Photo by MuseForHire2010.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Photo by John-Morgan.
A couple weeks ago, GM alerted you about potential problems with taking a tax write-off for donating a preservation easement on your house. What inspired the notice was that the Department of Justice won a lawsuit against an organization that was accepting easements and informing people that they could write-off up to 15% of the value of the home in doing so.
The thrust of DOJ’s action was that the trust was misleading people when it told them they could write-off that much. But GM mistakenly conflated that argument with the fact that the IRS itself is highly dubious that easements have any value and thus should not provide any tax write-offs, particularly if the home is protected by historic preservation laws. GM argued that that was faulty logic because preservation easements do in fact offer stronger protections than the laws do. Continue reading
Filed under Preservation
Photo by Ctankcycles.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Despite the potential for a double-dip recession, condo construction in Georgetown is moving ahead full steam. On top of the planned projects at the Ket Bridge Exxon site, the Post Office, and the Verizon building parking lot (all EastBanc projects) a new project has popped up. It’s for a brand new building at the corner of Cecil Pl. and Grace St.
Right now the location is a parking lot:
The lot is owned by G.M. Steinbraker & Sons, a third generation Georgetown-based general contractor firm based out of a workshop just down the block on Grace St. Continue reading
Filed under Real Estate
Photo by Flicker Clicker.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Courtesy of MRP Realty.
Back in January, GM published an entry in his occasional “Why Not” series. This time he asked: Why not build a waterfront ice rink? In all honesty, GM thought it was a huge pipe dream and had no chance of actually coming to pass. But shortly after publishing it, GM was approached by Sue Hamilton of the Georgetown Business Association to let him know it’s not such a pipe dream after all.
Turns out that back in the 90s, there was an ice rink on the waterfront. At the time, the park was rented from the feds by the city, so NPS’s policy against “active parks” was not a problem. The ice rink itself was a portable unit and it came from the recently defunct Ice Capades. The rink was up for several years before the city turned the park back over to NPS and the rink was kicked out. Since then, however, it has remained in storage. Sue told GM, though, about the nascent plans and that a return of the rink was a real possibility.
While GM was thinking more about a rink in the waterfront park, the plans, as reported by the Post, call for the Washington Harbour fountain to be converted to a rink, and that’s probably a better idea. The restaurants can cater to the crowds with hot chocolate and the like. Continue reading
Filed under Why Not
Photo of Rosslyn from Georgetown by Dinesh Cyanam.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
You must be logged in to post a comment.