Recent high-end sales in Kalorama, Wesley Heights, Georgetown, and McLean

By Mary K. Mewborn

Steve and Blair Raber purchased a renovated four-story row house on S Streete NW in Kalorama for $2,395,000 from Jeffrey A. Wade, who purchased it in 2005 for $1.75 million.

The District

Washington Fine Properties’ realtor Jim Bell has announced he has listed and sold 2119 S Street NW in the Kalorama neighborhood to Steve Raber, a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, and his wife, Blair Raber, who recently initiated the Celiac Disease Program at Children’s Hospital. The fully-renovated six-bedroom, five-bath row house was listed for $2,395,000 and had belonged to Jeffrey A. Wade, who purchased the home in 2005 for $1.75 million. The four-story residence was constructed in 1908 and features grand entertaining rooms with original hardwood floors, a two-bedroom in-law suite with its own kitchen, and a carriage house with a loft.

In Wesley Heights, Penthouse #1003/4 in the Foxhall Condominiums East at 4200 Massachusetts Avenue NW has sold for $1,075,000. Two units were renovated and combined to create this 2,950-square-foot residence with three bedrooms, three and a half baths, a wood-lined library, breakfast room, formal dining room, and breath-taking views. Amenities include an indoor pool, tennis courts, gym and concierge service. The seller, John Farina, an attorney and a professor of Religion at George Mason University, was represented by Bobbie Brewster of Washington Fine Properties. The purchasers were physicians Luke and Grace Kao.

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The District

Brian Lordan, M.D., has purchased 2910 Brandywine Street NW in Forest Hills for $1,657,000. The house, built in 1927, was renovated three years ago to include a three-story addition with a family room and walls of glass. There are four bedrooms and four and a half baths plus a lower-level in-law suite with a kitchen and private entrance. The many amenities include French doors, recessed lighting, a skylight, tray ceilings, a two-person soaking tub, hardwood floors, four fireplaces and a wet bar. The nearly half-acre lot is partially fenced and wooded and can be enjoyed from one of two decks, the terrace or a screened porch. The sellers were Fabiana Jorge with the consulting firm MFJ International LLC, and her husband, Douglas Brian Sosnik, who served as a political director for President Bill Clinton and who now provides crisis management and strategic planning advice to Democratic senators and governors, U.S. corporations, and the National Basketball Association. He is also a co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Applebee’s America: How Successful Political, Business, and Religious Leaders Connect with the New American Community. Terri Robinson with Long and Foster Real Estate, Inc., and Margot Wilson of Arnold Bradley, Sargent, Davy, & Chew co-listed the property for $1,895,000.

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One envoy says ‘I do;’ another says ‘I don’t’

By Gail Scott

Portuguese Ambassador João de Vallera plants a deft kiss upon the hand of Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Eastern Inaugural ball at Union Station.

Diplomatic Nuptials
Saudi Arabian Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir is a bachelor no longer! While we weren’t watching he got married to beautiful widow Farah Al-Fayez, 27, with whom he is now living (along with her six-year-old twins) in his McLean ambassadorial residence. Everything was below the radar until someone noticed that Al-Jubeir, 47, was smiling a lot more.

Another Arab ambassador who is young and quite handsome may be available again. If you were invited to the March 7 wedding, don’t worry about buying this dashing envoy a gift. The nuptials are off and no one is sure why. His staff is as shocked as the rest of us.

Inaugural Keepsakes
It’s already March, but diplomats are still trading inaugural photos of each other as if they were baseball cards. A special favorite: the one of dapper Portuguese Ambassador João de Vallera kissing the hand of not-yet-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during the Eastern Ball at Union Station. De Vallera himself captured another “the-world-is-one-place” moment of his Jordanian colleague, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, with his red native head scarf against the gorgeous blue sky.

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A Federal treasure, Georgian glories, and an estate-in-the-making

By Mary K. Mewborn

The four-level Georgian residence at 2435 Tracy Place NW in Kalorama recently sold to two local attorneys for $3,995,000. It boasts seven bedrooms and is listed in the L’Enfant Historic Register.

The District

Washington Fine Properties’ sister realtors Heidi Hatfield and Anne Hatfield Weir have helped sell one of Georgetown’s best preserved architectural treasures for $4.6 million. The 7,000 square-foot Federal at 3263 N Street NW was erected along historic Smith’s Row in 1805. Designed for opulent entertaining, this elegantly appointed building has for two centuries been the site of formal dinners and grand receptions attended by foreign and domestic dignitaries alike. Once the home of Missouri Senator Stuart Symington, the house later belonged to Marvin and Dolly Kay and then to Daniel J. Terra, a chemical industry magnate and President Reagan’s ambassador for cultural affairs, and his wife Judith. Most recently the row house was the residence of John R. Phillips and Linda Douglass.

In Northwest’s posh Berkley neighborhood, a four-story Colonial-style mansion situated on a double lot at 2509 Foxhall Road NW and once owned by the late David Greenewalt, a geophysicist and Dupont chemical heir, has been bought in trust for $4.7 million. Built in 1939, the stately residence has a grand foyer, embassy-size public rooms, two fireplaces, six bedrooms, five and a half baths and a swimming pool. Sarah Howard and Susie Maguire with Georgetown Long and Foster were the listing agents.

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An original Sears & Roebuck mail-order mansion and a Maclean manse with mini-spa.

By Mary K. Mewborn

Built in 1926, this gorgeous five-bedroom neo-Georgian with limestone columns is located at 2507 Massachusetts Ave., NW, across from the Japanese Embassy.

The District

One of the most prominent houses on Embassy Row has sold for $4.1 million. Built in 1926, this five-bedroom Neo-Georgian with limestone columns is located at 2507 Massachusetts Ave., NW across from the Japanese Embassy. Ideal for formal entertaining, the stately brick manse’s perfectly proportioned public rooms include a receiving parlor with marble floors and a large living room with Palladian windows and a fireplace. The banquet-size dining room boasts crystal chandeliers and French doors opening onto a rear veranda and a terraced garden. Extras include an elevator, wine cellar, butler’s pantry, five fireplaces, and abundant parking. The seller was Morris M. Sobhani, who was represented by Washington Fine Properties executive vice president Bill Moody and colleague Robert Hryniewicki. The purchaser is listed as 2507 Massachusetts Avenue, LLC. The selling agent was Mehrnoosh Neyzari with Long and Foster Real Estate.

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