DC Row Houses and Garages

[Anonymous]

We are new to the area and really love DC row houses with one exception.. no garages. I could live without but the DH is a car guy.

Is it feasible to buy a house like this: https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/608-Emerson-St-NW-20011/home/10057819?utm_source=myredfin&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ios_share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

And build a garage structure (not just the roll up door, but an actual enclosed space) in the back yard "driveway" where you'd park? If it's possible, what kind of permitting would be required and how much would it cost?

[Anonymous]

Look into a SFH further north. Many have detached garages.

[Anonymous]

Not possible. DC has restrictions on how much of your lot can be covered. Otherwise, we would have all done the same thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look into a SFH further north. Many have detached garages.

Yup, lots in Takoma DC (incl my house).

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of row houses in several DC neighborhoods that have garages, some even with carriage houses above them. I live in one on Capitol Hill.

[Anonymous]

There are some neighborhoods with row houses that have garages. Many streets in Mt Pleasant have rowhouses with garages (though some do not).

There are more - though off the top of my head I can't name specific neighborhoods.

But as 14:30 says, it's usually not possible to ADD a garage. DC has a restriction of how much of the lot can be built on. So if there was a garage but it was torn down, and the lot is small, you'd be out of luck adding a garage now. If the lot is big (and that is really rare), it might be possible.

I think if you put a search with a filter for garage you will find more than you expect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of row houses in several DC neighborhoods that have garages, some even with carriage houses above them. I live in one on Capitol Hill.

+Foxhall Village

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of row houses in several DC neighborhoods that have garages, some even with carriage houses above them. I live in one on Capitol Hill.

+Foxhall Village

Also Glover Park

[Anonymous]

OP: I meant to clarify the lack of garages that meet the combination of in my price range (under 900k), within my commute (30'min), and wide enough to be a functional garage (e.g. Not so narrow one car barely fits... hard for a car guy to hang a new engine on the car in such a limited space). Certainly we have seen them, but they don't appear to be common compared to the number of houses without . But sounds like DC plans on keeping it that way, bummer.

[Anonymous]

I've never understand the desire to "house" your car but I also don't waste time worrying about door dings and scratches on the bumper of my rapidly depreciating car.

And since very few DC residents use their garages for actually storing their car I don't seem to be alone in this belief.

[Anonymous]

There are some newer rowhouses with garages in NE. Off the top of my head, I can think of Dakota Crossing (by Costco), Chancellor's Row and Gallery Towns (by Brookland Metro), and some developments near Fort Totten. You have to be ok with not having a "classic" DC rowhouse, but they fit your price range and they are out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP: I meant to clarify the lack of garages that meet the combination of in my price range (under 900k), within my commute (30'min), and wide enough to be a functional garage (e.g. Not so narrow one car barely fits... hard for a car guy to hang a new engine on the car in such a limited space). Certainly we have seen them, but they don't appear to be common compared to the number of houses without . But sounds like DC plans on keeping it that way, bummer.

We are under 900k but you’d probably find our garage too small. You’re right a large suburban garage isn’t going to be popular in a rowhouse. The same way not having a garage won’t be popular in the burbs.

[Anonymous]

We converted our 10 foot wide (tight for most cars) 1920s garage behind our 1904 rowhouse to a dining room. We have a parking spot next to the garage we use for our one car.

[Anonymous]

We have a detached garage in Mt. Pleasant. Many of the rowhouses either have a detached garage like ours, a parking pad in the back with access via gate or garage door or a garage in the footprint of the house.

[Anonymous]

Some with garages are in Petworth too; look at others.