A reader writes in:

“A big line on 14th Street, NW between Harvard and Columbia — they’re waiting for Section 8 housing. In a very long line, in 30 degree weather.”

Dear PoP,

You think you could Post something on the little corner store at the southwest corner of 13th and Otis? It has been closed for two days or so and I’m getting concerned. I love the store and the charming Ethiopian woman who owns it. One time she gave me a free meal when I complemented the wonderful smell of whatever was cooking. I hope the place will be open again soon.

I think it may have been involved in the recent bust by the major narcotics unit of MPD. Anyone else know/hear anything?

UPDATE: A commenter writes:

“The owner went home to Ethiopia until Feb 22/23. No drug bust! It will reopen before the end of the month.”

Dear PoPville,

I have been looking everywhere for the number of the so called “best kept Mexican food in DC” and I have had no luck. It’s called Rosa’s, its in Columbia Heights and the only access is by finding her phone number. I thought maybe you might know more about it or how I can find the number. Anyway below is a article talking about it.

“What’s the best kept food secret in Washington?

It’s Rosa’s, said chef Spike Mendelsohn, owner of the Good Stuff Eatery and We, The Pizza restaurants on Capitol Hill, during a panel Wednesday. He explained that to eat at Rosa’s, you must find and call a secret phone number. The mysterious Rosa, a resident of Columbia Heights, answers and makes sure you’re downstairs before throwing a set of keys out her window. Once you let yourself into her apartment on the second floor of a residential building, you can feast on what Mendelsohn says are the best tacos he’s had.”

We recently spoke about how good the trolley park renovations were looking at 11th and Monroe St, NW but I just noticed this fantastic old photo at the park. And now we know why it’s called Trolley Park:

Dear PoPville,

A year ago I wrote in asking if the Columbia Heights fountain should be protected from damage from skateboarders. As per usual there was probably a 50/50 split saying yes it should be protected, the fountain was brand new and should not be damaged. The other half was arguing for skateboarder’s rights and yuppies should apparently move away if they want nice things. Well, it’s a year later and if you walk over the fountain you’ll notice there are broken or chipped tiles on every other square foot or so. Granted the tiles can break from absolutely anything but the most obvious and highest level of abuse I’ve ever noticed is from skateboards.

Should we keep letting this happen untill the tiles are all broken? Or until all the fountain heads break?

At least they were caught. From MPD:

Shortly after 3 AM on February 5, 2012, three complainants were driving in the 1400 block of Park Road, NW, when they were cut off by three vehicles. Four people exited one of the vehicles and approached the complainants. Two of the suspects produced handguns and pulled one of the complainants out of the driver’s seat. The suspect attempted to take the complainant’s car, but the other two occupants fought the suspect off. The suspect took the complainant’s property, exited the complainant’s vehicle, and fled in the suspect vehicle.

The complainants chased the suspect vehicle onto Georgia Avenue, NW, when they observed a Fourth District patrol unit and reported the robbery/attempted carjacking. The Fourth District unit located the suspect vehicle and conducted a traffic stop in the 7000 block of 9th Street, NW. Two of the suspects were apprehended, but two additional suspects fled from the vehicle on foot. The two suspects who fled were apprehended a short time later in the 400 block of Butternut Street, NW. An identification procedure was conducted, at which time the complainants identified all four suspects as the ones who had robbed and attempted to carjack them. The suspects were placed under arrest.

Congratulations go out to Fourth District for apprehending these dangerous criminals and bringing a swift closure to this robbery!

On Sunday afternoon, @MrTinDC noticed some folks at Coffy Cafe coming to 3310 14th St, NW, and was wondering when they’d be opening. I stopped in to get a quick update and indeed they had just finished a staff meeting and are now aiming for a grand opening on Feb. 18th. While the furniture is still getting set up, I did see some awesome mod furniture. Gonna be a great addition to Columbia Heights.

This rental is located at 3541 Holmead Place NW:

The listing says:

“Beautiful renovated basement unit in great area!! Fascinating architecturally designed. All new appliances and freshly painted. Can be used as a 2 bedroom or as a one bedroom with a den/family room. All utilities included. Washer/Dryer. Full kitchen. Rear entrance with parking space in the rear.”

This 2 bed/1 bath is going for $1,700/Mo.

From MPD:

Based on an ongoing narcotics investigation in the Third District in the areas of Spring Road and Place, Perry Place, Meridian Place, Oak Street, Holmead Place and the 3300-3600 blocks of 14 Streets, Northwest , the Third District Vice Unit in coordination with other MPD Vice Units and the Major Narcotics Unit executed 10 search warrants in different areas in the city.

As a result, numerous arrests were made. Additionally, various narcotics, US currency, other evidence, and a firearm was recovered.

Thanks to the community for your continued support in making your neighborhoods safer.

Hipchickindc is a licensed real estate broker. She is the founder of 10 Square Team and is affiliated with Keller Williams Capital Properties. 10 Square Team is a princeofpetworth.com advertiser. Unless specifically noted, neither she nor the company that she is affiliated with represented any of the parties or were directly involved in the transaction reported below. Unless otherwise noted, the source of information is Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS), which is the local multiple listing system. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

Featured Property: 1480 Harvard St NW
Legal Subdivision: Columbia Heights
Advertised Subdivision per Listing: Columbia Heights
Original List Price: $549,000.
List Price at Contract: Looks like it was increased post settlement first to $560,000., then to $660,000.
List Date: 12/09/2011
Days on Market: 2
Settled Sales Price: $700,000.
Settlement Date: 01/27/2012
Seller Subsidy: $0.
Bank Owned?: No Short Sale? No
Type Of Financing: Cash
Original GDoN post is: here.
The listing can be seen: here. To see pics, click on the main pic after opening the link and scroll through. In this case, there are more pictures than usual for a property in this condition.

I think everything I’ve written about the real estate market in DC over the past few months has read something like this…“blah blah blah SCARCITY blah blah blah LACK OF ACTIVE INVENTORY blah blah blah FOUR PERCENT (and lower) MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES.” For better or worse, that’s pretty much how it goes right now.

Continues after the jump.

In this situation, we’re (probably) looking at raw product for a developer. The outcome of this story is not unlike another recent Good Deal or Not Revisited (GDoN-R). On the back end of this deal, in this Columbia Heights location, a large renovated house might sell for a million dollars. Boutique condos are also likely to be desirable .

Per the tax records, it appears that this rather large house last transferred as a sale in 1994 for $105,000. In 2011, a family member took possession, possibly as part of an estate.

Thanks to commenter “Sir Douchy” on the original GDoN post for mentioning the cameo of this block in “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but I’ll take your word for it. My personal favorite movie featuring DC residential neighborhoods (and aliens) is “Mars Attacks”.