D.C. Condo Tries to Balance Needs of Longtime Residents, New Buyers
By Elizabeth Rich
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, April 14, 2007
One evening in October 2005, Theresa Ojinmah grabbed a frozen dinner from the grocery in the basement of the Northwest Washington condominium where she works. The shop had grown seedy, it reeked of cigar smoke, it was poorly stocked, and its aging manager was apathetic.
Back at her desk, Ojinmah discovered mold on her Salisbury steak. However, she didn't toss it out or demand a refund. Instead, Ojinmah, the assistant manager at the Towers, presented the decomposing meal at the condo's board meeting that evening.
Perish the thought that the developer of the Towers, local builder Melvin Gelman, would have allowed such unseemly conditions. Gelman kept a decorator on retainer and lived in a 9,000-square-foot duplex in the building, at 4201 Cathedral Ave. NW. (His family still owns the unit.)
When he opened the apartment building in the late 1950s, Gelman promised Shangri-la. Built on 12 acres with 12,000 budding tulips, the Towers boasted a restaurant, a drug store, a florist, a grocer, a beauty salon, a valet, a tailor, a swimming pool, tennis courts and 600 parking spaces for about as many apartments.
The Salisbury steak incident signaled a tipping point. With a changing demographic in the past few years, the Towers, like other condominiums and cooperatives across the District, has had to acknowledge both its wrinkles and its new residents. Owners now include not only the empty nesters and retirees who have traditionally lived there but also younger people, some of them couples with children.
In a search for convenience and affordability, those younger buyers are choosing condos over single-family houses, according to Joseph Himali, principal broker at Best Address Real Estate in Georgetown. "The new buyer puts a greater value on time and convenience than a yard. They don't have the time to meet a utility worker or pick up a package," he said.
In the past few years, thousands of trendy new condo units have hit the market in the District and the close-in suburbs. Eager to meet the needs of the new breed of buyers, developers are "trying to define the moment," said Jeff Wilson, a real estate agent at the Bethesda Gateway office of Long & Foster who does a high volume of sales in the District.
Many of these new buildings boast the latest in luxury kitchens and fashionable loft layouts.
According to Himali, however, location and convenience can trump granite and stainless. And ultimately, a sleek new business center or high-tech gym won't move a property any faster, Wilson said. "Traditional never goes out of date," he said.
But how can traditional age gracefully? It can require a little push, according to Anna Maria Taylor, a member of the condo board at the Towers.
Longtime residents become complacent, so new owners are key, she said. "Once you're in," she said, "you forget the problems."
Himali describes the tension that can arise between new buyers and older owners as a conflict of time over finances. New owners are eager to see updating but don't have the time to attend board meetings. Older owners, particularly those on fixed incomes, worry they can't afford rising maintenance fees.
And in a condo, which is run by an elected board, decision making can be complex. "Even little changes create problems," Taylor said.
Last year, when the board raised the issue of replacing the carpet, Taylor recalled, a revolt ensued. Cost was mentioned. In addition, a number of owners -- the usual board meeting attendees -- complained because the board gave them only two choices.
Board President Mary Ann Bourbon recoiled at the memory. "I have people in the building who won't speak to me because of the carpet replacement."
The recent discussion over replacing the elevator floors hasn't been any easier. "It gets to be idiotic how you can argue over what color white to use. You'd think we were talking rocket science," Bourbon said.
Confronted with demands to modernize the lobby, the Towers hired a decorator to make the decisions.
Some residents say troubles began as far back as Gelman's death in 1978. His heirs sold the apartment house to a developer, and in 1979, the Towers was converted to condominiums.
"The aggravation started when it went condo," said Marjory Toldman, who moved in 18 months earlier. "When it was a rental, there was a boss and everyone followed the boss."
With the sale of the building, Toldman said, "there was a lot of fault-finding."
By the time Jim and Marlene Connors, a couple in their early 50s embarking on early retirement, bought their three-bedroom unit in 1998, the building needed work. "We were told the maintenance [fee] hadn't been raised in years, as if that were a good thing." (The board had not raised its common fees to match the cost of living since 1993.)
With growing pressure from residents such as Jim Connors, who later joined the board, the community hunkered down, adjusting the common fees in 2001 to play catch-up and make repairs. The corroded pipes for the heat and air conditioning were replaced, the roof was re-tarred, and every resident with a decaying balcony was forced to restore it at a cost of roughly $10,000.
With the edifice structurally sound, the Towers board then faced questions about retooling the condo's amenities, which now included a community room, a gym and a library. (The restaurant, florist and drug store were all closed by the 1980s.) What should the pool hours be? How much should the employees be paid? How to enhance the grounds?
The Towers looked to its neighbors for ideas. One complex the board consistently turned to was the Westchester, less than a quarter mile down the street.
Built in 1931 and converted to a co-op in 1953, the Westchester had its own storied past, which included a paperboy during World War II named Warren Buffett. Considered the gold standard in the Cathedral Avenue neighborhood, the Westchester has attracted retirees since it opened. It, too, was beginning to see the arrival of younger buyers, including a few families with children. (The Towers now claims about 50 children, the Westchester about 10.)
Also. rich with amenities, the four-building co-op was struggling with modernization. What about the aging gas pump? How to fill the space that was the drug store? Should the restaurant, which receives rave reviews from longtime patrons and a so-so response from younger diners, be updated?
With a nudge from the general manager, solutions surfaced, including how to replace the recently retired beauty salon manager. After 25 years as a Dupont Circle salon owner, Walter Carrillo could no longer stomach the rising rents on Connecticut Avenue. The Westchester opening was the perfect opportunity all the way around. Carrillo's recently renovated Westchester Hair Studio (and forthcoming spa) opened in late March with discounts for seniors and students.
When it came time for the Towers board to make a decision about the building's grocery store, as poorly maintained as it was, some residents said they didn't want to see it close.
"A lot of elderly people wondered how they would exist without their market, but new owners wouldn't even go in the door," Bourbon recalled.
The board did not renew the manager's lease and instead began the search for a replacement. Down the street, Duc Lee, 35, was working for his parents at the Westchester market, preparing to take it over when they retired. When he heard about the opening at the Towers market, he applied for and got the job.
One year later, many see Lee's market as a welcome change from its dingy predecessor. With its wine and boutique beer selection, organic foods, DVD rentals, novelty ice cream, and household staples, the two-aisle store is a smaller version of the Westchester market.
On a recent afternoon in the Towers market, Lee's wife held their six-month-old baby behind the counter. In the background, a computer replayed an episode of "American Idol" while a woman in her 40s bought a muffin. On her way out the door, the customer said goodbye to Lee and waved bye-bye to the baby.
"There comes a time when you have to make a change, and it was time to make a change," Bourbon said. This time, no one is complaining.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.