Dear PoP,

Can you please give a horse’s ass award to the empty lot on the north side of the 1400 block of Chapin St NW? It once promised the “Privado Condos” but has been sitting accumulating garbage for at least two years. The fence, and accompanying weeds and trash, has also been encroaching on the sidewalk making it difficult to pass. Ruins what is otherwise one of my favorite blocks in DC.

Interestingly their Website is still live (thought the phone number listed is out of service):

And here’s the rendering of what could have been:

Dear PoPville,

Hey there – just heard from a friend walking to work that they saw a liquour license application for that vacant building between the new art gallery and Room and Board at Swann and 14th for “Local 14″ a spin – off of Local 16. May be worth investigating – I know lots of people have been wondering what would happen to that seemingly forgotten space!

Unfortunately, Local 14 applied for a liquor license back in June 2009 and there has been zero visible progress on the space since. So I’m gonna take this opportunity to nominate 1832 14th Street, NW for a retail space horse’s ass award.

Of course if a new restaurant, Local 14 or someone else, does come to the space I think that would be great. It’s a super prime location.

The retail space formerly home to Bemmi Hardware at 12th and Florida Ave, NW has been locked up for ages. While it would be awesome to get a hardware store back in business at this point I’d be happy to see anyone open. Or, hell, even convert it to an apartment/living space.

“Dear PoPville,

It’s boggled me for a while so finally thought to ask, in hopes that you may have an answer. Why on the north side of N street in Dupont (between 17 and 18) are nearly all of the rowhouse windows covered up? I’ve tried thinking up theories but really, none of them make sense. Specifically, these buildings are just west of the Tabard Inn.”

This is one of those questions that comes up every year. Last we spoke about it, we learned:

“that apparently the developer, Mr. Morton Bender and his company N Street Follies Ltd, would like to develop the properties into a hotel but the issue of parking has been a major hold up. The impasse has gone on for years and there are those who think it’s time to go back to the drawing board.”

Unfortunately, I predict the topic will come up again next year. Frustrating and a bit ridiculous at this point…

This building at the corner of 14th and Meridian Pl, NW is one of the most frequently nominated horse’s ass award buildings in the city. At one point it was slated to become the future home/expansion of Bacon Funeral Home (still located next door.) Lately, to me, it’s been looking particularly bleak.

What can be/should be/needs to be done in order to fix one of the worst eyesores in the city?

“Dear PoP,

I’d like to nominate 3228 Hiatt for a Horse’s Ass award. It has been under construction for years with no sign of actual work.”

Yes, I agree, this is a def. a strong candidate for a Horse’s Ass Award.

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Tons of potential here. Anyone know how long it’s been in this condition?

“Dear PoP,

My husband and I live on Sherman Ave and love, love, love our neighborhood, but are concerned about an abandoned building at the corner (2601 Sherman Ave NW). It was a downtrodden convienience store about 2 years ago when it was abandoned and it has been falling apart ever since. Occasionally (about once every 3 months) we see people stripping things out of the building but we can’t tell if they are working to tear it down, or if these are just scavengers. Its been abandoned now for about 2 years and I worry about squatters and it becoming a haven for unsavory activity. I’ve noticed that DC has posted signs fining the owner, but nothing has been done. Is there anything we can do as a DC resident to complain about the building and finally get it torn down? It seems that it is becoming a health as well as a safety hazard.

I’ve filed a 311 complaint with the city, but I assume since DC has put big orange stickers/ signs on the door about fines that’s not going to do much good.”

You can learn more about getting a property declared blighted or vacant here. I’d also encourage you to email vacantproperty@dc.gov as well as your council member.

Anyone have success getting a building listed as blighted?

Back in Nov. ’10 a reader nominated this building next to the Morrison-Clark Inn for a horse’s ass award. I just noticed some permits, new fencing and a dumpster out front. Looks it’ll be condos:

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Good progress since we last checked in in mid-April.

“Dear PoP,

I emailed you about two months ago asking for information about this borderline-abandoned building, and it looks like there’s finally something going on. All of the graffiti has been painted over, and a “For Sale” sign has been nailed to a window. I can’t find a listing anywhere, but I’m hoping it goes fast and something fantastic comes in its place.”

Let’s hope the asking price is realistic!

In our recent discussion of the corner of 11th and Rhode Island Ave, NW many readers have noted how this section of 11th street has tons of potential. Many buildings have already been fixed up. So it always pains me when I pass the one above. Hopefully it will catch the wave of 11th Street resurgence and get fixed up soon.

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“Dear PoP,

I think about the story behind this home every time I walk past. It’s on the stretch of Euclid between 11th and 13th and is the only decrepit house on the block. Looks as though as one time it must have been an incredibly grand family home. The windows on the side (you unfortunately can’t see from the photos) are beautiful and amazing. Unfortunately, the roof looks to be rotting out, the porch is crumbling, bricks are visibly loose in several spots, it’s boarded up and the yard is completely overgrown. There’s also a rusted out old shell of a car on blocks in the rear.

I am constantly wondering what the deal is with this place and whether or not it’s being held on to until it seems like the “right” time to turn it in to another condo building. I hope that eventually it can regain some of its past grandeur and I am hopeful that somebody is finally stepping up to take care of this property–from my last look at the back it *almost* looks like there are new windows and a new support has been added under a corner of the roof. The front gate is bolted with a rusted out padlock and I couldn’t see any visible permits but it would be great to have this home fit in with the rest of the block.

Would love to know if anybody knows the status of this property and if it may indeed be on the turn-around.”

“Dear PoP,

A while back I wrote to nominate the old Alliance of Concerned Men at 11th and Harvard St NW that burned down for the Horse’s Ass award. At the time it looked like there was some hope that it would be converted to an “old person’s home.” Apparently the city or some developer had taken over the building after the AOCM had abandoned it after the fire.

Well, since then nothing seems to have happened. There are permits on the door but I haven’t seen a soul do any work on the property and I live across the street so I see it daily. The windows are still boarded up but some of the boards are loose or have come off allowing entrance into the abandoned structure. You can see sunlight coming through the roof which means the inside must be a mess now that the weather has gotten to it. I’m afraid that now it’s possible to get inside through the unboarded windows, it will become a magnet for ilicit activity in the neighborhood.

I would love it if you could get an update on what’s going on and why the progress has ground to a halt and also who or what I need to do to get the person(s) responsible to secure the building.”

Ward One Council Member Jim Graham writes:

“2905 11th St., the former Men’s Alliance building, was issued construction permits on 4/8/11 for renovations. DCHA has considered several options. Let me now ask Director Todman for their latest plan.

I am always available to provide updates, but DCRA also makes this information available here.”

Hopefully Director Todman will share some good news soon. I’m afraid the original reader is right that the area could become a nuisance property in its current state. When I went to check on the property last weekend I saw a discarded briefcase, possibly dumped after a robbery, (I called the police and they took it) as well as a door that was unlocked, not to mention the broken windows.

Whatever priority this building once had, I’d say it’s high time it moved up the list.

Unlocked door on first floor

Discarded briefcase behind front stairwell

False promises…?

“Dear PoP,

This building is at the corner of Vermont and V St. NW, between American Ice Co. and Duffy’s. Both it and the lot next to it have been vacant ever since I moved into the area late last year, but I never noticed the windows on the second floor until last week. They look to be brand new compared to the rest of the building, and they still have stickers on them. I immediately got excited and wanted to know more, but there’s no sign of any other changes. I was hoping maybe you knew something about the building or the lot next to it. I’m also curious about what the building used to be given the large oval where a sign once hung.”

This building has been reader nominated multiple times for a horse’s ass award. A reno here would be most welcome news. Anyone have any info or scuttlebutt?