Adrienne Arsht buys in Spring Valley, Sargent and Eunice Shriver’s mansion sells in Potomac.

By Mary K. Mewborn

The District
Rob Quartel and Michela English were represented by Kerry Fortune and Nelson Marban of Georgetown Long & Foster in the sale of their 7,803-square-foot house at 3220 Nebraska Avenue NW in Spring Valley. Quartel is a former U.S. Federal Maritime commissioner and CEO and chairman of NTELX, a data fusion and health risk/fraud analysis company. English is a former senior executive at Discovery Communications and is currently CEO and president of Fight For Children, a local non-profit group engaged in education and health issues. The couple recently finished construction of a home on the Chesapeake Bay and is building another in the D.C.-Northern Virginia area. Adrienne Arsht, a Miami banker, philanthropist, National Symphony Orchestra board member, and former Washington resident throughout her marriage to the late Myer Feldman, a prominent lawyer and advisor to President John F. Kennedy, paid $6,625,000 for the couple’s Spring Valley property.
Hazel Cheilek has sold her 2,986-square-foot, six-bedroom home at 3039 44th Street NW where she had lived since moving from Buffalo, N.Y., in 1970. She and her husband both taught music out of the residence and Mrs. Cheilek also worked as a music teacher at Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology. She now resides in California. The house was built in 1920 and is situated on a corner lot in the heart of Wesley Heights. It was listed by Michael Rankin, Greg Gaddy and Carroll Dey of TTR Sotheby’s International Realty and sold through Gaddy and Dey for $1.3 million. The new owners are Mr. and Mrs. Nigel Parkinson. Mr. Parkinson, is president of Parkinson Construction Company and a past president of the National Association of Minority Contractors. The Parkinsons plan to renovate the house while maintaining its original integrity.
Washington Fine Properties’ William “Ted” Gossett has sold the house he owned at 4400 Dexter Street NW to Lynne S. and Richard M. Milano for $2.15 million. The nicely renovated five-bedroom Colonial has a new slate roof and sits on a corner fenced-in lot with a private driveway and two-car garage. It had been listed for $2,495,000.
Catherine M. Tinsley and Tom C. Tinsley sold their four-bedroom residence at 4934 Indian Lane NW for $4.6 million to Lucretia Adymy Risoleo and Robert Risoleo. The Tinsleys sold their previous house at 1400 34th Street NW for $4.2 million to entrepreneur Jonathan J. Ledecky in 2007. Part of its allure is the connection to President Kennedy (who lived there as a young congressman) as well as his sister Eunice, who called it home until her marriage to Sargent Shriver.

Maryland
The big real estate news, also on the Shriver front, is the sale of R. Sargent and Eunice Shriver’s estate in Potomac. Their house had been on the market for just under a year and the sale coincided with the August passing of both Eunice and her brother, Sen. Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy. Designed by Smith Blackburn Architects, the 15,500-square-foot, classically styled Georgian mansion is set on nearly seven acres in the Bradley Farms area at 9109 Harrington Drive. Built for the couple and their five children in 1986, the property has been the scene of many social and political gatherings, including Peace Corps gatherings (Sargent Shriver was the agency’s founding director), events for Special Olympics (Eunice’s brainchild), and glamorous charitable benefits that included annual balls in support of youngest son Anthony Shriver’s Best Buddies International.
The house boasts 10 bedrooms, 11 full baths, and large entertaining areas that include a 32-foot living room and an equally expansive dining room. The 400-square-foot kitchen has two large pantries and an adjacent octagonal breakfast room. There are staff quarters, an exercise room, a library, tennis court and gazebo, a pool and pool house,  four-car garage, and numerous balconies and verandahs. William F. X. Moody and Robert Hryniewicki of Washington Fine Properties listed the property at $11.8 million. John P. Duffy of Summit Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer, the MA Center, which he described as an international humanitarian organization. The Center’s founder, Mata Amritanandamyi, is known as a “living Hindu saint” called the “Amma,” and is said to have curative powers. It is unclear at this time whether the estate will be used as a private residence, an ashram retreat, or both. The MA Center paid $7,810,000 with plans to move there in January.

Virginia
Thanks to Long and Foster agent Sharon Hayman, 1331 North Irving Street in heart of the Lyon Village area of Arlington now belongs to Randy and Maria Jones. Mrs. Jones is a partner in the Washington law firm Miller & Chevalier and her husband works for Freddie Mac. They paid just under $1.9 million. The house was built by Brian Normile, principal owner of BCN builders and part owner of the Liberty Tavern in Clarendon. The newly constructed house has three finished levls and four bedrooms. Architectural highlights include custom moldings and wainscoting throughout. Other features include a wet bar, upscale kitchen with a Wolf range, an entertainment center, a study, a rear deck and a detached garage.

Alina, Francesca, and Katherine Shriver

Location: The Sargent and Eunice Shriver Residence, Potomac, Md.

WL SPONSORED EVENT – Photos By Kyle Samperton

THE BUDDY SYSTEM: The Best Buddies Ball at Sarge and Eunice Shriver’s home featured the usual over-the-top hoopla: a circus-sized tent, big buck auction items, and major talent (Cirque du Soleil acrobats and saxophonist Kenny G) performing for a sold-out crowd of 900 guests. The arrival of Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, wife of the emir of Quatar, added to the mystique (along with the oil rich state’s seven-figure contribution), although the Hollywood power factor was somewhat diluted by Robert De Niro’s embarrassing attempt to publicly cheek smooch the Muslim royal consort after presenting her with an award.

FOND FAREWELL: Best Buddies founder Anthony Shriver announced the ball’s demise after two decades with a fond tribute to his ailing parents, who recently put their estate on the market for $11.8 million.

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The 13th annual record of notably social personalities from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.

By Kevin Chaffee

John Pyles and Barbara Harrison

This roster is neither the first, nor will it (inevitably) be the last to single out certain individuals, who, by virtue of birth, rank, wealth or accomplishment, take part in the social life of the nation’s capital. Estimable precursors – drumroll here – include The Green Book,” so-called for its faux green suede cover, which has appeared continuously since 1930; and the Blue Book of Washington, D.C., which ceased publication around 1990 after a century in print. The Social Register, sometimes called the “Black Book,” also contains the names of numerous prominent local figures, many hailing from so-called “blue blood” families, although it merged its thin Washington volume into a much larger 12-city national version back in the 1980s.

A major difference separating Washington Life’s list from the others – apart from having no discernible color – is that we do not publish a “phone book” containing addresses and contact information, much less schools attended, club memberships and yacht listings. Ours is merely an alphabetical nomenclature of people who make a difference by adding immeasurably to their city, and by extension, their country and the world. Another point of contrast is size. Compared to the many thousands of entries contained in other directories past and present, WL’s Social List, currently about 700 names and counting, is relatively small. We do not see the need to include every member of the Congress, Cabinet or Court (i.e., Supreme), much less all those with top jobs listed in the “Plum Book” of political appointments.

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WL’s list of head-turners.

Top from left to right: Steven and Jean Case, Vernon and Ann Jordan, James Kimsey, Jacqueline Mars. Bottom from left to right: Paul and Nancy Pelosi, Roger and Victoria Sant, and Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn.

It’s hard to elicit a physical response from a Washington crowd; that is, to “turn” a head. Although we’ve produced this list for several years, 2008’s A-list has seemingly evolved into a roster of national names rather than one merely dedicated to the stars in our local firmament; after all, 2008’s elections have brought some bonafide rock stars to town. All eyes have been on Ben Bernanke to solve our financial woes, and we’ve all been waiting with baited breath to find out whether Christopher Hitchens will finally quit smoking (maybe it would help if he had God on his side). We said goodbye to longtime favorites Joe Gibbs, as well as beloved British Ambassador Sir Manning and his wife, Lady Catherine. While farewells are always sad, they make way for new faces such as financial heavyweight David Rubenstein and Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson. Over the years, we’ve found that A-list status is less about the job and rank than one might think; it’s about having a personality that electrifies the room. We’re happy they’re here.

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Heads turn when they enter the room.

By Ann Geracimos

Photograph by Fred J. Maroon. M. Maroon's son, Marc, has recently launched an initiative to offer digital prints from his father's Washington, D.C. Collection, entitled "Poetic Washington" to local charity events. For more informatino, go to fredmaroon.com.

Power is as power does. It’s a flexible force in this town. No wonder we denizens often take refuge in lists, a comfort zone of sorts in a world where the reality is constantly shifting.

Lists turn up everywhere. The form suits a place that thrives on hierarchy – on knowing just who owns a predetermined political status. The government’s plum list of political jobs is the apotheosis of this. Keeping everyone happy: giving them a title, an objective count of who’s in and who’s out. And why not? That is small comfort in the face of the conditions of daily life that threaten to overwhelm one’s sense of identity.

There is comfort in knowing about rank because it makes it easier to navigate the terrain. After all, who is responsible for the saying that rules (rank and reputation) are made to be broken? It gives a lift to the spirit to know the Calvinist ideal of predestination is not entirely dominant.

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