The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GU moving to expel student admitted via fraud.
• How the Venezuelan protests have impacted the neighbors.

3300 block of Q St.

Councilmember David Grosso has proposed a new “mansion tax” for residences throughout the District. While the name would suggest it would only apply to places with butlers, and lead pipes in the conservatory, and such, that’s not quite true. Depending on how much your home is assessed, it could apply to you. Here’s how.

The tax only would kick in for assessed values over $1.5 million. So if you merely own a humble abode of $1.5 million or less, you wouldn’t be affected.

Now before we go further, keep in mind that this is for assessed values, not true market values. And it would probably only really apply to taxable assessed values, which is often less than the overall assessment due to various things such as the homestead deduction. So if you’re not sure, pull out your tax bill and see what your taxable assessment is.

Ok, so you’re part of the lucky ones that own a house assessed for more that $1.5 million, your tax bill still won’t go up that much, at least not until we get to the real pricey territory.

Here’s how real estate taxes work: The city takes your taxable assessed value, divides it by 100, then multiplies it by $0.85. So if your home has a taxable assessment of $1 million, they divide it by 100 (which gives you 10,000), then multiply that by $0.85. Thus your annual tax bill would be $8,500. (As an aside, this is really a very low tax rate. Arlington taxes $0.996 per $100 assessment. Montgomery County’s rates vary by neighborhood, but are all well over $1.00 pr $100). Continue reading →

Photo by Ted Eytan.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Eastbanc bought the old Zara building at Prospect and Wisconsin and has high hopes for it.
• A small crime-wave of one was brought to an end.

Key Bridge

This week on Georgetown Time Machine, GM is traveling back 101 years to an incredible aerial shot from the Library of Congress collection. The shot, merged from a series of aerial photos taken in 1918, shows a satellite-like photo of our city over a century ago. Here are some interesting details from zooming in on Georgetown:

One of the clearer sights is of the old aqueduct bridge, which stood for another 15 years before being demolished after being replace by the Key Bridge. (Ignore the white diagonal line, that is just a remnant from splicing the multiple aerial photos together).

Here’s a great view of the reservoir that once stood where the library is now. Continue reading →

Photo by Hillel Steinberg.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Protesters occupying the Venezuelan embassy have been given an eviction notice.
• Where you can get boozy margaritas around Georgetown, and elsewhere.