The article summarizes a number of local news stories from the Northwest Current newspaper: 1) A senior living facility in Georgetown that had been undergoing renovations will now be converted into conventional apartments with 96 units instead, prompting concerns about increased traffic from community members. 2) American University is likely to miss its deadline to house 100% of freshmen and sophomores on campus by fall 2016 due to construction delays on its East Campus project, meaning it will be out of compliance with its campus plan. 3) Opposition is growing to the District's plan to replace the D.C. General family homeless shelter with a new facility in Ward 3, with residents calling for more transparency in the site selection

1. The Northwest CurrentWednesday, March 9, 2016 Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967 Vol. XLIX, No. 10
Calendar/22
Classifieds/30
District Digest/2
Exhibits/23
In Your Neighborhood/20
Opinion/6
Police Report/4
Real Estate/19
School Dispatches/8
Service Directory/28
Sports/9
Week Ahead/3
INDEXSPORTS
Backontop
St. John’s takes down Georgetown
Visitation to win the DCSAA girls
basketball championship / Page9
SHERWOOD
Bridgeinperil
Washington’s iconic Memorial
Bridge exemplifies nationwide
infrastructure crisis / Page6 Tips? Contact us at newsdesk@currentnewspapers.com
AGING, HEALTH & WELLNESS
Healthyvariety
Experts praise the fitness options
found in today’s gyms and studios
as encouraging exercise / Page11
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Janney Players presented the classic Broadway musical
“Annie” at Deal Middle School over the weekend. The cast
of Janney Elementary students performed hit numbers like
“It’s the Hard-Knock Life” and “Tomorrow.”
thinking about tomorrow
By MARK LIEBERMAN
Current Staff Writer
Early last year, residents of The
Georgetown, a senior living facil-
ity at 2512 Q St. NW, moved out
temporarily to accommodate a
large-scale renovation of the
41-unit building.
Demolition of the facility’s
restrooms began shortly after the
residents moved out — but the
rebuilding process never began.
And last month, the Holladay
Corp., which owns the property,
announced that it would instead
convert it into a conventional
apartment building.
The company revealed more
details about its plans at the Febru-
ary meeting of Advisory Neigh-
borhood Commission 2E (George-
town, Burleith).
The proposal calls for 96 apart-
ments at an average size of 535
square feet, including several in
the basement, and 11 parking spots
on the premises. In addition to six-
month and one-year leases, short-
term rentals would also be avail-
able for as few as 30 days.
Some community members are
asking Holladay to account for the
expected increase in foot and vehi-
cle traffic at and around the build-
ing, and to drop its short-term
lease plans.
Regarding the project’s broader
change from renovation to new
apartments, Holladay’s Jessica
Sterchi told The Current that the
decision came because of a per-
sonnel shortage, not because the
corporation was looking for some-
thing more economically viable.
In 2013, the head of Holladay’s
retirement division retired him-
self, leaving a void in the compa-
ny’s oversight abilities, according
Seniorfacilitysetforapartmentconversion
Brian Kapur/The Current
Former residents of the Q Street
building will stay in Chevy Chase.
By MARK LIEBERMAN
Current Staff Writer
American University’s East
Campus project might not be fin-
ished in time for the start of the
fall 2016 semester, university rep-
resentatives conceded at a com-
munity meeting last Wednesday
— meaning that the school would
be out of compliance with a key
component of its 10-year campus
plan.
After a long-fought battle, the
university in 2012 received per-
mission from the Zoning Commis-
sion for a series of development
projects. As part of that process,
the commission ordered the school
to ensure it could house 100 per-
cent of its freshmen and sopho-
mores and 67 percent of its total
undergraduate population on cam-
pus by fall 2016. The commitment
was crafted in response to com-
munity complaints about off-cam-
pus student conduct.
But the four-building East
Campus project has repeatedly
fallen behind schedule, prompting
the university to extend construc-
tion hours using “minor modifica-
tion” applications to the Zoning
Commission.
The school now intends to ask
the zoning panel for another modi-
fication, this time to waive the fall
2016 housing deadline, officials
reported to Advisory Neighbor-
hood Commission 3D last week.
(ANC 3D includes Foxhall, the
Palisades, Spring Valley and Wes-
ley Heights.)
“The conditions under which
we’re operating leave us with no
other options,” Linda Argo, the
university’s vice president for
external relations and auxiliary
AUlikelytomissdeadline
forEastCampushousing
■ Development:University
willarrangeoff-campussites
By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
Opposition to a proposed
homeless shelter in Ward 3 has
grown louder, as residents and
community leaders call for more
scrutiny of Mayor Muriel Bows-
er’s plan for replacing the dilapi-
dated D.C. General family home-
less shelter.
Last Saturday hundreds of resi-
dents squeezed into Stoddert Ele-
mentary School, about an eight-
minute walk from the proposed
facility’s site at 2619 Wisconsin
Ave. NW, to hear from city lead-
ers. Many who spoke had ready
opposition for the Department of
Human Services chief, Laura Zeil-
inger, also a Ward 3 resident.
Grievances addressed the scale
of the proposed building — which
would need zoning relief to build
38 units on a vacant lot, currently
zoned for three town homes,
across from the Russian Embassy
— and the lack of transparency in
the site selection process. Stoddert
parents also said additional chil-
dren from the shelter would over-
Ward3critics
ofshelterseek
transparency
By BRADY HOLT
Current Staff Writer
Ward 3 homebuyers know that
the market there is tight, with
houses typically selling quickly
— and often for more than their
asking prices.
But the District’s Office of Tax
and Revenue saw relatively little
increase in the ward’s residential
property values in the last year,
according to data the agency
released last week. An increase of
2.96 percent was barely half the
rate of the next-slowest ward —
Ward 2, whose values grew by
5.74 percent. Ward 8 in far South-
east and Southwest led the growth
with a whopping 13.54 percent
increase compared to last year,
followed closely by Northeast’s
Ward 5 (11.45 percent).
Overall, the agency found that
the District’s real estate market
has remained steady, with an aver-
age increase in residential proper-
ty values of 6.60 percent and an
average increase in commercial
property values of 5.11 percent.
Ed Krauze, CEO of the Wash-
Assessmentgainsshow
D.C.market’sstrength
■ Real estate:Riseinvalues
highestincity’seasternwards
Brian Kapur/The Current
One of three East Campus dorms
is two months behind schedule.
See Assessments/Page 5
See Zoning/Page 3See Georgetown/Page 5
See Shelter/Page 18

2. T
he two-bedroom, two-and-
a-half-bathroom Federal-
style row house at 1750
Seaton St. NW is just entering the
market after extensive renovation,
listed for $1,100,000. Though the
blue circa-1900 row house sits in
the midst of several bustling areas
— U Street, 14th Street, Adams
Morgan and Dupont Circle —
Seaton Street itself is a one-way
road off the beaten track, so the
location offers a rare convergence
of quiet and convenience.
The front door accesses the
open-floor-plan living, dining and
kitchen area, featuring an entire
wall of
exposed brick.
The floor is
done in a pew-
ter maple hard-
wood that
complements
the contempo-
rary color pal-
ette of soft gray tones and balanc-
es with the brick. Light comes
from north- and south-facing win-
dows as well as creative contem-
porary chandeliers and recessed
lighting.
The home is filled with state-
of-the-art amenities, including a
Sonos wireless audio system,
which can run Spoti-
fy and other pro-
grams and play dif-
ferent music in dif-
ferent sectors of the
house. The house
also comes wired for
Verizon FiOS activa-
tion. Central heating
and air is controlled
through a Nest smart
thermostat, which
can learn which tem-
peratures residents
prefer at different
times of day and
adjust automatically, while offer-
ing remote access and alerts
through a smartphone app. Also
installed and ready to activate is a
Honeywell security system.
In the living area, a Moda gas
fireplace sits
ready for cozy
evenings. The
dining area,
large enough to
fit a table for
six, is lit with a
south-facing
window set
into the side where the house nar-
rows to the back.
The kitchen is designed for
those who love good food and
drink, with a specially outfitted
wine nook under the stairs and a
Vissani wine refrigerator oppo-
site. A half-bath in the kitchen
area saves guests from having to
take the stairs during a dinner
party.
Simple and efficient white
Ikea cabinetry offers ample space
for storage around the Bosch
appliances. The gas range and
hood provide helpful extras, such
as a retractable faucet over the
cooktop for filling pots. The sink
is fitted with a long-reaching
pull-down spray faucet.
The kitchen area opens onto
the back patio, with space for a
small car and access to the wood-
en rooftop deck by way of a
brand-new staircase. It’s perfect
for watching the sun set over the
rooftops of Adams Morgan.
Inside, the exposed brick con-
tinues up to the second floor and
into the master bedroom, which
has two full closets and an en-
suite bathroom. A hand-forged
iron sink vanity is topped with
gray marble and two farmhouse-
style square porcelain sinks. The
marble shower is fitted with a
Grohe rainshower head and
shower wand.
The second bedroom faces
south for optimal light and is
served by a luxurious hall bath-
room, a jewel of a room. A tiny
crystal chandelier and wall-
mounted glass bell lights illumi-
nate the antique clawfoot tub with
refurbished original hand-held
shower head and faucet. The
backsplash wall is done in gray
marble, and the floor is tiled with
soft gray and black marble in a
basket-weave pattern. The sink is
a second iteration of the hand-
forged iron vanity with marble
top. The final doors in the hall
hide the stacked Samsung washer
and dryer set and the water heater.
This home will suit the city
dweller who wants the best of
everything — a quiet hideaway
only steps from the action, and
the charm of an Old City row
house with the technology and
contemporary updates that make
for a relaxing environment, where
everything is just so.
This two-bedroom, two-and-a-
half-bath row house at 1750
Seaton St. NW is listed for
$1,100,000 and has 1,304 square
feet of living space. For details,
contact the Mandy and David
Team of Compass Real Estate at
202-425-6417 for Mandy Mills,
202-557-5411 for David Getson,
or team@mandyanddavid.com.
OldCityhouseoffersapexofmodernurbanliving
Photos courtesy of Compass Real Estate
This two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath row house at 1750
Seaton St. NW is priced at $1,100,000.
ON THE MARKET
lEE Cannon
Northwest Real estate
A Look at the Market in Northwest Washington The Current March 9, 2016 ■ Page 19