A two-story building at 3918 W Street NW is in the process of being enlarged from four to seven condos by finishing the cellar level and adding a new third story.
Lock 7 Development is now framing the units, Megan Schlabaugh of Lock 7 said of the projected 6,000-square foot Glover Park building.
Lock 7 bought the property in January 2015 for $1.2 million, according to records
online, and expects to finish the conversion by September 2015.
The building dates to 1938 and was previously a four-unit apartment. It's now going to become seven condos, Schlabaugh says, five two-bedroom/two-bath, and two one-bedroom/one-bath units. Condo prices have not yet been determined.
Condos in the area have a wide range of selling prices, according to data from Zillow.com. A one-bedroom, 740-square-foot condo two blocks west sold last summer for $265,000, while a two-bedroom, 1,080-square-foot unit two blocks in the other direction sold earlier this year for $700,000.
The building will have six parking lot spaces, per zoning requirements.
Schlabaugh says the building will feature high-end traditional fixtures and finishes with large windows and private entrances. A penthouse will encompass the entire top floor and have a private rooftop terrace.
The building itself actually has some grisly history dating back to the 1980s, when members of an obscure cult called the "Finders" allegedly used it and the adjoining unit to the west as a site for "brainwashing" rituals, according to a 1987 Washington Post article about the arrest of two of the alleged cult members. Others, like a college professor who briefly lived at the house, according to the Post piece, said the residents were "a close-knit group" of feminists who were discriminated against because of "their life style."
The rear of the property is bordered by Whitehaven Parkway, “offering a view that is hard to come across in the city,” she said. The building is located near Wisconsin Avenue and one block from a Metrobus stop.