Southwest Waterfront - What's it like to live there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live there.

Pros- quiet, new buildings loaded with amenities, rent concessions out the wazoo, recent influx of local chains and eateries

Cons- it feels a little prefab, sterile, no authenticity, can't walk to downtown DC, only serviced by one metro line.

.

Do you feel comfortable walking around at night?

Pp here- Yes, moreso once "the Wharf" project is complete. I definitely don't implore friends to move to this neighborhood. It's fine but has no soul whatsoever. If your friends are new to DC and are trying to get a feel for the city they should look elsewhere. Shaw, U St., DuPont areas.

actually the fish market (the original "wharf") has been around since 1805, and has long been an institution for DC african americans in particular. It has far more "soul" than all the small plate restaurants in Shaw.

I don't live in either neighborhood but close by on the Hill, and I agree with this. I worry that the wharf development is going to change the soul of the fish market and the community there a lot. It will be a real loss.

I used to live there and agree. The area was desperately in need of more (really any) amenities, but it looks much more sterile with all of the new development. Overall I felt safe in the area, but I would avoid walking near some of the older high rises off of M street at night because it was so poorly lit and low foot traffic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are they? Do they have kids? Where do you live (burbs, I'm guessing)?

OP here. They are looking to rent for a year before having kids. They are in their early 30s.

I live in the city in a more residential/less built up area. Curious why it matters where I live?

Because that would explain why you're not up to date as to the happenings in the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are they? Do they have kids? Where do you live (burbs, I'm guessing)?

OP here. They are looking to rent for a year before having kids. They are in their early 30s.

I live in the city in a more residential/less built up area. Curious why it matters where I live?

Then the Yards are perfect them. They can rent at a reduced price, get a fabulous apartment and save up for a home. My DINK friends apartments in Navy Yard are fabulous. A bit of a longer drive to get to - but nice entertaining areas nevertheless.

Again, Navy Yards and SW Waterfront are two different areas. This is why I assumed OP lived in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are they? Do they have kids? Where do you live (burbs, I'm guessing)?

OP here. They are looking to rent for a year before having kids. They are in their early 30s.

I live in the city in a more residential/less built up area. Curious why it matters where I live?

Because that would explain why you're not up to date as to the happenings in the city.

OP here. I don't know anyone who lives down there, which is why I was asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How old are they? Do they have kids? Where do you live (burbs, I'm guessing)?

OP here. They are looking to rent for a year before having kids. They are in their early 30s.

I live in the city in a more residential/less built up area. Curious why it matters where I live?

Because that would explain why you're not up to date as to the happenings in the city.

OP here. I don't know anyone who lives down there, which is why I was asking.

Do your brother and SIL? I imagine they would be better at determining what they like, no?

[Anonymous]

They live in the city too, but their rent is going up again and it's out of their price range to stay. Just trying to gather some info for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live there.

Pros- quiet, new buildings loaded with amenities, rent concessions out the wazoo, recent influx of local chains and eateries

Cons- it feels a little prefab, sterile, no authenticity, can't walk to downtown DC, only serviced by one metro line.

.

Do you feel comfortable walking around at night?

Pp here- Yes, moreso once "the Wharf" project is complete. I definitely don't implore friends to move to this neighborhood. It's fine but has no soul whatsoever. If your friends are new to DC and are trying to get a feel for the city they should look elsewhere. Shaw, U St., DuPont areas.

actually the fish market (the original "wharf") has been around since 1805, and has long been an institution for DC african americans in particular. It has far more "soul" than all the small plate restaurants in Shaw.

I don't live in either neighborhood but close by on the Hill, and I agree with this. I worry that the wharf development is going to change the soul of the fish market and the community there a lot. It will be a real loss.

I am the PP you are responding to. Note, the fish market has moved physically once before. Its the institution and general location that goes back to 1805, not the current facility. I cannot be certain the institution and its relation to the DC AA community will survive another move, but I hope it will. My point was simply that to judge SW as less authentic than places like Shaw, when SW has its own interesting history, is overly focusing on architecture (and I say that as someone who loves Victorian architecture, and understands full well why that draws people to Shaw - I just find the distinction between "authentic" urbanism, and "faux" urbanism to itself be inauthentic - having lots of buildings built t once is one way cities develop - indeed many beloved older parts of DC were built more or less like that - and while it may not meet Jane Jacobs' rules for how cities should grow, its actually not inauthentic to American urban history.)

[Anonymous]

I live in Southwest (unlike the PPs talking about Navy Yard, which is in SE)! and like it a lot. I've lived in two rentals and now a place I own, for a total of 8 years in the 20024 zip code.

I feel safe walking home from the grocery store and metro at night. I'll walk home from Nats games too. The only thing I prefer not to do is walk down M Street between Delaware and S. Capitol by myself at night on a non-game day or through the Greenleaf public housing alone at night. Violent crime in the neighborhood is rare, and is largely clustered within two areas of public housing.

I like that there is a library nearby (though it will be closing for renovation next year, there will be an interim branch somewhere TBD), that I can walk to Safeway and the farmer's market easily (Harris Teeter if I really want to, and Whole Foods next year), a public pool, parks, kayak rental at Ballpark Boathouse, jazz night at Westminister, all the metro lines except red (and I guess red, if I really wanted to), and all the stuff near Navy Yard like restaurants and ball games and outdoor movies and ice skating and fountains. It takes 15 minutes to get to National Airport. The Wharf is going to have a lot of things to do, and Arena Stage is nice. I also like that it is a racially and economically diverse area with a lot of interesting history.

Here's what I don't like: the rare but not rare enough violent crime. Obnoxious children and teens who curse, litter, and do other not-exactly-criminal but irritating stuff. Increasing difficulty finding street parking (still not as bad as places like Dupont or U Street though). The elementary school is terrible--far below most other DCPS schools in test scores, even among other schools with similarly high poverty rates. And there aren't a lot of nearby charters, and we got zoned out of Wilson HS. But if your relatives don't have kids that may not matter to them.

Overall, I'm glad I live there and have no plans to leave. With all the apartments coming online, a lot of rental buildings are giving discounts to be competitive, so it's a good neighborhood to try out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live there.

Pros- quiet, new buildings loaded with amenities, rent concessions out the wazoo, recent influx of local chains and eateries

Cons- it feels a little prefab, sterile, no authenticity, can't walk to downtown DC, only serviced by one metro line.

.

Do you feel comfortable walking around at night?

Pp here- Yes, moreso once "the Wharf" project is complete. I definitely don't implore friends to move to this neighborhood. It's fine but has no soul whatsoever. If your friends are new to DC and are trying to get a feel for the city they should look elsewhere. Shaw, U St., DuPont areas.

actually the fish market (the original "wharf") has been around since 1805, and has long been an institution for DC african americans in particular. It has far more "soul" than all the small plate restaurants in Shaw.

I don't live in either neighborhood but close by on the Hill, and I agree with this. I worry that the wharf development is going to change the soul of the fish market and the community there a lot. It will be a real loss.

I am the PP you are responding to. Note, the fish market has moved physically once before. Its the institution and general location that goes back to 1805, not the current facility. I cannot be certain the institution and its relation to the DC AA community will survive another move, but I hope it will. My point was simply that to judge SW as less authentic than places like Shaw, when SW has its own interesting history, is overly focusing on architecture (and I say that as someone who loves Victorian architecture, and understands full well why that draws people to Shaw - I just find the distinction between "authentic" urbanism, and "faux" urbanism to itself be inauthentic - having lots of buildings built t once is one way cities develop - indeed many beloved older parts of DC were built more or less like that - and while it may not meet Jane Jacobs' rules for how cities should grow, its actually not inauthentic to American urban history.)

Who cares about a dumb fish market. That said, The Wharf development looks about as authentic as EPCOT Center

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in Southwest (unlike the PPs talking about Navy Yard, which is in SE)! and like it a lot. I've lived in two rentals and now a place I own, for a total of 8 years in the 20024 zip code.

I feel safe walking home from the grocery store and metro at night. I'll walk home from Nats games too. The only thing I prefer not to do is walk down M Street between Delaware and S. Capitol by myself at night on a non-game day or through the Greenleaf public housing alone at night. Violent crime in the neighborhood is rare, and is largely clustered within two areas of public housing.

I like that there is a library nearby (though it will be closing for renovation next year, there will be an interim branch somewhere TBD), that I can walk to Safeway and the farmer's market easily (Harris Teeter if I really want to, and Whole Foods next year), a public pool, parks, kayak rental at Ballpark Boathouse, jazz night at Westminister, all the metro lines except red (and I guess red, if I really wanted to), and all the stuff near Navy Yard like restaurants and ball games and outdoor movies and ice skating and fountains. It takes 15 minutes to get to National Airport. The Wharf is going to have a lot of things to do, and Arena Stage is nice. I also like that it is a racially and economically diverse area with a lot of interesting history.

Here's what I don't like: the rare but not rare enough violent crime. Obnoxious children and teens who curse, litter, and do other not-exactly-criminal but irritating stuff. Increasing difficulty finding street parking (still not as bad as places like Dupont or U Street though). The elementary school is terrible--far below most other DCPS schools in test scores, even among other schools with similarly high poverty rates. And there aren't a lot of nearby charters, and we got zoned out of Wilson HS. But if your relatives don't have kids that may not matter to them.

Overall, I'm glad I live there and have no plans to leave. With all the apartments coming online, a lot of rental buildings are giving discounts to be competitive, so it's a good neighborhood to try out.

OP here ... this is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Southwest (unlike the PPs talking about Navy Yard, which is in SE)! and like it a lot. I've lived in two rentals and now a place I own, for a total of 8 years in the 20024 zip code.

I feel safe walking home from the grocery store and metro at night. I'll walk home from Nats games too. The only thing I prefer not to do is walk down M Street between Delaware and S. Capitol by myself at night on a non-game day or through the Greenleaf public housing alone at night. Violent crime in the neighborhood is rare, and is largely clustered within two areas of public housing.

I like that there is a library nearby (though it will be closing for renovation next year, there will be an interim branch somewhere TBD), that I can walk to Safeway and the farmer's market easily (Harris Teeter if I really want to, and Whole Foods next year), a public pool, parks, kayak rental at Ballpark Boathouse, jazz night at Westminister, all the metro lines except red (and I guess red, if I really wanted to), and all the stuff near Navy Yard like restaurants and ball games and outdoor movies and ice skating and fountains. It takes 15 minutes to get to National Airport. The Wharf is going to have a lot of things to do, and Arena Stage is nice. I also like that it is a racially and economically diverse area with a lot of interesting history.

Here's what I don't like: the rare but not rare enough violent crime. Obnoxious children and teens who curse, litter, and do other not-exactly-criminal but irritating stuff. Increasing difficulty finding street parking (still not as bad as places like Dupont or U Street though). The elementary school is terrible--far below most other DCPS schools in test scores, even among other schools with similarly high poverty rates. And there aren't a lot of nearby charters, and we got zoned out of Wilson HS. But if your relatives don't have kids that may not matter to them.

Overall, I'm glad I live there and have no plans to leave. With all the apartments coming online, a lot of rental buildings are giving discounts to be competitive, so it's a good neighborhood to try out.

OP here ... this is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you!

Lots of section eight housing there. And yes, it does matter. Had a contract on a lovely townhouse and backed out after realizing just how bad the hidden areas were!are, it will not change. The broken car window and theft during our inspection didn't help much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Southwest (unlike the PPs talking about Navy Yard, which is in SE)! and like it a lot. I've lived in two rentals and now a place I own, for a total of 8 years in the 20024 zip code.

I feel safe walking home from the grocery store and metro at night. I'll walk home from Nats games too. The only thing I prefer not to do is walk down M Street between Delaware and S. Capitol by myself at night on a non-game day or through the Greenleaf public housing alone at night. Violent crime in the neighborhood is rare, and is largely clustered within two areas of public housing.

I like that there is a library nearby (though it will be closing for renovation next year, there will be an interim branch somewhere TBD), that I can walk to Safeway and the farmer's market easily (Harris Teeter if I really want to, and Whole Foods next year), a public pool, parks, kayak rental at Ballpark Boathouse, jazz night at Westminister, all the metro lines except red (and I guess red, if I really wanted to), and all the stuff near Navy Yard like restaurants and ball games and outdoor movies and ice skating and fountains. It takes 15 minutes to get to National Airport. The Wharf is going to have a lot of things to do, and Arena Stage is nice. I also like that it is a racially and economically diverse area with a lot of interesting history.

Here's what I don't like: the rare but not rare enough violent crime. Obnoxious children and teens who curse, litter, and do other not-exactly-criminal but irritating stuff. Increasing difficulty finding street parking (still not as bad as places like Dupont or U Street though). The elementary school is terrible--far below most other DCPS schools in test scores, even among other schools with similarly high poverty rates. And there aren't a lot of nearby charters, and we got zoned out of Wilson HS. But if your relatives don't have kids that may not matter to them.

Overall, I'm glad I live there and have no plans to leave. With all the apartments coming online, a lot of rental buildings are giving discounts to be competitive, so it's a good neighborhood to try out.

OP here ... this is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you!

Lots of section eight housing there. And yes, it does matter. Had a contract on a lovely townhouse and backed out after realizing just how bad the hidden areas were!are, it will not change. The broken car window and theft during our inspection didn't help much.

Meh, think of it as a discovered defect

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live in Southwest (unlike the PPs talking about Navy Yard, which is in SE)! and like it a lot. I've lived in two rentals and now a place I own, for a total of 8 years in the 20024 zip code.

I feel safe walking home from the grocery store and metro at night. I'll walk home from Nats games too. The only thing I prefer not to do is walk down M Street between Delaware and S. Capitol by myself at night on a non-game day or through the Greenleaf public housing alone at night. Violent crime in the neighborhood is rare, and is largely clustered within two areas of public housing.

I like that there is a library nearby (though it will be closing for renovation next year, there will be an interim branch somewhere TBD), that I can walk to Safeway and the farmer's market easily (Harris Teeter if I really want to, and Whole Foods next year), a public pool, parks, kayak rental at Ballpark Boathouse, jazz night at Westminister, all the metro lines except red (and I guess red, if I really wanted to), and all the stuff near Navy Yard like restaurants and ball games and outdoor movies and ice skating and fountains. It takes 15 minutes to get to National Airport. The Wharf is going to have a lot of things to do, and Arena Stage is nice. I also like that it is a racially and economically diverse area with a lot of interesting history.

Here's what I don't like: the rare but not rare enough violent crime. Obnoxious children and teens who curse, litter, and do other not-exactly-criminal but irritating stuff. Increasing difficulty finding street parking (still not as bad as places like Dupont or U Street though). The elementary school is terrible--far below most other DCPS schools in test scores, even among other schools with similarly high poverty rates. And there aren't a lot of nearby charters, and we got zoned out of Wilson HS. But if your relatives don't have kids that may not matter to them.

Overall, I'm glad I live there and have no plans to leave. With all the apartments coming online, a lot of rental buildings are giving discounts to be competitive, so it's a good neighborhood to try out.

OP here ... this is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you!

Lots of section eight housing there. And yes, it does matter. Had a contract on a lovely townhouse and backed out after realizing just how bad the hidden areas were!are, it will not change. The broken car window and theft during our inspection didn't help much.

Meh, think of it as a discovered defect

PP SW resident here. Yes, there are sometimes car breakins in SW. crimemap.dc.gov will show you where they are. But if you are looking for a place that has zero crime, you will be pretty far from downtown. My parents live in a nice part of Rockville and there were a rash of car breakins there too one summer. I would expect more crime the further south and east you get within southwest. I live in the north/central part of the residential area and crime is lower. I did have a package stolen from my stoop once, and since then have things delivered to my office. OP's relatives are likely looking to rent in an apartment building, and all the ones I know of have a concierge to accept parcels, so that shouldn't be an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They live in the city too, but their rent is going up again and it's out of their price range to stay. Just trying to gather some info for them.

This is a little late to the conversation, but a couple of the buildings in SW have rent control, which might be another factor they'd weigh favorably if big rent rises are one of the things that's prompting their move.

[Anonymous]

The main buildings with rent control are Waterside Towers, Capitol Park Towers and Twins, 1001 at Waterfront (though I have a friend who lived there and the management was shady about rent increases so read your Tenant Survival Guide carefully there) and the View at Waterfront. All these buildings have construction nearby in case that matters.

New buildings won't have rent control. Neither will individual units rented in a condo or coop building (unless the landlord fails to file the rent control exemption with DHCD, which many of them do...)