The District will spend up to $160,000 to down a million-dollar home in upper Northwest Washington, the end result of a legal battle sparked when the city wrongly issued a construction permit.
Workers with Fairfax-based DeConstruction Services will dismantle 1773 N. Portal Drive NW piece by piece over the next four weeks, with the vast majority of materials — walls, doors, siding, windows, cabinets, fixtures and staircases — donated to Habitat for Humanity. The District will pay between $135,000 and $160,000 to “deconstruct” the building in the North Portal Estates community.
“It couldn’t come soon enough for me,” said Robert Malson, who owns the house immediately behind the offending structure.
What’s left of the Tudor-style home can be found on a “flag lot” between houses on North Portal Drive and Redwood Terrace, creeping on multiple backyards and blocking views of Rock Creek Park.
Thehome was constructed in 2005 with the permission of the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, but without the consideration of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts — a requirement, given the home abuts federal parkland.
“We knew at that time that there had been a mistake made and it had been made to the detriment of the citizens of North Portal Estates,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty, who was deeply involved in the issue as the former Ward 4 D.C. Council member.
Through a legal settlement, the District bought the home for $1.5 million from the developer, Minh Vu, of Arlington.
Three of the home’s neighbors, including Malson, paid $135,000 for the land, which they will split three ways.
“It is unfortunate that the citizens had to sue their own government,” Civic League of North Portal Estates President Jerome Paige said.
