The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Do Georgetown fraternities waterboard their pledges? (Of course not, but they do exist.)
• Reviewer thinks you should go with the bigger puffs at Bearded Papa.

3200 block of Grace St.

After almost a decade of debate, the DC Zoning Commission last month approved a raft of changes to the zoning code. This wide ranging action took a code that had been originally written in the 1950s squarely up to date. For Georgetown there are two key changes that could have the most impact: corner stores and accessory dwellings. GM has looked into this issue many times before and here’s his write-up on the two changes:

Corner Stores

Corner stores like Scheele’s and Sara’s are a critical part of the appeal of living in Georgetown. But the thing is, they only exist where they are due to grandfathering. The previous zoning code would consider them illegal if they hadn’t existed for as long as they have. And consequently, under the old regulations if any of them closed, unless a new store were opened there shortly after, the grandfathering would expire and no new store would be allowed.

This potentially had real consequences. When the future of Scheele’s was in doubt due to the Scheele family putting the building up for sale, it was never an option for the store to simply pick up and move across the street. The grandfathering wasn’t portable. So if a store lost its lease, it couldn’t simply move to another building unless that building was already zoned commercial. There are only a few small pockets in the side streets of Georgetown that are zoned commercial.

The new rules loosen the general prohibition on commercial activity in residential zones. You can now open a corner store in any property literally on a corner. Some conditions apply, but the main one is that there cannot be more than three other corner stores within 500 feet and it cannot be within 750 feet of M and Wisconsin.

That last condition is a little odd, but the idea is that corner stores are supposed to be neighborhood serving and not simply be an extension of the existing commercial areas.

Admittedly, these rules do not allow for many new stores popping up in the side streets of Georgetown. But the idea isn’t necessarily to add more corner stores (the demand probably couldn’t support it anyway) as it is to make it easier for new stores to open should the existing ones ever close.

Accessory Dwellings

Right now throughout Georgetown there are scores of “English Basement” apartments, and the like. They provide extra income for the homeowners and provide more affordable housing for the tenants.

But most of them are illegal. Continue reading →

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice profile of Georgetown artist.
• Pretty bad flooding hit the Addison building at Hyde-Addison. GM only received some details, but apparently several classrooms were severely damaged.

Washington Harbour

For no particular reason, next month various friends, family and former employees of the late great Nathans restaurant will be gathering to reminisce of old times. And you’re invited too.

The informal party will take place at Martin’s Tavern March 10th.

In the meantime, here’s a little something to stoke those memories:

Photo by LaunchOurRocket.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Chez Billy Sud now open on Lundi.
• Georgetown is surprisingly not a great place to become a landlord.

Montrose Park

Photo by LaunchOurRocket.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice Q&A with the Georgetown University student president and vice-president.
• Church-turned-home back on the market. Come be GM’s neighbor!

Recently GM happened to notice that the restored canopy being installed at the old Georgetown Theater was full of lightbulb sockets (seen above). GM happened to pass architect Robert Bell another time and he confirmed that the underside of the canopy will be covered in lightbulbs. This will look spectacular.

That is the classic look for old movie houses, so it’s not really surprising that he’s bringing it back. But it’s exciting nonetheless. Continue reading →