Developer Eyes Mount Pleasant Mansion for Condos

• October 22nd 2010

by Will Smith

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An up-and-coming DC developer has its eye on a dilapidated mansion in Mount Pleasant, with the aim of turning it into condos over the next two years.

Community Three Development’s two recent projects, The Nine and M Street Flats, were well regarded both for their quality and the pace at which they sold out. Now the developer has turned its attention to 3324 18th Street NW (map), a property whose potential as a beautiful restoration project is obvious despite its current state of disrepair. In a neighborhood filled with blocks of row houses, 3324 18th Street NW sits prominently on a 12,000-square-foot lot at the corner of 18th and Monroe, set back from the street by a wraparound front yard.

Community Three’s architect-cum-developer president Grant Epstein spoke Wednesday night to the design review committee in Mount Pleasant, where he outlined his plans for the site. Epstein envisions a conversion of the mansion into 11 condo units, according to a local resident who was at the meeting, including another unit in the carriage house around back. The interior of the building will be gutted and renovated, but Epstein plans to retain as many of the original details as possible. (Judging from his firm’s reputation for quality, this probably isn’t empty developer-speak but rather a real goal.) There will be a solarium in the back of the building to allow more light into the lower-level units, many of which will also have some sort of outdoor space.

Realization of this vision is still a couple years away as there remain a number of hurdles, not least of which is that Community Three’s contract to acquire the property hasn’t actually settled.

3324 18th Street has been on and off the market a few times over the last few years, and earlier deals have fallen through for one reason or another. “We’re all excited to see it go through this time,” said the resident who attended the meeting.

For more information about the property, listing agent Michael Kiefer of Green DC Realty has posted a profile as well as photos.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/developer_eyes_mount_pleasant_mansion_for_condos/2598.