Vacant and Blighted Properties List Soars in 2011
732 Lamont is listed as a pending blighted property, which it has been for years. However, recent renovations and improvement have clearly improved the property
Last week, the Washington Business Journal reported that District properties designated as either Class 3 (vacant) or Class 4 (blighted) rose dramatically this year. This year’s tax roles show an increase of 671 properties on the vacant list, up to 1,115 properties from the 444 Class 3 properties listed during the first half of this year. Class 3 properties are taxed at $5 per $100 of assessed value.
An additional 243 properties are listed as blighted (including properties being appealed or pending the status) and will be taxed at the Class 4 rate or $10 per $100 of assess value. The full DCRA list of vacant, exempt, and blighted properties can be found here.
Below is a map of where the vacant (green), blighted (red), or vacant and blighted (purple) properties are in the Park View neighborhood.
While it’s nice to know where our local vacant and blighted properties are, it is also useful to know how our neighborhood compares to the rest of Ward 1 and how Ward 1 compares to the rest of the city.
430 Manor Place, NW. Listed as vacant since 2006. Finally listed as blighted in 2011.
Here’s the good news — Ward 1 doesn’t seem to be too bad off compared to the rest of the District, having 73 (9%) of the listed vacant property and 47 (10%) of the listed blighted properties.
Here’s the bad news — Within Ward 1, the Park View neighborhood has 24 (33%) of the listed vacant property and 12 (26%) of the listed blighted properties. While numerically this might seem low, for a relatively small neighborhood within Ward 1 I find these percentages to be alarmingly high.
Yet, the numbers might indicate that District agencies are doing a better job of addressing problem properties than they have in the past. The change in status of 530 Manor Place from vacant to blighted occurred this year after engaging DCRA on issues of rats, unsecured property, and lack of yard maintenance. But then again, other properties such as 610 Newton Place which are equally blighted, do not appear to be on any list as vacant, exempt, or blighted.
610 Newton Place, NW, has been in disrepair for a few years now. Future plans for its development is not known at this time
Graph comparisons showing how the Wards rank against each other are after the jump.
Vacant properties by Ward (2011)
Blighted property by Ward (2011)
Tags: Park View, Real Estate, Vacant & Blighted Properties
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Park View, D.C. 
September 7, 2011 at 8:19 am
Interesting post. And reassuring to see that my house is not listed as blighted. Sometimes I wonder!
The good news is that on my street at least one of the properties listed on the map is now under renovation. Seems like as long as the legal obstacles can be overcome dilapidated houses in Park View still represent a good investment opportunity for developers.
September 7, 2011 at 8:41 am
I think that the percentages are alarming too. Especially when you consider the number properties that are not listed but should be. I’ve been trying to get a house on my block listed that everyone knows is (and has been for years) vacant. My neighbors and I continue to contact DCRA with no change. The owner died many years ago and I guess the out of state family are not motivated to sell. Meanwhile, we (the neighbors) trim the weeds and plants to discourage people from going behind them to drink, party, pee, etc.
September 7, 2011 at 10:14 am
Thanks for posting. I am really glad to see that 3611 Warder is finally listed as blighted. Its a mess and I have been going back and forth with DCRA on this for months. Unfortunately they have actually been current on their taxes so no chance the City can auction it during a tax sale. Maybe the new rate will motivate the owner to do something about it.
October 25, 2011 at 11:02 pm
I recently moved into 609 Newton Pl NW. Hence, my view is of 610 Newton PL NW. I kept wondering if anyone owned that building, if it was for sale, if anyone was interested in buying it. Although it is an eye-sore now, I truly feel that in the right hands, it is an awesome property with tons of potential. So, I was disturbed to know that, yes, someone does own it… a church, no less! I’m not sure what the motivation is for a church to let a building go into such disrepair and allow miscreants to congregate and conduct drug activity on its premisis. I do not know why the church is holdin on to the property if it plans to do nothing with it. This block would benefit tremendously just by that building receiving a little TLC.
November 16, 2011 at 7:07 am
[…] on November 10th along with 10 other District properties. While it was not on the most recent Vacant and Blighted list, it certainly looks to me like it should have […]
March 2, 2012 at 2:29 pm
there is vacant property on S.Capitol and Danbary street s.w.
It has been vacant for over several yrs. It is not well managed and
it contains lots of trash and weeds. it is an eye–soared. It
has been targeted for fines due to the over grown grass but as
of to day, it is still a horrible sight in the neighborhood, and
to make matters worse the vacant property is next door
to an elementary school. The phone number listed on
the property is (202) 520-350l.
June 19, 2012 at 7:02 am
[…] floor. However, as many developments in the area, construction stalled and the building sat vacant and blighted for a […]
July 20, 2013 at 8:55 am
Please contact me. I am contacting DC Council Members on getting some of the properties donated to Murphy’s Law. We are a Re-Entry program to rehab properties. The participants have to work and contribute “Sweat Equity”. They are contracted to weekly drug screening and each property has a Site Manager. We work with ages 16 and up. We need donations of Legal Help, Properties and Building Materials. 202-704-3964
January 12, 2015 at 1:42 pm
We have a few vacant properties in DC that maybe perfect for this Program.
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