Washington Life Magazine
Washington Life Magazine
Real Estate News
by Mary K. Mewborn   



Redskins’ owner, Daniel Snyder,has reportedly spent $10 millionfor yet another major purchasein the Washington metropolitan area. Thistime he bought the much-publicizedPotomac waterfront estate which Jordan’sQueen Noor and the late King Husseinhad owned. The twelve-acre property,which was listed with W. C. & A. N.Miller, contains two large homes, one ofwhich the royal couple used to house theirstaff of servants and aides when visitingthe Washington area, where Noor (the formerLisa Halaby) was raised. Reportedly,Snyder had been scouting properties inPotomac, for the better part of two yearsand considered “Chateau Peyrenne deMoras” at 9121 River Road with a pool,five-car garage, and on a little less than fiveacres before deeming the neighborhoodtoo noisy. With his recent choice, heshould have more solitude, and, given thatthe property boasts an electric fence andpop-up barricades, plenty of security aswell.

In the District, Secretary of the Army,Thomas E. White, has purchased the$5.5 million Washington Harbor penthousebelonging to Washington real estatedeveloper Stuart Bernstein and his wifeWilma. Ted Gossett and Florence Meersof Washington Fine Properties listed theproperty for the Bernsteins who departedjust two weeks ago for Denmark whereStuart is the newly-appointed U.S. ambassador.Gossett and Meers also representedthe purchaser who, prior to assuming hispost at the Pentagon, was CEO of EnronOperations Corporation, the Texas head-quarteredoil and gas company.

Secretary of Defense DonaldRumsfeld and his wife Joyce have paid$3,350,000 for their new Washington residence.The house located at 2206Kalorama Road was previously owned byChristie’s Washington-Baltimore representative,Britty Cudlip, and mostrecently by interior designer Anne Cookof CoCo Design. It boasts architecturaldetailing by O. B. O’Brien’s Upholstery &Restoration Unlimited and was listed byWashington Fine Properties realtors TedGossett and Florence Meers. The sellingagent was Virginia Chew of Arnold,Bradley, Sargent, Davy & Chew RealEstate.

1058 Bellview Place
1058 Bellview Place

At the corner of Kalorama and TracyPlace, 2475 Kalorama Road, whichThomas “Mack” and Donna McLartyrented during a portion of Mack’s stint inthe Clinton White House, has been sold byits owner, realtor Michael Rankin of Tutt,Taylor & Rankin, for $2,995,000. Duringthe three and a half years Rankin lived inthe home, he undertook major improvementsincluding the adding of a masterbedroom suite and a swimming pool.

Coincidentally, the house next door tothe McLarty’s current 2323 WyomingAvenue address has also been sold, forapproximately $2 million according toknowledgeable sources. 2325 WyomingAvenue NW belonged to Sol Linowitz,the Carter Administration’s Ambassador tothe OAS, who is perhaps best known forhis role as chief negotiator of the PanamaCanal Treaty. McLarty once said of hisgood neighbor: “Receiving advice on internationaldiplomacy from Sol Linowitz islike getting trumpet lessons from an angel.”Notably, Hamilton College in Clinton,New York, has named its international relationsprogram for the honorable diplomatwho graduated in 1935.

Also in Kalorama, Edith Darlington,the widow of McCullough Darlingtonand daughter-in-law of the late steel heiressand socialite Ethel Garrett, sold her houseat 2456 Tracy Place for $3.75 million, or$200,000 less than the original askingprice.

In Georgetown, the particulars of thesale by J. Carter Brown of his historicproperty at 3035 Dumbarton have taken aback seat to the news that the formerchairman of the Fine Arts Commissionauctioned off his sketch by Leonardo daVinci for $11.48 million. However, thoseinterested in learning more about theJeremiah Williams House he sold, can visitTudor Place to survey “the Splendors ofGeorgetown: 25 Architectural Masterpieces,”on display through the end of theyear in celebration of Georgetown’s 250thbirthday. Included in the exhibit is theHollerith House whose owners ToddDavis and Rob Brown of Brown-DavisInteriors are preparing to part with theirown historic masterpiece. According toDavis, the high-profile twosome areexcited that their Georgian manse at 161729th Street is now under contract. The talentedduo, who first gained national attentionby renovating and revamping the five-story,10,000-square-foot house built byIBM cofounder Herman Hollerith in1911, listed their multimillion dollarproperty with Bill Moodyand Ellen Morrell ofSotheby’s InternationalAffiliate, Washington FineProperties. While the identityof the prospective buyersis for the moment quitehush-hush, WashingtonLife promises to reportmore details once theproperty has gone to settlement. Davis andBrown will presumably retain occupancyuntil after their fundraiser for clientHillary Rodham Clinton early thismonth.

621 Potomac River Road
621 Potomac River Road

Bruce F. Bradley, Chairman of LombardiTechnologies, a metal processing andfinishing company formed by a 1999merger of six metal companies, has purchased2615 30th Street from Patrick C.Ward for $1,782,000. Lombardi Technologiesspecializes in supplying the metal-processingneeds of the computer age.

At the new Ritz-Carlton on 23rd Streetin the West End near the Foggy BottomMetro, the K. Bronfman Trust now ownstwo condominiums. The price tag for theTrust’s new custom-designed unit and anadjacent condo came to $2,800,000, andCorinne M. Bronfman, the person in residence,is believed to be of the Seagramliquor dynasty. Nancy Itteilag of Pardoerepresented the purchaser.

Across the Potomac, Weichert’s award-winningrealtor Penny Yerks listed 1006Bellview Place in McLean for ownerTimothy Green of SATO Travel. Thebuyers, Margo M. Lee and W. A.Fitzhugh Lee (who is presumably adescendant of the Confederate hero) paid$1,150,000 for their American dream, alarge, yellow wooden house with a whitepicket fence.

1058 Bellview Place also was recentlysold after being listed by Penny Yerks ofWeichert Realty. The stately home with itssemicircular drive and wooded groundshad been the property of Cheryl Terrywho reportedly moved out West. The newowners are attorney James Kissire and hiswife Deborah, who worked for Ernst &Young and Price Waterhouse in New Yorkand Dallas before being transferred here.The couple paid $1,750,000 for their newhome.

Penny Yerks also listed 1127 RectorLane in McLean for BOWA Builders. Thenewly-constructed $1,608,117 house isnow home to Secretary of Housing andUrban Development MelquiadesMartinez and his wife Kathryn, whoarrived here from Orange County, Florida,where Martinez had lived since fleeingCuba in 1962 at age 15. Prior to joiningGeorge Bush’s Cabinet, Martinez wasemployed by Jeb Bush.

Carol and James Ditkoff, a VicePresident with Danaher Corporation,famous for its Allen wrenches and SearsCraftsman tools, sold their home at 621Potomac River Road to the young AOLphilanthropist Scott Mazza who paid$1,250,000.

Another tech-rich buyer was able todrop over five-million dollars for a homein McLean. According to Fairfax Countyland records, John J. McDonnell et alpaid Sagatov Builders II $5,261,301 forthe newly-constructed property built onspeculation at 7984 Georgetown Pike.While not exactly a bargain, John James“Jack” McDonnell, Jr., the king of electroniccredit-card processing, didn’t needa real deal. He had already purchased hisfair share of bargains for the year when hebought back his company, TransactionNetwork Services, from PSINet for almost$500 million less than he’d sold it for justtwo years ago. Nevertheless, McDonnellno sooner contracted for the Langley Fallshouse then he turned around and listed itfor a whopping $11 million. Perhaps notsurprisingly, the property has not beenresold and Washington Life has beeninformed that McDonnell and his wifeJackie, who are longtime residents ofMcLean, do indeed intend to live in thevery substantial six-bedroom manor.Penny Yerks represented George B.Sagatov Builders in the sale of the estate.

7984 Georgetown Pike
7984 Georgetown Pike

Grover C. Cooper, a veteran of theKorean War and the author of TheMorning Calm and Island on The Bay, hasrealized his dream of living full-time onthe Chesapeake. He and his high school-sweetheart/wife Barbara J. Cooper havesold their Potomac Falls home in favor oftaking up permanent residence on theirthree-hundred acre bayfront property. Thenew owners of the 11105 CripplegateRoad home where the Coopers raised theirthree children are K.B. and Joseph A.Householder who paid $1.45 million.

Also in Potomac, David and JoanieMillane, who is head of commercial realestate for Johns Hopkins University, havesold their home at 8817 Watts MineTerrace on the fourth hole at Avenel. Thepurchasers, Robert and Susie Holcomb,arrived from Arizona to pay $1,066,000for their new home on the golf courserenowned for hosting the Kemper Open.Both the Millanes and the Holcombs wererepresented by Nancy Itteilag of Pardoe.

In Montgomery County’s Chevy Chasearea, Long and Foster real-estate agentBarbara Lenkin Zuckerman sold thehouse she owned at 17 Oxford Street toSharon K. Marcil and Thomas L.Monahan III, a consumer relations expertand the executive director of Washington’sCouncil on Financial Competition. Theselling price was $1.65 million.

Penny Yerks listed and sold 961Towlston Road for NDC Homes. Thelucky buyers are Elizabeth and MichaelO’Shea, an attorney who paid $2,100,000for the newly- constructed and quite sizablestone structure he and his wife nowcall home.

Lobbyist Gerald Cassidy and his wifeLoretta bought the property at 1209Stuart Robeson Drive for $1,350,000 inTrust from sellers Nina Toups, a loyal supporterof The George Mason Fund forThe Arts, and her husband John Toups,former CEO of Planning ResearchCorporation, who is also active in supportingGMU. Sue Huckaby of WeichertRealty was the listing agent.

Patricia and Frank G. Zarb, Jr., a formerchairman and CEO of the NationalAssociation of Securities Dealers, Inc., andnow with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP,have sold their home at 1165 Orlo Drivein McLean. The Zarbs got $3,500,000 forthe impressive property. The new ownersare Karen and Michael S. Ansari, theChairman, President and CEO of Reston-based,M. I. C. Industries, Inc., the world’sonly manufacturer of UBMs or UltimateBuilding Machines; computerized mobilefactories which allow customers to easilyassemble steel buildings anywhere.

Thomas Timothy Tuerff, an internationaltax expert with Arthur Andersen,and his wife Teresa are now the proudowners of a newly constructed home at8891 Olson Court in McLean. The property,which sold for $1,510,310, was listedfor MV and Associates by Weichert realtorSue Huckaby.

10020 Park Royal Drive
10020 Park Royal Drive

Sue Huckaby also listed 10020 ParkRoyal Drive in Great Falls for Sheri Boothand Gary L. Booth, Sr., who is managingpartner of Arthur Andersen’s NationalBusiness Development Group. The newowners are Dr. Bruce A. Werness, a physicianspecializing in anatomic pathology,and his wife Sandra J. Boek Werness.The Wernesses moved here from Ohiowhere Dr. Werness was on the faculty atthe University of Cincinnati.

In Loudoun County’s Leesburg area,Renaissance at River Creek has sold yetanother of its million dollar-plus propertiesin the gated community out Route 7along the Potomac. 43558 Firestone Placenow belongs to Marion and Stephen C.Aust, who paid $1.17 million for theirnew home.

Former chief of protocol under theClinton Administration Mary MelFrench will be moving to Texas, where herchildren live, and has sold her house at1919 23rd Street for $1.5 million toKatherine L. Merrill.

Another Clintonite, former Secretaryof HUD and current NY gubernatorialcandidate Andrew Cuomo and his wifeKerry Kennedy Cuomo have sold theirhouse at 1344 Kirby Rd., with the help ofWashington Fine Properties agent TedGossett, for $1,095,000 to RobertOberrender, an executive with theCanadian Imperial Bank Corp. and hiswife Jan. The Cuomos moved back to MtKisco, New York earlier this year.

And, all of Washington is curious to seewhether Katharine Graham’s formerhome located at 2920 R Street,bequeathed to Mrs. Graham’s daughterLally Weymouth, (her home in Martha’sVineyard was left to son Bill Graham),will be put on the market or continue tobe the site of fabulous dinner parties in thelegendary entertaining tradition of Mrs.Graham.


Please e-mail real-estate tips to
mmkmew@aol.com or call 703-768-5232.


Correction: Diane Noble of Pardoe/ERA wasthe listing agent for the property at 1801 FoxhallRoad and Terri Robinson of AGS Realty, GuyDanecourt of Insignia, and an undisclosed commercialbroker were the selling agents. (correctionto April 2001 issue of Washington Life.)



 



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