Outdoor Sound Legislation Resurfaces At City Council
The outdoor sound legislation on which the DC City Council held hearings in 2019 has been reintroduced by Chairman Phil Mendelson, Councilmember Brooke Pinto (Ward 2), and Councilmember Anita Bonds (At Large). The status of the bill can be seen here and the (re)introduction can be seen here [PDF] with it having the title ‘B24-0137 – Amplified Noise Amendment Act of 2021’. The word ‘noise’ should be removed but regardless of the name, some form of it needs to be passed or incorporated into current DC sound level regulations so that all the stakeholders – residents, musicians, tourists, workers, and government representatives – can move forward.
Farmbird Opens Restaurant In Penn Quarter (860 E St NW)
Farmbird, the grilled chicken focused restaurant, opened its latest location in Penn Quarter last week. This space has been vacant since 2009 (!) when it was last occupied by the Soho Cafe. The entrance is no longer on 9th Street NW thus Farmbird has an E Street address. They are open for breakfast in addition to lunch and dinner service. Due to the pandemic it’s take away only for the moment.
The Farmbird menu features chicken plates over rice with 5 flavors (Avocado Basil, Lemon Tzatziki, Chipotle Masala, Barbecue Ranch, and Spicy Roasted Fresno) to choose from along with a range of salads, sides, and beverages.
We tried the Barbecue Ranch with the charred sweet potatoes and it was yummy!
Cribs XXXIV: Decked Out On G Street
We haven’t put up a Cribs post in some time but with a new year now upon us we thought we’d revisit real estate listings in the neighborhood. Our Cribs post series explores homes for sale in the Penn Quarter neighborhood from time to time.
We found a penthouse unit for sale at the Mather Studios (916 G St NW) that we visited in 2002/3 when units in the building were first released for sale following construction. The units in this building are spacious and what we loved about this penthouse was that its roof deck has both southern and western exposures. That means you can see the Old Post Office clock tower and the Washington Monument, a truly DC view!
916 G Street NW #1004 presented by Lee Murphy from HomeVisit Video on Vimeo.
The unit has two stories, a main living floor and a top floor story with a family room aside the roof deck. The roof deck has both covered and uncovered areas. The main living floor includes 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The unit also comes with a tandem parking space in the building fitting two cars. The total square footage comes in at 1,230 square feet, the listed price is $1,274,999, and the monthly condo fee is $1272.
916 G St NW – #1004 (Redfin listing)
916 G St NW – #1004 (Homevisit virtual tour)
Last Day For Penn Quarter Urban Outfitters Is Tomorrow (737 7th St NW)
We learned over the holiday that Urban Outfitters (737 7th St NW) will be open one more day, tomorrow (Dec 27, 2020), and then close its doors. The store has been a neighborhood mainstay on 7th St NW. The closest Urban Outfitters will now be in Georgetown. This store has the largest street presence of all the stores on 7th Street with its two story configuration and all glass frontage. The earliest reference we can find is back to 2007 meaning the store has been around for at least 13 years. A creative future use might be to turn it into a mini-mall with pop up stores set up inside. Its closure along with that of Bed, Bath, and Beyond earlier in the year means that the last major retailer open on 7th St that doesn’t sell food, pharmacy, banking, or telecommunications products is the Ann Taylor Loft (707 7th St NW) and Pua Naturally (400 7th St NW). What a year.