. crew (who were linked to multiple witness killings). Betty's killer was never identified, and though the Ohio continued to operate for a couple of days after the shooting, it closed its doors for the last time that October. ever since there has been a "for sale" sign hanging in the window, but when I walked by a week or two ago it was gone. Has the Ohio been sold?
A patron enjoys his pigs feet platter in happier days.
The Ohio's signature meatloaf with mac and cheese.
But diners (perhaps with a less rowdy crowd than the Ohio once attracted) have long been near the top of the list of businesses many locals would like to see on H Street, and I'm convinced that a well run diner could have broad appeal. We don't really have anyplace like that around here (Tony's sells the breakfast, but you'll have to take it elsewhere to eat). They could even stay open late to feed to post theater/concert/bar crowd.
We'll have to wait and see what will become of the Ohio, but until its fate is clear I can keep hoping for a diner.
Will the Ohio go from dead space..
...to thriving diner and nightspot?
Note the potential patio space (which is quite large).
39 comments:
Great post, Inked. I've always thought the place you have labeled as "The Mart" would be great for the H Street Co-op.
A nice size and a cool building in one of the busier blocks.
orlando owns that building?!?
he worked (works?) with h street main street. between him and anwar of h street main street, it looks like they own a few buildings between them. sheesh. at least anwar got willpower into the formerly abandoned building he owned in that location (and a restaurant will be opening in another...napa is in a building he owns, I think?).
the problem is, it took these gentlemen YEARS to get these buildings occupied. if people on the HSMS board take this long to get their buildings developed, what can we hope for the OTHER 'slow to develop' building owners in the corridor? sheesh!
the following is a cool re-use of one orlando's properties though:
http://www.urbanartistscoalition.org/news.htm
We have gathered a group of young local artists from the North East region of DC and paired them with established artists. By intertwining the specific issues of this historic area through our arts based program we are effectively pursuing our mission by enriching the intellectual foundation of youth and by elevating the underserved communities through art exposure. The initial concept soared to new heights when we incorporated the philosophical metaphor of the Phoenix rising out of its own ashes; rebirthing, revitalizing and renewing.
...
We have tackled the concept of the renewing process quite literally. Our revitalizing efforts began initially by collecting discarded items that were found in and around the alleys of H Street. Our renewing process continued by painting with ‘mis-tint’ Duron Paints. We are also working out of a vacant space donated by Orlando Brooks, Chairman of H Street Main Street.
The Ohio was listed on longandfoster.com for a long time-- it appears to be gone now. Looks like it has sold.
Thanks for the detailed post.
The Ohio was great. If someone did set up a diner there they'd do well to keep some of the Ohio decor for a bit of history. It had a great vibe. Why not a model of good food, no frills, move it in move it out, no nonsense? Seems like you could appeal to a large audience that way.
Saleem does not own 1015 H Napa but does own the building immediately next door to the West. The restaurant owners own the building and have renovated it entirely, with residential space above, which they are living in. (I have been there.)
Inked, I agree that was a great post and a great read.
Thanks. Please excuse any typos and left me know if something doesn't make sense or seems to skip. You type these things in a little box and it can be easy to miss something for that reason.
wow. very good post, inked!
you're kind of a 21st century historian, storyteller, reporter, and funkster (aside from commissioner, counselor, etc.).
tons of good information there to help informed citizens help H street.
you get 3.2 gold stars for that post...
For the prospective developers out there, check out the opportunities on North side the 1000 block of H St.
For a mere $10 million, you can monopolize the block where Napa is scheduled to open.
I just followed Kenny G's link - 1010, 1012 and 1014 H street NE are listed for 3.3 million each. Each building has two above-ground stories, and 1012 has a sub-basement. Listed square footage is 1700, 4000 and 2300 respectively. Current tenants are a barbershop, record store and check cashing store. All I can say is, are you kidding me? 3.3 million dollars each?! Let me put it this way - the monthly rent a purchaser would have to charge (or earn through a business) to cover the purchase costs (mortgage, insurance, property tax, etc) would be north of $20,000 a month (possibly well north, although it would depend on size of downpayment and interest rate obtained). At that price, it's hard to imagine any business that would be currently viable in any of those spaces. If this is representative of the kinds of prices owners on H street are seeking, it's no wonder the pace of renovation has slowed. That is just flat out ridiculous.
great post! Thanks so much.
Thanks kenny g for your link. This was news to me. I also couldn't agree with Mose more - this is ridiculous! I guess in a free market, capitalist society we can't put a cap on what people ask for their own properties, but is there any recourse for such outlandish prices? In a way, I'm thrilled to learn the properties are for sale, but it also seems they have no interest in really selling. It appears that their greed is perpetuating our blight.
This is really terrific Inked, thanks a lot.
I can't tell you how much I miss the Ohio. I was just recalling a Saturday night that I spent at the Ohio shortly before it's closing. The joint was jumping, the jukebox was playing great funk and soul (two of my favorite genres), and though it took us an hour to get our corn bread, they gave us the whole pan for free because it took so long.
I enjoyed breakfast at the Ohio, but as a vegetarian, the dinner options were limited. It was only shortly before it closed that I discovered that my favorite part of the Ohio was on weekend nights, because that's when you could see H Street really get down - and with locals, not the bridge and tunnel crowd.
Also, I'm probably the only person I know who loves Manischewitz, so I was pretty happy with the wine list. Makes for a pretty mean headache, though.
You mentioned a Napa opening this weekend - do you know if that's still the plan?
Very good posted, I am so interested in this type of stuff -- thanks for doing the research for us.
Speaking of the Salvation Army...I've stopped by before and I thought it was long-time shut down because of how it looked and it was a Saturday afternoon and the doors where shuttered. Can you give any info on when they are open? I've got an ugly sweater party on Saturday and I think that it could be the perfect place to find a gem!
I think the buildings on the north side of the 1000 block skew perceptions a bit though, the owners are obviously smoking too much of the neighborhood product. Using the same link anyone can do a broader search for H st. listings and find there are a few buildings being offered at more realistic prices, at least realistic by DC standards., including the one on the corner of 14th for $800,000 and 1104 H, which is a mere $500,000, and 1240 H for $1.3 mln, then of course there is the vacant sliver of land that is for sale by ``Ron'' for a cool $489,000, with no pesky walls or floors or fixtures to get in the way of your dreams.
i could be wrong, but i'm guessing the listings for those three $3.3M properties went up shortly after the announcement was made about redeveloping the h Street connection site, which is almost catty-corner to these properties. it appears word of an emerging "mini downtown" on H Street, with the connection site acting as the anchor, is already feeding the greed :)
mose, i assure you the owner of those three properties does not envision selling them for $3.3M each. he's hoping a developer will buy all three lots (which are really more like four or five lots due to the adjacent parking lot that also conveys) for a cool $10M so he can cash out and retire. The developer would then knock them down and build a much larger building on that site (or gobble up the other adjacent properties as well and build something even bigger) according to the precedent of the h street connection site. there's no historic preservation protection for those buildings so they're as good as gone. at least that's my take on it.
It would be interesting to see the property owner's reaction, if the city assessed property tax at the owner's asking price.
Does anyone know who currently owns these three properties in the 1000 block of H?
Here's the info from DCRA on the three properties. Note the 2008 assessed values--rather comical.
1010 H ST NE
ROBBIE L MASON
$253,130.00 (2008 assessed value)
1012 H ST NE
ROBBIE L MASON
$409,370.00 (2008 assessed value)
1014 H ST NE
ROBBIE L MASON
$446,170.00 (2008 assessed value)
whatever. the asking prices are really not that crazy, just a bit ahead of their time.
we should all hope that they sell for a fraction of the aksing price.
you KNOW that the new owners will do everything possible to generate the appropriate revenue, and help develop h street.
does anyone know the square footage of the rock 'n roll hotel? or palace of wonders?
do you have any idea how much revenue those joints generate?
simple minds, simple ideas.
great minds, great ideas.
the right folks will buy and profit, but better yet, they'll make h street that much better.
this coming from a guy that bought in georgetown in the 90's and still cannot believe how much money he'd made, and how the neighborhood developed.
this is how it works in dc.
you think H street is an anomally?
really?
watch and learn, noobs.
this is business, not 'non-profit'.
i'm willing to bet that half of the complainers will sell out once the real estate pendulum swings back. and they can all sell out, and go back to iowa, arkansas, ohio, or wherever, and have a two car parking garage (i think developers in the hinterland are actually offering sams club/costco/etc. memberships for a year if you buy a cardboard house near your place of security (read: employment).
high price, yes.
selling price, doubtful.
are they holding back the neighborhood?
no.
someone will pay the appropriate prices for these places.
supply and demand, for you folks that missed that economics 101 class.
you're a friggin fool to sell at the lowest price.
what, are you all a bunch of dorks?
sell me your house, please.
at market value.
serious!
cuz, gOD forbid you expect some kind of a profit.
"OMG, i made $30k on my property!! let's by a house near the lake in that place where we really only vote for a ... ummm... grocery store?".
sometimes the posters on this blog really suprise me.
can't tell if they're uninformed, old, wanna-be-pragmatists, fake punks, or just gold diggers with a mask.
gimme a break.
sell your properties (if you have one, god forbid two), at 'an affordable price'. and stipulate that they sell organic food at the farmer's market.
yeah... that's the ticket.
watch these properties sell for a fraction of their value, cuz they will.
can't figure out if the posters on this blog are capitalists, do-gooders, or just stupid.
i'm leaning towards stupid.
ask me why.
i have plenty of reasons.
first, tell me where you came from, how long you've been here, and whether you work for gov't, a non-profit, blockbuster, or a major law firm.
or anything else.
and i mean IN D.C. not in your native hinterland.....
The prices are silly, yes it will slow things down, but eventually the market will work.
Doo Doo, ignorance and enmity are a bad mix. Nice job trying to sour an otherwise reasonable posting. Shouldn't you be kicking your dog right now?
Ask me why.
I have plenty of reasons.
sometimes he has a good point. but it's rarely worth wading through all the vitriol to see it. he could make his points in ways that don't bring adult discussion to a crashing halt; but discussion isn't his goal. stoking his own ego is.
wow, I wish my house was assessed the proportion to value that these H street properties are. Houses on my modest residential street are assessed at full market value. What is going on here???
you folks are being silly.
when i have an opinion, i express it. it may be a bit more passionate or abrasive than your typical post, but hey. it is still a free country, last time i checked.
i don't teach kindergartners, so forgive me if i don't pretend to be all PC.
and for the record, some of you folks don't seem to get my 'tone'.
most of it is just ... fun.
irritable lot, aren't ye...
Can we start a petition to ask Inked to ban Poo Poo and all his negative sarcasm from the blog? Can she do it? Will she do it? I guess he would come back as someone else. He's so damn annoying. I guess I can just stop reading him and skip over his comments.
Inked, can you help us out here from this guys negativity?
I'm not banning anyone (I don't think it would be possible anyway). But it would be nice if people could remember that we're all neighbors and treat each other with a little respect.
But that's the point Doo Doo, it's not funny, witty, engaging,...
Your posts remind me at times of the abrasive drunk at bars that kill conversations because they have a point they think everyone needs to hear, and take the next hour making it.
It would be sortof ironic if the city went back and reassessed those parcels (I'm assuming that can't actually be legally done until the next regular assessment cycle). In particular, the one assessed in the $200,000s seems mighty low.
But I sortof have to side with the property owner here. Why should we be wishing that he get a larger tax bill? Isn't that sortof meanspirited on our part?
And how many of us would like the city to come around and start reassessing our homes based on what we'd like to get if we sold them?
Yes, prices like that seem ridiculous to most of us. And, yes, we'd love to see those properties developed.
But this is how private property ownership works. We can't force people to do what we want.
Poo Poo actually has a bit of a point when he mocks the idea of stipulations on the property owners - like his suggestion that they must sell organic produce.
Eventually the tax assessments on these properties will rise, if only from comparable sales on H Street. And the current owner will eventually have to sell because of rising taxes, unless he is independently wealthy.
I don't think the point is to be meanspirited, just fair. My itty-bitty 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 700 sq ft rowhouse is assessed for very nearly as much as the one property.
If the District is going to increase the assessments of homes to reflect the market, they should be doing the same for the properties along H Street. Especially in instances where there is a recent sale.
Ensuring that assessments properly reflect the value of properties isn't meanspirited, it is only fair. Also, perhaps property owners wouldn't sit on their properties and leave them vacant if they were being properly taxed.
Also, though we can never know in individual cases the motivation of the owners, just listing a vacant property for sale, regardless of whether or not the price is realistic, gets the property owner an exemption from the higher Class 3 vacant property tax rate--currently for up to 3 years. The new vacant property bill that was passed out of committee shortens the exemptions to a total of 8 months, which goes a long way toward addressing the cases where the system is being abused.
If these properties are really worth $10,000,000 dollars, why shouldn't they be assessed at that value. Or at least at some more realistic value--even if the owner can only get 1/2 of the asking price, the value is 5 times the current assessment.
The corridor is never going to fully recover or realize its potential if owners of vacant properties are incentivized to sit on their properties if there are no economic consequences to doing so.
As always, this is my opinion and based only in part on what I'm hearing from my constituents. I always want to hear other viewpoints, and appreciate the discussions that are facilitated by Inked's blog.
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
Thank you, Alan Kimber. It is one of the reasons that it is so hard to think about H Street developing with small local creative businesses. So now this guy puts his properties on the market for what seems like an insanely out of line price and he skips the up charge in property tax, while holding onto the parcels and those properties do nothing for the development of the street. Is everyone happy with the pace of develpoment on the street? Will everyone be happy once we end up with 3 banks, 2 Starbucks and CVS as retail because they are the only ones that can afford to develop.
Alan:
I agree that commercial properties should be taxed their fare share.
But I'm very uncomfortable with basing tax assessments on what someone advertises their property for sale at. It's a really bad way to assess property. And, I'm betting that it's actually illegal for the city to go back and mess with a tax assessment because we think it's too low.
I got no problem with these properties being reassessed in the next scheduled assessment at fair market value, assuming that there are real sale comps or other established assessment criteria that can be used.
A house near me was recently listed for over $400,000 more than it ended up selling for. It would have been unfair to tax that seller at the higher 'dream' amount they tried to get for their property. Just like it would be unfair to tax this commercial property at a 'dream sale' rate if that rate wasn't realistic.
It is a real shame to see property being sat on. But that's how capitalism works. We can do all we can to encourage development (the recently changed regs you mention about tax rates sound like a solid idea), but at the end of the day we don't own that property. And, at those prices, I'm betting not many of us ever will.....
But if we are going to aggressively pursue commercial property owners, we need to show the same zeal when it comes to residential property. We all know that there are numerous residential properties in our neighborhoods that contribute to blight and crime - in every aspect, from inadequate outdoor lighting to downright being drug houses. In order to be morally justifiable we need to go after those properties just like we target commercial structures.
Inked:
I second the other posters when I say that this particular posting is really terrific. Clearly a lot of work went into your compilation, and it's very useful, both in terms of up to date info and as a hitory lesson of sorts.
To continue my rant....
If we want the city to reassess this commercial property, don't we also need to submit a list of residential properties that are lucky enough to be under-assessed? We all know there are quite a few residential properties that aren't paying 'their fair share'.
So do we start a program to systematically report them to the appropriate city agency?
And how far do we take this? Do we report a home improvement our neighbor does to the appropriate tax official, to make sure that's included in the tax assessment?
It sucks when this has the potential to actually impact each of us, doesn't it?
I went back and reviewed all the comments here and I think I sortof dreamed up that anyone was arguing for a forced reassessment of this guy's property. So there's a chance my lengthy posts were overkill. My apologies.
fine, fine. i'll try and play nice with the kids on this blog.
btw, resident since '72. if you need reccommendations for some 'decent' bars, i'll be happy to give some tips. sounds like you've been frequenting some... "funky" joints. :o)
not to be rude, offensive, abrasive, negative, ad nauseum - but for the obtuse, the above was a JOKE.
oye!...
I'm betting that it's actually illegal for the city to go back and mess with a tax assessment because we think it's too low.
One way to find out--lets go ahead and do it.
There's no comparison between revisiting residential rates for folks actually living in their properties, working to build functioning communities; and real-estate speculators sitting on abandoned, rotting commercial properties.
Are you really arguing that there's no difference?
It's not unfair in the least to assess punitative rates against owners of properties (whether zoned residential or commercial) who allow their properties to lie abandoned for years.
The fact that the DC government can't get its act together to do so borders on malpractice.
(Heck, I say after 5 years of no occupancy, invoke eminent domain...)
"There's no comparison between revisiting residential rates for folks actually living in their properties, working to build functioning communities; and real-estate speculators sitting on abandoned, rotting commercial properties."
Actually, thanks for allowing me room to continue my rant.
You are working on a whole bunch of assumptions there.
Not all commercial properties are 'speculators sitting on abandonded, rotting commercial properties'.
And not all residential property owners are the angels you make them out to be. Quite a few residential properties in our neighborhood contribute to detrimental elements that drag down the entire community, just like empty storefronts do.
So, yes, if you really are suggesting that we try to target individual commercial real estate owners for extra tax burden because we are offended by their high asking prices for their property, then we need to target individual residential owners as well.
And quite a few residences in the H Street area are assessed at well below what they'd actually sell for at market rate.
So let's start reassessing them all.
It's only fair.
Of course, this is all just theory, because I really doubt the city would be enthralled with our request that they selectively 'reassess' individual properties.
I don't have a dog in this fight, as I don't own any commercial property, but I guarantee you that if I did and residents made some sort of demand that my property be reassessed because they felt my assessment was too low (especially if this was based on their dislike of my sales price listing), I'd make it my life's mission to make sure their properties were reassessed in the same way.
For what it's worth, I do support the idea of making sure vacant properties are taxed at a higher rate to encourage redevelopment. But even that needs to be done with some caution. There are sometimes legitimate reasons why a property is empty. Perhaps an illness in the family,or renovation plans that because of red tape have been delayed, etc. Or zoning issues. All those things need to be fairly considered.
But that's not what we seem to be talking about here. We seem to be talking about punishing someone because they listed a sales price that we find offensive. Big difference.
And we need to be careful how nasty we get with commercial property owners. If I was a property owner on H and I got the feeling that residents were out to harass me into selling my property by arbitrarily increasing my taxes (especially if I thought it was based on envy or anger because of what I was asking for my property) I'd at least consider going ahead and making a use for the property - preferably one the residents didn't want, like yet another liquor or corner beer store, or maybe a halfway house, etc. And when anyone tried to block me in that use, I'd sue them endlessly, citing my need to occupy the building to avoid punitive taxation.
In short, we can't demand that all storefronts be occupied under threat of seizure of property through onerous additional taxation, then demand that they not be businesses we don't like. That's simply not fair or reasonable.
So be careful what you ask for when you demand that businesses be occupied or that tax assessments be selectively recalculated.
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