Condo building adds to Shaw neighborhood’s diverse urban mix
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Version 0 of 1. The Shaw neighborhood in Northwest Washington is a visually diverse urban mix of residential and commercial venues. There are the colorful two- and three-story rowhouses in charcoal, light gray, salmon, white and green, the shops and eateries, and the old and new low- to mid-rise apartment buildings. People hurry to the Metro, walk the dog, rollerblade. Now a newly built condominium building at 1923 Ninth St. NW is ready to welcome seven families to the neighborhood. It’s a five-story elevator-equipped building with commercial space available for lease or sale on the ground floor. A townhouse community with a wooded feel Two units occupy each of three floors above the commercial space, with three units facing the street and three facing the rear. The top-floor has a penthouse that sometimes can’t be seen from the street because of the setback from the roofline . Martin Ditto, president and chief executive of Ditto Residential, the development company, said he focuses on how people will live in the housing he builds. It’s important, Ditto said, to design spaces that are aesthetically pleasing and convenient for daily living. “We think about the user experience,” he said, “in the same way a hotel might think about hospitality for their guests.” Ditto said the building’s relatively small size also has advantages. “The experience of living among only seven families will be very different from a building with 50 or 100 units,” he said. Search for something new ended in Clarksburg, Md. His company partnered with architect Chuong Cao of Dep Designs; designer Quinn Murph of Pro Lighting Projects; and Deborah Kalkstein of Contemporaria, a furniture store in Georgetown. Design features: In the building’s entry, the floor tiles are matte charcoal. One wall has what appears to be a floor-to-ceiling mural of tree limbs against a white sky. It’s actually wallpaper with an image custom-designed by an Italian company that works with Contemporaria. “We selected and commissioned a design, and it was scaled to our wall,” Ditto said. “Then a super craftsman installed it so all the tree limbs line up perfectly. It’s like you’re in a forest. It’s a very special element that we didn’t fully expect.” The Reishman Group, working under the Compass umbrella, is handling sales. All the units have two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The entrance to Unit 1 opens to a short hallway with the smaller bedroom on one side and a full bathroom on the other. The hallway also has several closets, including one for the washer and dryer and another for mechanicals. Ahead is the open-space living/dining area and kitchen, with a wall of windows at the far end that let in a lot of light. Kitchen appliances are on a wall shared with the smaller bedroom, facing a center-sink island and the wall of windows. The master bedroom, off the living/dining space, has an en suite bathroom with a double-vanity and a glass-enclosed shower. The penthouse: The penthouse has a private elevator lobby on the top floor and an assigned parking space. It is also distinguished by the private 600-square-foot roof deck off the living/dining area. The deck is reached through a glass wall/door system that provides a much wider opening than typical sliding glass doors. The deck offers sweeping views on three sides. Nearby: Walking from 1923 Ninth in any direction leads to interesting stores, eateries and bars, including Rewild, a plant and flower shop; Habesha Market and Carry-out; Sugar Shack Donuts & Coffee; and the popular Nellie’s Sports Bar. In North Shaw, there are galleries, restaurants, coffee places and streetside benches to hang out. Atlantic Plumbing Cinema is also there. Construction of a Whole Foods Market is underway in the Shaw-Pleasant Plains area. Schools: Cleveland Elementary, Cardozo Education Campus for middle and high school. Transit: The property is between two Metro stations on the Green and Yellow lines: U Street and Shaw-Howard University. Bus routes serve major traffic corridors, including U Street and Rhode Island Avenue. There are seven condominium units in this five-story building. The prices range from $749,000 to $1,395,000. Developer: Ditto Residential Features: Street-facing units have a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Units have five-inch-wide natural oak floors throughout. Windsor windows and recessed lights are installed. Outdoor terraces have rot-resistant ipe wood decking tiles. Kitchens have stainless-steel Bosch appliances, custom Italian cabinets, LED under-cabinet lighting and quartz counters. Stacking washer and dryer are by GE. All doors are solid-core. Bedrooms/bathrooms: 2 / 2 Square-footage: 926 to 1,168 Condo association fee: $420 to $543 View model: By appointment. Contact: Lindsay Reishman at 202-271-6441 or 1923-9th.com |