Saturday, November 24, 2018

Is the land behind the Woodberry townhomes for sale?

This sign sprung up on the open lot just north of Riverdale Park Station a few weeks ago.



The location of this sign is below:


This is very troubling for folks like me who own a townhome in Riverdale Park Station that is on Woodberry.  (The first 39 units located in Buildings 1-4)

We all have nothing but nature in our backyards and we were told by Stanley Martin that there was no chance of anyone ever building behind our units because the metro owned the land.  We were even charged lot premiums because of this fact

I verified that the metro does own this land...  see below:



This is from the public land inventory site at:
mncppc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=449e17560f0f477aa01ac66a4a95ae1d

Once I found that grid and parcel number I was able to get to get the tax record:


According to the records WMATA now owns the land and it was sold from Cafritz to WMATA back in 1989.

http://sdat.dat.maryland.gov/RealProperty/Pages/viewdetails.aspx?County=17&SearchType=ACCT&District=19&AccountNumber=2128098


Also strange is that the listing company, NAI Michael does NOT have any property listed at the location of the sign.



http://www.naimichael.com/properties.aspx

So maybe there is nothing to worry about here, but still the location of the sign is troubling. 

I called NAI Michael one week ago to inquire about the land and did not get a response even after leaving a message.

I am hoping someone with more time than I have can figure something out here.  The phone number listed on the sign goes straight to a messaging service.

Another homeowner got confirmation from the mayor that the land is for sale.


Saturday, November 17, 2018

Parking Deck FINALLY open

The parking deck construction started well over a year ago and was supposed to open months ago. 

The developer decided to make it 6 stories from 4 stories and also had some other things that held them up along the way so it actually did not open until 11/15/18.   

It is now open for parking and is free at this time.



I checked it out in the middle of the day today (Saturday) in what was a very busy day for Riverdale Park Station and in the massive 6 story structure there were 7 cars on the ground floor in total.  I think folks are accustomed to parking directly in front of the gym and on Woodberry for the gym and maybe don't know this parking is here or find it easier to park on the street vs a parking deck. 

One thing I found odd (other than how many spots this deck offers) is there is only one elevator on the far side and it only goes up to level 4, I am guessing because the top two floors were decided upon at a later date.

The apartment that is supposed to wrap around this parking deck will have 230 units and they are slated to begin construction in January of 2019.  It is supposed to take 2 full years to complete so it will be a long time before this parking deck is seeing any usage beyond a few cars.

Coolest thing about this deck is it is so massive that you can get some amazing views of Riverdale Park Station from the top of it...   

See some shots I took today below:









Friday, November 9, 2018

Hiker/Biker Trail now running directly down Rhode Island Avenue.


The Hiker/Biker trail fence between Buildings 3 and 4 finally came down today!



Now the trail runs directly down Rhode Island Avenue.   

I realized I posted this would occur way back in September as that is what I was told, but at least it finally happened as of today.  (11/9/18)

This is good for the folks who live on Woodberry as we don't have to worry about all the bike and foot traffic in the alley behind Woodberry anymore.

Also the folks taking the Hiker/Biker trail have a MUCH more direct route now.