While tech stocks held steady in 2012, Washington’s technorati
scooped up big-bucks real estate—as did lawyers, bankers, investors, even
members of the restaurant and media industries. The area’s top 50 home
sales last year ranged from $3 million to $6.9 million. Here’s a look at
2012’s biggest deals.
Steven VanRoekel, federal chief information
officer and former Microsoft executive, struck the top deal of 2012 when
he bought a six-bedroom, ten-bath Colonial in DC’s Massachusetts Avenue
Heights for $6.9 million. Designed by National Gallery of Art
architect John Russell Pope, the house sits on more than
an acre and has a pool, pool house, and separate al fresco dining
structure.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and
her husband, Frank, sold a three-bedroom, three-bath
condo in the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton in DC’s West End for $5.3
million to Adam Palmer, managing director of the Carlyle
Group. The 3,700-square-foot unit has a Poggenpohl kitchen and Potomac
River views.
An eight-bedroom, nine-bath Beaux Arts-style home in the
District’s Kalorama neighborhood sold for $5.7 million to businessman
Thomas Raffa and his wife and business partner,
Kathy. Built in 1930, the house has an elevator, a
four-car garage, and a three-tiered garden. It originally listed for $8
million. The couple runs the consulting firm Raffa, which provides
accounting, technology, and other services to nonprofits.
At 3303 Water Street—one of DC’s priciest condo
buildings—Charles O. Holliday Jr., chairman of the board
of Bank of America, traded up from a two-bedroom, three-bath unit to a
three-bedroom, four-bath unit for $4.6 million. The seven-story, 70-unit
building includes a 24-hour concierge, rooftop pool, and gym, and many
condos feature floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the Potomac and the
C&O Canal. (Other buyers in the building included the co-CEO of
Bethesda-based JBS International, Gail Bassin, who bought
a unit for $2.2 million, and retiring National Endowment for the Arts
chairman Rocco Landesman and his wife,
Debby, who paid $1.9 million.)
Carlyle Group managing director Mark
Schoenfeld and veterinarian Dondi Dahlgaard
bought a $4.6-million French-country-style house in DC’s Berkley
neighborhood. It has five bedrooms, seven baths, an elevator, a wraparound
porch, and a pool.
Eugene Gulland, a partner at the law firm
Covington & Burling, bought an estate in Loudoun County’s Aldie for
$4.5 million. Built in 1800, it sits on 56 acres.
Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin
bought a five-bedroom, nine-bath Colonial on more than an acre in McLean
for $4.3 million. The house has a cherry-paneled elevator and mahogany
deck.
Former Merrill Lynch stockbroker Paul Svigos
and his wife, Susan, bought a six-bedroom, seven-bath
house in Kalorama for $4.3 million. Built in 1919 and once an ambassador’s
residence, it sits on a double lot with tiered gardens and a heated
pool.
David Brooks—New York Times columnist
and author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love,
Character, and Achievement—bought a five-bedroom, five-bath Victorian
in DC’s Cleveland Park with a library and two-car garage for $4
million.
Judge Kathryn Oberly sold a nine-bedroom,
eight-bath Colonial in Massachusetts Avenue Heights for $3.9 million. The
6,300-square-foot house has a heated swimming pool.
Sanjay Puri, chairman of the US India
Political Action Committee and founder of Optimos Incorporated, bought a
nine-bedroom, 14-bath Colonial in Great Falls for $3.9 million. The
24,000-square-foot house was built in 2007 and has two
kitchens.
Lawyer Frederick Whitten Peters bought a
seven-bedroom, six-bath Victorian in DC’s Cleveland Park for $3.6 million.
The 6,200-square-foot house has a heated pool, media room with
large-screen projection TV, exercise room, and wine cellar. Peters was
Secretary of the Air Force and principal deputy general counsel at the
Department of Defense during the Clinton administration.
Real-estate developer Steve Garchik and wife
Marla sold a seven-bedroom, nine-bath Colonial in
Potomac’s Bradley Farms neighborhood for $3.7 million. Overlooking the
fifth fairway of Congressional Country Club’s blue course, the house has
six fireplaces and a three-car garage.
Star Scientific president Paul Perito and his
wife, Robin, bought a four-bedroom, seven-bath Colonial
in Bethesda’s Kenwood for $3.5 million. It has an elevator, a master suite
with two baths, and a carriage house. Less than three miles away, they
sold their five-bedroom, six-bath Colonial in Chevy Chase for $3.3
million. That house, built in 1908, has a wraparound porch and an outdoor
pool with a pool house.
Long & Foster president and chief operating officer
Jeffrey Detwiler bought a six-bedroom, eight-bath
Craftsman-style house in McLean’s Langley Forest neighborhood for $3.5
million. Built in 2011, it has a library with antique oak panels and a
four-car garage.
Stephen Urbanczyk and his wife,
Judith, sold an eight-bedroom, six-bath house in DC’s
Wesley Heights for $3.4 million. The Tudor-style home has a two-story
family room and five fireplaces. Urbanczyk is a partner at Williams &
Connolly.
Nelson Cunningham and wife Margery
sold an eight-bedroom, six-bath Victorian in Georgetown for $3.3
million. The 5,000-square-foot house, built in 1900, has a pool and a
master suite with sitting room. A former special adviser to
President Clinton and a member of the
Obama-Biden transition team, Nelson Cunningham is
managing partner and cofounder of McLarty Associates, an international
strategic advisory firm. Margery Cunningham, a former managing director at
Lehman Brothers, is a VP at Avalere Health, where she manages the
private-equity and venture-capital businesses.
A six-bedroom, ten-bath Colonial in McLean’s Langley Forest
sold for $3.3 million to lawyer Ki Hong. The
10,500-square-foot house has a library, carriage house with au pair suite,
and four-car garage. Hong is a partner at Skadden.
Award-winning architect Suman Sorg sold a
five-bedroom, four-bath house in Kalorama for $3.2 million. The
contemporary home has six levels, two fireplaces, and a landscaped back
yard with a pool.
Booz Allen Hamilton senior adviser CG Appleby
and his wife, Nancy, sold a five-bedroom, seven-bath
Colonial in McLean for $3.2 million. The house—with exercise room and
wood-paneled library—sits on a gated, two-acre lot with a
waterfall.
Physicians Peter Pinto and Elizabeth
Tanzi bought a five-bedroom, seven-bath house in Kenwood for $3.2
million. The French Provincial-style home has a sauna, five fireplaces,
and a library with a spiral staircase leading to a game room. Pinto is a
urologist at NIH’s National Cancer Institute. Tanzi is codirector of laser
surgery at the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser
Surgery.
Steven Lockshin, chairman of Convergent Wealth
Advisors, bought a Colonial in Chevy Chase’s Somerset Heights for $3.1
million. The house, built in 2011, has six bedrooms and six
baths.
Tech executive Tom DePasquale sold a
four-bedroom, five-bath condo on Connecticut Avenue in Kalorama for $3.1
million. The 5,400-square-foot unit has a dining room with space for 20.
DePasquale has held senior positions at several software companies,
including Concur Technologies, which provides
travel-and-expense-management solutions.
Lawyer and businessman Lester “Ruff” Fant sold
a four-bedroom, five-bath Colonial in Georgetown for $3 million. The
5,000-square-foot house has an elevator and catering kitchen. Fant is
founder of TowPath Renewables, a finance company that invests in
renewable-energy products.
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Billionaire Mitchell Rales bought a 4,000-square-foot home on
two acres in Potomac for $2.6 million. It’s the third house that Rales has
bought adjacent to his sprawling property on Three Sisters Road, which
includes a main house, lake, and art museum. Rales is cofounder of the
manufacturing and technology company Danaher.
Facebook general counsel Ted Ullyot sold a
five-bedroom, seven-bath house in Chevy Chase for $2.2 million. It has
four finished levels and a master bath with a steam shower and soaking
tub. Ullyot also served as White House counsel to President George
W. Bush.
New-media entrepreneurs Tim and Laura
O’Shaughnessy bought a four-bedroom, four-bath Victorian in
Kalorama for $2.2 million. The house has three fireplaces and an au pair
suite. Tim O’Shaughnessy is cofounder and CEO of the deals company
LivingSocial; Laura O’Shaughnessy—daughter of Washington Post Company
chairman Donald Graham—is CEO of SocialCode, a Post
Company-owned advertising agency that uses social media to expand client
brands.
Onetime Real Housewives of D.C. cast member
Mary Amons sold a six-bedroom, six-bath Colonial in
McLean for $1.6 million. The house, which listed for $2.4 million in
September 2010, has a master suite with a private deck.
Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, bought a
four-bedroom, three-bath Federal-style house in Georgetown for $1.5
million. Built in 1791, it has five fireplaces.
Redskin DeAngelo Hall sold a six-bedroom,
seven-bath house in Leesburg for $1.2 million. On three acres, it has a
master bedroom with four closets.
Restaurateurs also did some home-cooking. Mark
Kuller, owner of Proof and Estadio, and catering executive
Kristin Connor of Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering
bought a seven-bedroom, eight-bath house in Bethesda’s Brookmont
neighborhood for $1.5 million. It has an in-law suite and floor-to-ceiling
glass walls.
Chef Johnny Monis and his wife, Anne
Marler—owners of the Dupont Circle destinations Komi and Little
Serow—bought a four-bedroom, three-bath rowhouse near Logan Circle for
$1.3 million.
Journalists got in on the act as well. Gordon
Peterson, Channel 7 anchor and moderator, and his wife,
Anne Fleming, sold a Federal-style house in Georgetown
for $1.8 million. Built in 1890, it has four bedrooms and four
baths.
Former Huffington Post senior Washington correspondent
Dan Froomkin and Paige Fitzgerald,
deputy chief of the Justice Department’s civil-rights division, bought a
five-bedroom, three-bath Colonial in DC’s Wakefield for $1.1 million. The
house sold after eight days on the market and went for $86,000 above list
price.
Journalist Margaret Carlson bought a
three-bedroom, three-bath condo on Connecticut Avenue in Kalorama for
$953,000. The 1,900-square-foot corner unit is in a 100-year-old Beaux
Arts building and has a 40-foot foyer. Time magazine’s first
female columnist, Carlson is now a political columnist for Bloomberg
View.
This article appears in the January 2013 issue of The Washingtonian.
