Financial

A striking new ‘View’ on 14th Street

Published

16 years ago

December 25, 2009

David Franco, a longtime local entrepreneur who co-owns Level 2 Development, opened View 14, a 185-unit apartment building in the bustling 14th and U corridor. (DC Agenda photo by Michael Key)

David Franco laughs as he recalls his foray into the entrepreneurial arena. It was 1989 and his good friend, John Guggenmos, was pulling together a group of investors to buy the nightclub Tracks. Franco, a fresh-faced 24-year-old, could not have known that Tracks would shortly experience its heyday and become the focal point of D.C.’s gay nightlife scene, making it a hugely profitable venture, but he smelled opportunity. Or at the very least a really good time. He was ready to jump at the chance.

There was just one snag: “I was not out at the time.”

Franco wasn’t among the legions of gay men and lesbians who came to D.C. to explore and embrace life outside the closet. The recent University of Maryland graduate was a native Washingtonian who had never lived anywhere else. He and his four brothers worked for the family business, a chain of discount department stores run by their father, and they all lived within a mile of each other in the Maryland suburbs. How would his family, especially his Orthodox Jewish father, react to having a family member who was not only gay but owned a gay nightclub?

“I went to my father and said, ‘Dad, I have this opportunity and the opportunity requires me to leave the family business.’” When his father asked what the opportunity was, Franco forced the words out. “I said, ‘I have the opportunity to go in with a group of guys to buy a [gay] nightclub.’ I thought my father was going to hit the roof. But instead he said, ‘If this is going to make you happy, you have my blessing.’”

The Tracks venture was the first step along a career path that would see Franco launch with his Tracks associates a new gay establishment in D.C., Trumpets restaurant, and with business partner Keith Clark start Universal Gear, a chain of clothing stores popular with gay men. Those accomplishments, however, were dwarfed with the opening last month of View 14, a $90 million 185-unit apartment building that he and business partner Jeff Blum developed and built through their real estate firm, Level 2 Development.

The building’s interior was designed in collaboration with local furniture store owners Jason Claire and Eric Kole of Vastu and has the feel of a boutique hotel: funky but modern, stylish with some flashes of whimsy. It boasts the usual upscale finishes like granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and an enviable array of amenities, some the kind you would expect in a new luxury building – roof decks with Weber grills, a party room, 24-hour concierge service, fitness center, underground parking – but some you might not have seen elsewhere, including a sculpture garden, yoga studio, fully loaded theater, and a screen in the cavernous lobby that tells you when the next green and yellow line trains will be arriving at the U Street Metro Station.

Franco likens View 14 itself to a “giant ship coming down 14th Street.” It’s a very fitting image, with the sleek and majestic glass, steel and stone structure seeming to glide down the hill from Columbia Heights to the U Street area. How View 14 came to be is a harrowing voyage in itself, fraught with the squalls and swells of a tanking real estate market and the ensuing lending crisis.

It was 2005, and Franco and Blum were finishing their first venture together, the development of a 12-unit apartment building on the 1400 block of Chapin Street, N.W., called the Mercury at Meridian Hill Park. The real estate market was moving from high gear into overdrive, Franco said, and the building sold out very quickly. Flush with excitement, the two decided that for their second project together they would go big in order to capitalize on the red hot market.

After losing a bid on a property in the NoMa neighborhood, they set their sights on the Petrovich Auto Repair garage at the corner of 14th Street and Florida Avenue, around the corner from the Mercury. The property was perfectly situated on a hill that would afford stunning views of the city, and was within a stone’s throw of the popular U Street corridor.

Unfortunately, owners Paolo and Pedro Petrovich weren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity.

“They weren’t prepared [to sell] at that time,” said Franco. “They wanted to reinvest [whatever profit they would make from the sale] but didn’t know what to do.”

Undeterred, Franco and Blum made themselves a fixture at the Petroviches’ garage. “One of us would be in there at least once a week, seeing how things were,” often over lunch. “We really cultivated a relationship.” Franco, meanwhile, diligently researched opportunities for the Petroviches to reinvest their money. When the brothers took him up on a suggestion to tour some CVS stores in the Baltimore area, Franco began to feel guardedly optimistic.

Several months later, after a delicate dance with the Petroviches that could only be described as a wooing, complete with the appearance of a rival suitor, Franco and Blum won the sale.

Once that first major hurdle was cleared other challenges followed – finding a suitable architect and investment partner, navigating city bureaucracy to get the requisite permits to build a large scale condo building where an auto repair shop used to be, making expensive arrangements for the grounds to be cleansed of several decades worth of oil and gasoline seepage – but those were overcome with hard work and perseverance.

Franco and Blum quickly found strong support for their project among D.C. politicians, with Mayor Adrian Fenty attending the groundbreaking and Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham stepping in to facilitate communication with Comcast, which had been unresponsive to Franco and Blum’s appeals to discuss with them the relocation of Comcast-owned satellite dish equipment and a signal receiver tower from the View 14 site. Graham would later champion legislation that gave the View 14 project $5.7 million in tax abatement.

The View 14 developers also won kudos from local community leaders and the city government by donating $1 million to the residents of Cresthill Apartments toward the purchase of their building and the formation of a cooperative. This was done as part of their deal with the city, which requires developers to provide affordable housing if they are building a high-density project. Rather than set aside units in the new building for that purpose, as is normally done, the View 14 developers, seeing need in their community, chose instead to donate needed funds to the Cresthill residents, whose building was less than a block away and was soon to be sold on the open market.

“I never will forget the first day I met David,” said Sankofa Cooperative president Sheila Royster, who has lived in the Cresthill Apartments building for 40 years. “He came to my unit and he brought me a plant. I thought that was wonderful. It was a genuine gesture and to me it just demonstrated his respect for us and what we were doing.”

Dark clouds began to loom though as speculation that the housing market was cresting gave way to fears of a housing bubble that could burst at any moment and send property values tumbling. Still, Franco and Blum were confident. More than 1,000 people attended the lavish launch party in September of 2006. Rival developers nervously dubbed View 14 “The Death Star” because it was expected to “suck up all the other condo purchasers in the market,” Franco said. “We were excited.”

Contracts trickled in, a dozen and a half in the first two months, and the cold reality set in: they weren’t selling enough units to finance the start of construction on time. It might be months, or even a year, before they reached that point. If they were able to reach that point.

The two men sat down with their project partners and made the difficult decision to re-engineer View 14 as a rental project. “It was literally the million dollar decision for us,” said Franco. “We had spent a million dollars in marketing and building a sales center.”

Franco said that he and Blum have accepted a letter of intent from a “well-known retail and services establishment in the area” that will use 8,000 square feet of space to expand their facilities.

“The neighborhood is going to be ecstatic when they learn who’s going to be there,” he promises. A signed lease and announcement is expected soon.

Franco is just as ebullient when he talks about the 14th and U Street neighborhood and its future. He points out that the Solea, a condo building directly across 14th Street from View 14, has nearly sold out. And there is just one unit left for sale at Union Row, the massive, 216-unit condo building that also houses Yes! Market, a CVS, and the restaurant Eatonville.

“That speaks volumes to the desirability of this neighborhood,” said Franco.

About 25 leases have been signed so far and the first View 14 residents moved in over Thanksgiving weekend, among them Galan Panger, a 24-year-old gay man who is leasing a studio. Panger, who works in Google’s downtown D.C. office, said he was impressed by the quality of the building’s construction and with the finishes. The amenities solidified the decision to trade in his digs at nearby Union Row for View 14.

“It was nice of them to create these community spaces,” Panger said. “My boyfriend and I have been grilling even though it’s been cold.” They have been sticking to the east roof deck after Franco joked during a tour of the building that it was the gayer of the two rooftop spaces since it has “the more fabulous view.”

Franco himself is one of View 14’s newest tenants, along with his dog; last week he sold his home near Meridian Hill Park and they moved into one of the penthouse units.

Franco sees a wide mix of people coming to View 14, from single young professionals to retired couples. There is also a fair bit of traffic from gay and lesbian renters like Panger, which Franco attributes to a variety of factors, including the fact that the building bears the strong imprint of two openly gay men, he and Blum, as well as the influence of other gay men they know like Claire and Kole of Vastu and Chris Cahill, a good friend of Franco’s who works for Botanical Decorators and came up with the idea for using the courtyard space as a sculpture garden and helped select the sculptures and interior plants.

People, gay and straight alike, Franco observed, appreciate quality and, “not to rely too heavily on stereotypes, but gay men have a natural attention to detail. We as gay men are [attuned] to high style, high design and convenience. This building delivers that.”

Related Topics:David Franco the View on 14th

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Real Estate

D.C.’s housing reality: Cautious optimism meets landlord strain

Cost of living remains a major problem

Published

5 days ago

June 7, 2026

Scott Bloom

(Photo by sparky2000/Bigstock)

Washington has long prided itself on stability. Anchored by the federal government and buoyed by a highly educated workforce, the District has historically weathered economic uncertainty better than most cities.

But beneath that stability, cracks have been showing since January 2025.

I was having a conversation with a prospective client the other day and offered him a candid assessment of the District’s economic outlook. Simply put, structural challenges have been shaping the city’s future, a new mayoral election, and more that blends cautious optimism with clear concern about the changes ahead.

For one, the long-term shift toward remote and hybrid work continues to reshape the city in ways many people still underestimate. There has been a change in the rhythm of downtown D.C., reduced daytime foot traffic for local businesses, and created uncertainty for commercial real estate owners and the neighborhoods that depended on those workers every day.

At the same time, the cost of living in the District continues to rise at a pace that many residents are struggling to absorb. Even residents with strong incomes are becoming more cautious about spending and relocation decisions.

Landlords are feeling those pressures as well. Many smaller housing providers are operating in an environment where expenses continue to rise faster than revenue while the regulatory environment has grown increasingly complex. For some rental owners, especially those with older buildings or only a few rental units, the math is making it harder to cover costs, much less generate passive income.

There is also growing concern about the District government’s own financial outlook. Significant budget pressures and spending cuts are being had in a more serious way than many Washingtonians are used to hearing. As uncertainty in federal employment affects local tax revenue and consumer confidence, how will the city fund services, infrastructure, housing programs, and public safety priorities in the years ahead?

At the same time, consumer confidence feels noticeably down than it did even a few years ago. People are taking longer to make decisions, whether that means signing a lease, purchasing a home, renovating a property, or expanding a business. That hesitation creates a slower-moving marketplace where caution often replaces momentum.

Despite all this, Washington has proven remarkably resilient over time. The city continues to attract talented professionals, international investment, universities, healthcare institutions, and industries tied to government, law, technology, and public policy. Neighborhoods continue to evolve, and demand for well-managed rental housing remains strong in the core areas of the city.

Unlike other major cities driven by private industry, federal employment and contracting are two of the main pillars of Washington’s economy. That reliance has long insulated the region from deep recessions. But it also creates vulnerability when federal activity slows.

D.C.’s economy is far more interconnected and interdependent than many people fully appreciate. Between significant federal layoffs, the District’s high unemployment rate, and broader economic uncertainty, there are a number of warning signs that property owners should be paying close attention to. When federal hiring slows or contracts tighten, the impact extends well beyond government workers themselves. It affects restaurants, retail, housing, and countless other sectors tied to the District’s economic activity.

Brookings Institution has documented how job losses in higher-income sectors can disproportionately impact urban economies—precisely because those workers drive local spending.

Research from the Urban Institute supports this view, noting that federal workforce disruptions can quickly ripple through the region’s economy. For landlords and renters alike, those ripples are already being felt. Renters see many more properties on the market which gives them leverage on negotiating discounts in rent or special incentives. Housing providers, already squeezed by the reality of a weak economy and strong regulations face lowering rents and income.

For years, affordability has been one of D.C.’s most persistent challenges. Much of that pressure has been driven by strong job growth and sustained demand for housing at a pace that new housing inventory has struggled to match. That imbalance has steadily pushed rents and home prices higher, leaving many residents financially stretched.

Recent multifamily housing data suggests the market is already beginning to adjust. Developers delivered more than 15,000 apartment units across the Washington metropolitan area over the past year, and several industry reports have noted that elevated supply levels, combined with slower demand growth, have contributed to softer occupancy levels and downward pressure on rents in portions of the region. CoStar, CBRE, and Northmarq have all reported rising vacancy rates across segments of the D.C. multifamily market as newly delivered Class A inventory continues entering the pipeline at a time when hiring growth has moderated and federal workforce uncertainty has increased.

At the same time, several economists and housing analysts have cautioned that the District’s affordability challenges are deeply structural and unlikely to disappear quickly. The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University has repeatedly identified Washington among the nation’s more cost-burdened metropolitan areas, particularly for renters, while Zillow data continues to show housing costs consuming a substantial percentage of household income for many residents.

From my own perspective as a property manager working directly in the market every day, I believe we are beginning to see the early stages of a market recalibration rather than a collapse. Anecdotally, there appears to be more competition among larger apartment buildings than there was several years ago, particularly in neighborhoods where substantial new inventory has recently delivered. That does not necessarily mean dramatic rent declines are coming, but it does suggest that the imbalance between supply and demand may be moderating somewhat after years of sustained upward pressure on pricing.

Even if prices soften, affordability will remain a long-term challenge.

Regulation and the Realities of Tenant Turnover

The same rental owner I spoke with pointed to regulatory hurdles as a major source of hesitation to continue renting out his property, given past bad experiences with tenants and excessive costs to prepare the rental for a new tenant.

For many small property owners, the cumulative weight of regulation, maintenance costs, and market uncertainty is becoming harder to bear. Clients of mine have described feeling overwhelmed, not just financially, but emotionally. What was once a source of pride has, in some cases, become a source of stress.

We’re seeing more small landlords sell their rental homes, questioning whether it’s worth staying in the market. That’s a significant shift from even five or ten years ago. The National Multifamily Housing Council has noted that regulatory complexity often disproportionately impacts smaller landlords, who lack the resources of larger firms.

Some are choosing to sell. Others are simply trying to hold on. The result is the same – less rental housing for DC residents.

A Shift From Pride to Disillusionment

Perhaps the most striking theme is the emotional shift described by the property owner. For some, owning property in D.C., once a milestone achievement, has become a source of disillusionment. They cited financial losses, regulatory frustration, and a growing sense of political alienation.

There are also broader concerns about:

The decline of small multifamily ownership
Rising foreclosures in certain segments
Increased consolidation by larger institutional landlords

If small landlords continue to exit the market, it changes the entire housing ecosystem. You lose diversity in housing options, and that can have long-term consequences for affordability. It also robs families of having homes large enough to live in.

Politics and Policy: A System at a Standstill?

The political environment has obviously been a key factor shaping the city’s housing future. Following the 2026 elections, a lack of significant leadership change may result in continued policy stagnation.

Without meaningful policy shifts, we’re likely to see more of the same: continued and increasing pressure on landlords and not enough study and focus on policies to increase housing supply by first stopping those property owners fleeing the District’s extreme tenant friendliness. The D.C. City Council remains central to these decisions, with advocacy groups continuing to push for expanded tenant protections. The importance of balance cannot be understated: ensuring protections for renters while maintaining a viable environment for housing providers.

Taken together, these dynamics point to a housing system at a crossroads.

D.C. must find a way to balance:

Tenant protections
Housing affordability
Landlord sustainability
Long-term investment in housing supply

What’s Next?

D.C. isn’t going anywhere. The question is how it adapts. If we can find the right balance, there’s a path forward, but it’s going to take time and thoughtful policy decisions. For landlords, that path will require adaptability and engagement. For renters, it may mean gradual rather than immediate relief. For policymakers, it presents a clear challenge: create a system that works for everyone.

Scott Bloom is owner and senior property manager of Columbia Property Management. Contact him via ColumbiaPM.com.

Real Estate

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Published

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Real Estate

Honey, have we been priced out of gay paradise?

Rehoboth remains more accessible than many queer beach destinations

Published

4 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Justin Noble

There are still pathways to homeownership in Rehoboth Beach. (Washington Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

Let’s set the scene, darlings. It’s a scorching July Saturday. You’ve got a trunk full of rosé, a playlist that slaps harder than a “RuPaul’s Drag Race” elimination, and a group chat blowing up with your people en route to Rehoboth Beach — the Delaware beach town that has been the LGBTQ community’s summer headquarters for decades. Sun, sand, Poodle Beach, drag shows, and the kind of easy, breezy freedom that only comes from being surrounded by your tribe.

Now imagine pulling up to a “FOR SALE” sign on that charming two-bedroom cottage two blocks from the boardwalk — the one you’ve been eyeing for years — and seeing the price tag: $1.97 million. Honey, put the rosé down. We need to talk.

Nation’s Summer Capital Has a Spending Problem

Rehoboth Beach has long worn the nickname “The Nation’s Summer Capital” like a crown, owing to the annual migration of Washingtonians — and increasingly, Philadelphians and New Yorkers — who descend on its 27 miles of Atlantic coastline every summer. For the LGBTQ community in particular, Rehoboth has never been just a beach town. It has been a sanctuary, a second home, a place where you can hold your partner’s hand on the boardwalk without a second thought. But the real estate market? She is not reading the room.

According to Redfin data, the median sale price of a home in Rehoboth Beach recently hit $1.96 million — a jaw-dropping 106% increase year over year, and a figure that sits 127% above the national median. The price per square foot has climbed to $1,160, up nearly 27% in the same period. Gag.

So Who IS Buying Right Now?

Let’s not be dramatic — people are still buying in Rehoboth. They’re just a specific kind of people. According to neighborhood data, the per capita income in Rehoboth Beach runs around $118,239, equating to a household income of nearly $473,000 for a family of four. About a third of the workforce telecommutes, many in high-earning, white-collar professions. And more than 68% of residents hold a college degree, compared to a national average of under 22%.

If you want to buy a median-priced home in Rehoboth today with a standard 25% down payment, you’d need to bring nearly half a million dollars to closing — and then cover about $4,000 a month in ongoing expenses.

Still, the market isn’t quite the frenzy it was at peak pandemic frenzy. Homes are sitting on the market for an average of 88 days as of early 2026 — up significantly from the frantic bidding wars of a few years ago, when a listing might vanish before you could refresh Zillow a second time. Sellers are (slowly) getting the memo that buyers have limits.

Have Your Beach House (and Airbnb It, Too)

Many LGBTQ buyers have discovered a savvy workaround to Rehoboth’s sticker shock: buy a property, rent it during peak season, and let your summer visitors essentially pay your mortgage.

The numbers surprisingly support this strategy. The Rehoboth Beach short-term rental market currently has around 928 active listings, with hosts averaging $400 per night and annual revenues of approximately $39,689. The busiest month, predictably, is July — when guests book an average of 96 days in advance (so yes, those summer reservations your friends keep missing out on are being snapped up in April).

The key is making your property stand out in a crowded market. Properties accommodating eight or more guests dominate the Rehoboth STR market (nearly half of all listings), so that five-bedroom house with a game room suddenly starts to look like a business plan. At the same time – keep in mind that location, location, location honey – that is also so valuable. Even a two-bedroom condo close to the beach will also rent favorably well and get those numbers needed to make the most sense to your pockets.

This method allows you to have a second home, enjoy it, have friends enjoy it, and also helps recoup some of the overhead so the overhead and increase in overall purchase price is a bit more manageable.

What It All Means for Our Community

Rehoboth has always been more than real estate. It is one of the few places on the East Coast where LGBTQ people have, for decades, built an actual physical community — businesses, organizations, gathering spaces, neighborhoods — not just a social scene. CAMP Rehoboth, Poodle Beach, the Blue Moon (which, after some drama, was recently sold to new owners who pledged to keep it a queer-affirming space — phew), and countless gay-owned restaurants and shops form an ecosystem that attracts our community every summer precisely because the roots run deep.

But ecosystems require people — year-round residents, small business owners, artists, service workers — not just wealthy second-home owners. When prices rise to the degree they have in Rehoboth, the people who sustain that community can no longer afford to stay. It’s a pattern playing out in LGBTQ neighborhoods from San Francisco’s Castro to New York’s Chelsea, and it’s worth watching closely here.

The good news? Rehoboth remains more accessible than many comparable queer beach destinations. Provincetown, Mass. — the other iconic LGBTQ beach town on the Eastern seaboard — regularly sees median home prices north of $1.5 million with far less inventory and a significantly smaller footprint.

And Delaware’s tax structure does the community a quiet but important favor: no state sales tax, among the lowest property tax rates in the country, and relatively favorable income tax treatment for retirees. These aren’t glamorous talking points, but they matter when you’re running the numbers on whether your beach house dream can actually pencil out.

The Bottom Line, Babe

Can our community still afford Rehoboth? The honest answer is: it depends on what you mean by Rehoboth.

If you mean a single-family home within walking distance of Poodle Beach with an ocean view and a wraparound porch — prepare to spend north of $1.5 million, need a household income pushing six figures annually, and move fast when something comes to market.

If you mean a condo or townhome in the greater Rehoboth area – or a property you plan to rent out in peak season to offset costs — there are still real pathways in.

And if you mean belonging to a community, showing up every summer, taking up space on that beach, supporting LGBTQ-owned businesses, and making sure Rehoboth’s queer identity doesn’t get washed away by the luxury market tide — well, that part doesn’t have a price tag.

It just requires showing up. So pack the car. Bring the rosé. The beach is still ours.

Have a real estate question or Rehoboth market tip? Reach out to [email protected] for LGBTQ-friendly real estate resources in the Rehoboth area.