The streets of Washington, D.C.’s Pleasant Plains neighborhood are lined with colorful row houses and historic buildings that boast big retail names such as Whole Foods as well as local businesses.
If you pull into the right alley off Sherman Avenue, you will find yourself in a secluded alcove of luxury.
“It’s a whole experience,” according to listing agent Paniz Asgari of Compass’ Asgari Group.
On the left side of that alleyway is a gated parking lot filled with Range Rovers and G-Wagons. That’s where Asgari pulled in on a cold, but sunny, Thursday morning.
There's a building at 770 Girard St. next to that parking lot that some 100 years ago produced parts for the world’s earliest helicopters. Today, the former factory is a luxury residential loft, and it’s for sale.
From the Homes.com blog: Living in Washington, D.C., Is a Balance of High Costs and Rich Culture
The three-bedroom, four-bathroom home spans nearly 3,000 square feet. It includes a theatre room equipped with a $30,000 entertainment system, an updated chef’s kitchen, a third-story sunroom that could be used as a gym or an office and a roof deck that offers views of D.C.
Even with those updates, traces remain of the factory that once exited within the building, including original brick walls and 13-foot ceilings.
That combination of modern and original requires a specific kind of buyer, according to Asgari.
“This is all lifestyle,” she said. “It’s somebody that cares about presentation, about uniqueness, about atypical things. And this speaks to that.”
The property is currently listed off the multiple listing service, the online platform that agents use to market their listings, and Asgari isn't publicly sharing its price yet. Agents can choose to privately list properties, but it means they don’t get the benefits of the MLS, such as greater publicity.
Asgari said she plans to bring the loft public in January once she’s had it staged and hosted a broker’s open for agents who might have interested buyers.