Most scaffolding all of the fencing was removed from the face of 3145 Mount Pleasant Street NW. The shell of the former apartment building has stood for over 22 months pretty much as is. A devastating fire destroyed it in the early morning hours of March 13, 2008 displacing all the residents and leading to a mostly hidden, seemingly non existent attempt to rebuild or redevelop. The 93 unit building was home to about 200 residents. The overnight fire caused $20 million in damages, after destroying 3145 and gutting most of the adjacent Meridian Hill Baptist Church (fronts 16th Street).
If you have any news or lived in 3145, do tell. I would love to hear that the owners of this building have decided to move on this and started work in any area; whether that is site clean up, complete demolition or rebuilding. As of late last year (November) the property was still on Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs' Vacant Property List without exemption. That means they were not exempt form DC's special vacant property tax, which is now at a steep $10 per $100 assessed value for "blighted" properties. In comparison, the tax rate for a vacant "non-blight" residential property is $0.85 per $100. The exemption would have meant the owners were actively attempting to sell the property or improve its condition. So, according to DCRA they were doing neither of those things late into 2009.
Perhaps that has changed with the new year. If you see something, say something. Well, tell me first, then say something. Good luck to all the former residents who are still around and want to return to their original homes.
