Life & Times In Real Estate: Wes Foster

Robert Devaney • November 25, 2013

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Once upon a time in America, a boy left Georgia to become a Virginia Military Institute cadet, then a soldier, and later an aluminum siding salesman. He turned to selling real estate in Washington’s booming suburbs in the 1960s and now commands the largest privately owned residential real estate company in the United States. The story of P. Wesley Foster, Jr., is the story of 20th-century American success.

Foster is the chairman and CEO of Long & Foster Companies, headquartered in Chantilly, Va. His easy manner tells a tale of an American life we hope can still happen today. Georgetowner editors got a chance to sit down with the real estate legend.
As his executive assistant offered us coffee, Foster greeted us in his modest—at least by Donald Trump’s standards—office. The space immediately telegraphs his main loves — real estate, VMI, America, football, art, his family and especially his wife, Betty.

Feeling casual with Foster’s disarming charm, one of us flippantly began, referring to Long & Foster. “I know all about you guys.” Foster shot back, “I doubt it.”

No doubt, Foster has built a real estate and financial services empire step-by-step, agent-by-agent and office-by-office for longer than four decades. Who has not seen a Long & Foster sign somewhere during a daily drive? Such effort to build the top independent real estate company in America is not for the faint of heart, short of time or low of aim.

These days, however, Foster can take it a little easier: “I get up around 7 a.m. and read the paper,” he said. He doesn’t arrive at the office until just before 9 a.m. Foster and his wife—a sculptor who taught at the Corcoran and was on its board—moved to a townhouse in Old Town, Alexandria, after spending 32 years in their McLean, Va., home with almost four acres. “I go for a walk with my wife when the weather is good in the afternoons,” he continued. “So, I leave the office around 3:30 or 4 p.m. … I’ll be 80 in November. I don’t work as hard as I used to.”

Fair enough. He deserves that, although he still visits the branch offices and sales meetings as often as he can. In Foster’s early years, the opposite surely was the case. His long hours involved a six-day work week.

It’s this sort of discipline that Foster needed to build his company, but he has had some vices along the way. The first of which has been a sweet tooth. He manages his love for chocolate, and even turned to candy while he quit smoking when he was 30. “I was dating my wife and carried around a little bag of chewing gum and lifesavers,” he said.

As to the impact of the recent economic recession on the housing industry, Foster is clear. “We went through about five years of challenges in the market. Our production went down from 2005 to – I don’t know where the low point was, 2008 or 2009 . . . and now we are fortunate to see growth once again. As tough as it was to do, we continued investing in our company and our people. That’s what makes us so optimistic going forward.”
Not that Long & Foster itself was immune from such miscalculations. Its huge Chantilly headquarters building is an unexpectedly imposing Williamsburg-style building that has a similarly styled garage with more than 1,000 parking spaces, which Foster has dubbed “the best-looking parking garage in Washington.” He is pleased that the company has just negotiated a lease for 50,000 square feet and looks forward to welcoming new tenants to the building. “It’s a beautiful building and we are quite proud of it,” he said. “I think our headquarters represents the stability and confidence of our company and our agents.”

Still, the economy appears in recovery—with the stock market hitting an all-time high and unemployment numbers lowering March 8—but Foster remains cautious: “I’m not sure that it’s going to be that great [a recovery] because the Federal government has to get its house in order. The good news is that our company is well positioned to succeed in any scenario. I learned early on that if we lead our team to focus on the basics – really taking great care of every single client, one transaction at a time – then together as a team, we can weather any kind of market and emerge even stronger.”

Regarding the economy, Foster added: “We still have some work to do.” And as far as a true recovery in real estate? “We are working our way through and are beginning to see a real shift in the market.”

For Foster, such an approach illuminates his life. At VMI, he was on the football team. “My playing wasn’t that great,” he said. “But I played, played all four years. I was a slow, small guard.” Working his way through, even then. Foster has never truly left his beloved VMI. “I’m on the board there,” he said. “I go down there three or four times a year …” In 2006, VMI’s football stadium complex was dedicated as the P. Wesley Foster, Jr., Stadium.

So, what brought Foster to Washington, D.C., and specifically, its suburbs?

“When I graduated from VMI, I took a job,” Foster said. “I didn’t go directly into the military. You could take a year off and work in those days. So, I delayed my military duty for one year, and worked for Kaiser Aluminum. They put me in the Chicago office. When I got there I hated it. I mean, it was a place a little southern boy didn’t want to go to. But, by the time I left the next spring, I nearly left with tears in my eyes. I had a great time.”

Foster served his military duty as many young American men do and served for two years in West Germany. He was in the 8th Infantry Division—“Pathfinder”—and served as a special weapons liaison officer to the German III Corps. (Begun in World War I, this army division was inactivated in 1992.)

When his time was up, Foster said he toured Europe, thus igniting his love of travel. “They’d let you get out of the army over there and for up to a year, they would send your car and you home for free,” Foster recalled with a smile. “You could get out and travel if you wanted to. . . . Well, I got out, and a buddy and I … drove my Volkswagen to Moscow. The United States had an American exhibition that year and [Vice President Richard] Nixon was over there speaking. Got tears in my eyes watching him speak.” (This was the famous “kitchen debate” between Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in July 1959.)

Soon enough, our American GI returned home, with no money to his name. Foster got his old job back at Kaiser Aluminum and sold aluminum building products to homebuilders in 15 cities across the United States. Foster ran the program for a year. “Boy, did I get tired of that. I’d get up in the morning and have to think for a while about which city I was in that day.”

Nevertheless, one thing does lead to another. “All the guys I had been working with at Kaiser Aluminum got interested in the real estate business because we were working with builders, and I thought I’d become a builder,” he said.

This English major seemed still to be undecided on his career path. “I thought about law school,” Foster said. “My two brothers were lawyers, and had I never made it in real estate. . . . I would have probably gone onto law school and become a mediocre lawyer.”

So, why think that way and why the success in real estate? We asked.

“The guys that really tear it up are very bright. … I think I have a knack for this [real estate] business and see things that other people don’t see. In college, I graduated in the middle of my class. I may not have graduated at the top of my class, but I think I was the most persistent and worked the hardest – that’s what, after all of these years, has driven the growth and success of Long & Foster.”

Foster admitted that he sees “opportunities that other people don’t pick up,” and said a large part of his success was due to the “companies we acquire, and the people we hire and team up with. We choose to associate with people that share our values – teamwork, integrity and a drive for results. A team like this can be magical.”

Before that powerful recognition was a beginning: “I happened to meet a young fellow by the name of Minchew, who was also from Georgia and was a good builder here in Northern Virginia,” Foster recalled. “I went to work for him selling his homes. Worked for him for three years.”

Foster lived in Annandale, “sold a lot of new houses . . . and met my wife here,” he said.
“I had a roommate at VMI who was a Navy SEAL doctor and had come to Washington to do his deep sea diving training, if you can believe it, at Andrews Air Force Base,” Foster said. “He went skiing one weekend and rode up the ski lift with a pretty girl who became my wife. He introduced me to her and said, ‘Man, I’m leaving town, call her.’ ”

From Connecticut, Foster’s future wife moved to Virginia to be near her brother, an Episcopal priest. “We raised our family right here in Virginia,” Foster said. He is a father to three, and now a grandfather to six, ranging in age from teenagers to a four-year-old, all boys, and all of whom he takes delight, especially the youngest.

Today, of course, some of the family is involved in the business: son Paul Foster looks after offices in Montgomery County and D.C.; son-in-law Terry Spahr runs the New Jersey and Delaware offices; and nephew Boomer (Larry) Foster oversees offices in Northern Virginia and West Virginia. “Even as a large company, it’s important that we remain a family company. That way, our commitment to our agents and their success is unwavering,” Foster said.

Before all these company positions were possible, Foster had to meet Long. While working in Annandale on a new development, called “Camelot,” a name which Foster still dislikes to this day, he met Henry Long, an Air Force bomber pilot. The two worked together in a firm and then decided to start their own. And what of those good-looking homes in “Camelot”? They sold very well despite that name.

“We both went to military schools,” he said of Long. “He went to VPI [Virginia Tech]. I’d gone to VMI. He had flown B-47s. I shot rockets. He was commercial, and I was residential. We’d start a company, and we flipped a coin. He won and got his name first. I got to be president. We took off. We were partners for 11 years until 1979. Merrill Lynch came along and wanted to buy us, and he wanted to sell and basically do what he was doing and that was being a developer. So, I bought him out of the company.”
Foster has been asked the question again and again. We asked again, too, if he would sell the company. He folded his arms, leaned back and said: “I don’t want to sell . . . We have brought together some of the best business minds from inside and outside real estate to take our firm to the next level, and that gives us a solid succession plan as a family-owned company. Not many firms like ours can say that.”

“Family members play an instrumental role in the company,” Foster said. “I’ll be a large part of this as long as I can, but my three children own practically all of the company now. So, that’s all set. They will keep the family company spirit and leverage our management team to make sure we are on the right path.”
Things may be set internally, but elsewhere, competition remains for Long & Foster. In one of the nation’s hottest residential markets, that’s a given. “Good competitors drive us to better ourselves every single day,” Foster said. “It’s a great incentive to stay on top of your game and advance your business.”

“For example, luxury real estate, particularly in the D.C. area, is huge. Everyone out there today is vying for luxury business – and while we do sell more million-dollar-plus homes than anyone, our competitors keep us on our toes. That’s why we leverage our affiliation with Christie’s International Real Estate for our agents and their clients. The Christie’s brand really matters – it’s immediately recognizable as ‘high end,’ and it gets us in front of the most exclusive buyers and sellers from around the globe. Only our agents can market with the Christie’s brand.” Indeed, the biggest D.C. sale in 2011—the Evermay estate in Georgetown – was sold by Long & Foster.

How do you deal with all the egos? We asked. “The best you can,” Foster wryly replied. “We give them all of the tools and the backing of a great brand – and they do what they do best – work with buyers and sellers.”

“I will tell you this,” he said. “What we look for, especially in managers, is good empathy and a drive for results. When we achieve this, it is a winning combination for our company, and most importantly, for our agents and their clients. That is the key.”
From start to finish, Foster can easily detect that. “I grew up fairly poor and went to college on a scholarship, and my brothers also went to college on scholarships,” he said. “We’ve had a fair amount of drive. Two were lawyers and one is a developer now in Atlanta. I am truly humbled by the success of the company and my team. It is an honor that so many clients put their trust in Long & Foster and our team of agents.”

At a Glance:
Long & Foster is the largest independent residential real estate company in the United States.

Long & Foster represents more than 10,000 agents at approximately 170 offices across seven Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states, plus the District of Columbia.

For 2012, Long & Foster’s sales volume exceeded $24.8 billion and with more than 74,000 transactions; this is up from $22 billion and 69,000 transactions in 2011. 2012 marked a year of significant growth for Long & Foster, seeing an increase in volume of 14 percent and a 9-percent increase in unit sales.

While Long & Foster was founded as a real estate company, today its family of companies offers everything customers need as it relates to buying selling, or owning real estate – including mortgage, insurance, settlement, property management and corporate relocation services.

Long & Foster Companies’ combined sales volume and equivalents for 2012 were $48.7 billion, a $6-billion increase from 2011 figures.
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Unique Tavern License Up for Grabs in Georgetown

Robert Devaney • November 21, 2013

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For the first time in 20 years, there is one tavern liquor license now available in Georgetown, which remains under a neighborhood liquor license moratorium.

Because the defunct Saloun, formerly at 3239 M Street, did not renew its tavern license, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board cancelled its license Oct. 30.

So, who has applied for this one-of-a-kind, tavern-nightclub license?

The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration told the Georgetowner Nov. 18 that it “has received two applications for the tavern license in Georgetown. Gypsy Sally’s Acoustic Tavern LLC, trading as Gypsy Sally’s at 3401 Water St., NW, applied to transfer its restaurant license to become a tavern in Georgetown. The second is from Restaurant Enterprises, Inc., trading as Smith Point at 1338 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. They also submitted an application to transfer their alcoholic beverage license from a restaurant to a tavern in the area. Applications are being reviewed on a first-come, first-serve basis and are subject to the approval of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.”

 
Last week, ABRA announced: ” … Restrictions  have  temporarily  been  lifted  on  alcoholic beverage  licenses  for  taverns  in  the  Georgetown  Historic  District.  The  change  occurred  after  the  number  of  licensed   taverns  within  the  historic  area  fell  below  a  legislative  cap  of  six. … Taverns  located  in  the  Georgetown  Historic  District  are  permitted  to  transfer  alcoholic  beverage  licenses  to   new  owners  and  new  locations  within  the  area.  An  existing  restaurant  in  the  historic  district  will  also  be  able  to  apply  to   become  a  tavern  or  nightclub  in  the  neighborhood.  Applications  to  make  any  of  the  changes  would  need  to  be  filed  with   the  Alcoholic  Beverage  Regulation  Administration for  consideration  by  the  Alcoholic  Beverage  Control  Board.”

“The  Alcoholic  Beverage  Control  Act  and  Rules  Reform  Amendment  Act  of  1994  freezes  the  transfer  or   sale  of  tavern  and  nightclub  licenses  in  the  Georgetown  Historic  District  when  there  are  six  or  more  taverns  and/or  nightclubs  licensed  in  the  area,” according to ABRA.

There are no nightclubs licensed in Georgetown. Once a sixth tavern license is issued, ABRA noted, “the  ability  to  transfer  tavern  licenses will  end  once  the  legislative  cap  of  six  taverns  and/or  nightclubs  is  reached  in  the   Georgetown  Historic  District.”

There are five neighborhood moratoriums in effect in D.C.: Adams Morgan, East Duport Circle, Georgetown, Glover Park and West Dupont Circle.

Washington Harbour Ice Rink Opens Monday, Nov. 11

Robert Devaney •

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At 11,800 square feet, the Washington Harbour Ice Rink is D.C.’s largest outdoor ice skating venue and is also larger than New York City’s Rockefeller Center rink. The Washington Harbour Ice Rink officially re-opens for the public skating season Nov. 11 after a transformation from its interchangeable use as a picturesque fountain. It made its inaugural season at the Georgetown waterfront last year. The Washington Harbour Ice Rink will be open until March for recreational skating every day, including all holidays.

Regular Hours of Operation:
Monday to Thursday: noon to 9 p.m.
Friday: noon to 10 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Prices:
Adults: $10
Children/Seniors/Military: $8
Skate Rental: $5
For more details, visit
www.thewashingtonharbour.com/skating/
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Dent Place House Razed

Robert Devaney •

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The long, slow death of 3324 Dent
Place, NW, is over.

This morning, a bulldozer moved onto
the property, owned by Deyi Awadallah of
Falls Church, Va., to finish off the 19thcentury
wooden frame house.

In Georgetown, where such a move is
extremely rare, the neighbors on Dent Place
are no doubt pleased, as the structure was seen
as a site for vermin and an eyesore. Even, the
Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood
Commission approved a raze permit in October
2012.

Last year, the ANC chair Ron Lewis said
that such an approval to raze a structure was
no something to be taken lightly. Today, when
Lewis learned of the razing, he said, the owner
and others had tried to save it but “we could not
even save the material.”

A spokesperson for the D.C. Department
of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs – which
has oversight of such a demolition – told the
Georgetowner Nov. 12 that due process had
been followed and that the razing had been on
the schedule.

After being declared vacant, the dilapidated
house was struck by a falling tree in August 2011
during Hurricane Irene, crushing its second floor.
According to many, including the ANC’s Lewis,
that was its “deathblow.”

One of the property’s highlights is that it
was owned by Yarrow Mamout, a freed slave in
Georgetown. Mamout died in 1823 before the
current house was built. A beloved portrait
of Mamout hangs in the Peabody Room of
the Georgetown Public Library, not far from
Dent Place.

DDOT Selects Streetcars for K Street From Union Station to Georgetown

Robert Devaney •

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After studies and surveys, the District Department of Transportation has opted for a streetcar “premium transit” option at a cost of almost $350 million to build. Approval processes would take at least two years before construction begins. The line would go would go from Union Station to Wisconsin Avenue and K Street.

Here’s more from a DDOT letter:

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced the completion of the Union Station to Georgetown Premium Transit Alternative Analysis (AA) Study, a comprehensive analysis of alternatives to provide high quality transit in this important east-west corridor. This study was funded through a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant.

The completion of this study marks an important step in DDOT’s commitment to provide more and improved transportation choices in the District of Columbia. In this study DDOT partnered with FTA and explored several options to provide premium transit service between Union Station and Georgetown while analyzing the needs of the corridor.

DDOT conducted an active public and stakeholder engagement process and held several public, stakeholder and agency meetings to gather input from the public as it studied several alternatives. Alternative 1, which consists of a streetcar system running primarily along K Street, NW, New Jersey Avenue, NW, and H Street, was ultimately selected as DDOT’s recommended alternative.

With the completion of this study, DDOT will now proceed to the environmental review and approval process, which will be followed by design and construction.

The report is available on project website: www.unionstationtogeorgetown.com.”

ANC 2E Tonight: West Heating Plant Raze Permit, Hyde-Addison Construction

Robert Devaney • November 18, 2013

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Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E will meet 6:30 p.m, Nov. 4, at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, 35th Street and Volta Place, Heritage Room, first building on left by gatehouse, second floor. Highlights include discussions on the West Heating Plant (Four Seasons Residences), Hyde-Addison School, alley off R Street and Rose Park.

The following is the agenda, as provided by ANC 2E.

Approval of the Agenda

• Approval of November 4, 2013, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda

Administrative

? Approval of September 30, 2013, Meeting Minutes

? Public Safety and Police Report

? Financial Report:

1. Resolution approving a FY 2014 budget for ANC 2E

2. Resolution approving Melanie Gisler’s employment and salary for FY 2014

3. Resolution approving hiring Marsh Bookkeeping Services

? Transportation Report

? DPW Report

Community Comment

? Comcast – construction information / presentation on four updated junction boxes to be installed (underground) in ANC2E

? DC Sustainable Energy Utility – information regarding energy efficiency and renewable energy services

New Business

? 24th Annual Lawyers Have Heart 10K Run and Fun Walk – Saturday, June 14, 2014

? CAG legislative proposal re neighbor notification of exterior remodeling plans

Zoning

? Georgetown University Northeast Triangle Residence Hall, 3700 O Street, NW, Zoning Commission Case No. 10-32A, Application to permit (a) the construction of a new residence hall on the University’s main campus and (b) the use of the former Jesuit residence on campus for potential future residential / campus life / athletic use as student housing (Hearing November 25, 2013)

? 3343 Prospect Street, NW, BZA Order No. 18555, request for minor modification of plans to extend the permitted space for a yoga studio

ABC

? Cafe Milano, 3251 Prospect St NW, request for extended hours for December 31, 2013 and March 8, 2014 (Spring Daylight Saving)

? Kafe Leopold/L2, 3315 Cady’s Alley NW, request for extended hours for December 31, 2013 and March 8, 2014 (Spring Daylight Saving)

? Prospect Dining, t/a George, 3251 Prospect Street, NW, ABRA No. 78058, request for extended hours for Wednesday, November 27 (the night before Thanksgiving)
until 3 am,Tuesday, December 31 (New Year’s Eve) until 3 am, Saturday, March 8 (Daylight Savings “spring forward”) until 4 am

License renewals:

? Rialto (formerly The Guards), 2915 M St – Petition date 11/4

The following establishments are not anticipated to be reviewed by ANC 2E for license renewal. Please contact ANC 2E by Friday, November 1, if you have an issue.

? Modern, 3287 M St – Petition date 11/18

? El Centro, 1218 Wisconsin Ave – Petition date 11/18

? Rhino’s, 4395 M St – Petition date 11/25

? Kintaro, 1039 33rd St – Petition date 11/25

Old Georgetown Board

PUBLIC AND MAJOR PROJECTS

SMD 03, Government of the District of Columbia, Department of General Services, OG 14-020 (HPA 14-024), 3219 O Street, NW Hyde-Addison Elementary School, Addition with construction below elevated playground, Concept

SMD 07, Government of the District of Columbia, DC DDOT, Paving of residential alley off R St between 31st and 32nd St. NW, Final

SMD 05, 1051 29th Street, NW, OG 14-012 (HPA 14-016) West Heating Plant, Residential, New building, site work and glazed connector over canal, Concept

SMD 05, 1055 29th Street, NW, OG 14-013 (HPA 14-017) West Heating Plant, Raze Permit

PRIVATE PROJECTS:

1. SMD 02, 1625 33rd Street, NW, OG 14-015 (HPA 14-019) Residence, Alterations to rear, site work, replacement fence, Permit

2. SMD 02, 1689 34th Street, NW, OG 13-342 (HPA 13-610) Residence, Alterations to stoop, Permit

3. SMD 02, 1649 35th Street, NW, OG 13-345 (HPA 13-616) Residence, Two- story rear addition, site work, swimming pool, Concept

4. SMD 03, 3310 N Street, NW, OG 14-018 (HPA 14-022) Residence, One- story rear addition, parking pad at alley, Concept

5. SMD 03, 1335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-028 (HPA 14-032) Commercial, Addition on public space for new ATM, mural, Permit

6. SMD 03, 1351 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-007 (HPA 14-011) Commercial, Rear addition, alterations, demolition, Concept

7. SMD 05, 1025 31st Street, NW, OG 13-317 (HPA 13-540) Commercial, Alterations to rear, outdoor seating terrace; glass enclosure of rear yard, paving – existing, Concept

8. SMD 05, 3320 M Street, NW, OG 13-299 (HPA 13-521) Commercial, Banner for “Maxalto” at third floor facing alley, Permit

9. SMD 05, 3319 Cady’s Alley, NW, OG 14-006 (HPA 14-010) Commercial, Banner for “Steven Alan,” Permit

10. SMD 05, 2822 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, OG 14-023 (HPA 14-027) Commercial, Alterations to storefront, awning and sign for “Amina Rubinacci,” Permit

11. SMD 05, 1214 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-005 (HPA 14-009)
Commercial, Awning, signs and blade sign for “Goorin Bros. Hat Shop,” Permit

12. SMD 06, 1421 29th Street, NW, OG 14-017 (HPA 14-021) Residence, Replacement door, alterations to rear, deck, Concept

13. SMD 06, 3008 P Street, NW, OG 14-004 (HPA 14-008) Residence, Site work on rear yard, Permit

No Review At This Time by ANC 2E: The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming November 7, 2013, agenda of the Old Georgetown Board, have not been added to the ANC meeting agenda for OGB-related design review and we do not propose to adopt a resolution on them at this time. If there are concerns about any of these projects, please contact the ANC office by Friday, November 1, 2013

1. SMD 01, 3800 Reservoir Road, NW, OG 14-022 (HPA 14-026) Institution (MedStar Georgetown University Hospital – Pasquerilla Healthcare Center), Five antennas for Verizon Wireless on penthouse, Permit

2. SMD 02, 1658 33rd Street, NW, OG 14-027 (HPA 14-031) Commercial, 1-story rear addition with basement, 2-story in-fill in dog leg – in progress, Permit – revised design

3. SME 02, 1622 34th Street, NW, OG 14-008 (HPA 14-012) Residence, One- story rear addition to replace one-story porch, alterations, Permit

4. SMD 03, 3330 P Street, NW, OG 14-001 (HPA 14-003) Residence, Solar panels, Permit

5. SMD 03, 3143 Dumbarton Street, NW, OG 13-260 (HPA 13-450) Residence, Replacement windows, replacement entry and garage doors, Permit – additional information

6. SMD 03, 3143 Dumbarton Street, NW, OG 13-261 (HPA 13-451) Residence, Third floor addition and alterations to rear, Concept – revised design

7. SMD 03, 3411 Prospect Street, NW, OG 14-002 (HPA 14-006) Residence, Replacement fence, Permit

8. SMD 03, 1365 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 13-203 (HPA 13-359) Bank, Light fixtures for ATM at BB&T Bank, Permit

9. SMD 05, 3000 K Street, NW, OG 14-026 (HPA 14-030) Mixed-use, Replace sails with fixed awnings at “Farmers, Fishers and Bakers,” Permit / concept

10. SMD 05, 3104 M Street, NW, OG 13-306 (HPA 13-528) Commercial, Rear

addition and replacement windows, Concept

11. SMD 05, 3213 M Street, NW, OG 13-346 (HPA 13-631) Commercial,
Alterations to storefront, awnings, signs for “Pandora,” Permit

12. SMD 05, 3291 M Street, NW, OG 13-169 (HPA 13-292) Commercial,
Alterations to storefront – existing, Permit – revised design

13. SMD 05, 3299 M Street, NW, OG 14-021 (HPA 14-025) Commercial,
Alterations to storefront, new openings, replacement windows, Permit

14. SMD 05, 3100 Dumbarton Street, NW, OG 14-010 (HPA 14-014) Residence,
Alterations to rear dormers, Permit

15. SMD 05, 3104 Dumbarton Street, NW, OG 13-339 (HPA 13-607) Residence,
Exploratory demolition of garage, Permit

16. SMD 05, 3206 Grace Street, NW, OG 13-318 (HPA 13-541) Commercial,
Alterations, replacement windows, awnings, blade sign, flagpole, Concept –
revised design

17. SMD 05, 3616 Prospect Street, NW, OG 14-024 (HPA 14-028) Residence,
Alterations to rear windows, Permit – revised design

18. SMD 05, 1045 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-025 (HPA 14-029) Residential,
Alterations to storefronts, Permit

19. SMD 06, 1202 30th Street, NW (also known as 3001 M Street, NW), OG 14- 003 (HPA 14-007) Mixed-use: retail / residential, Security panel, Permit
20. SMD 06, 2725 N Street, NW, OG 13-319 (HPA 13-545) Residence, Alterations to dormer at rear, Concept

21. SMD 06, 2912 N Street, NW, OG 13-313 (HPA 13-536409) Residence, Relocate existing rooftop mechanical equipment, Permit

22. SMD 06, 3040 O Street, NW, OG 13-183 (HPA 13-306) Residence, Enclose rear porch and alterations – existing, Permit – revised design

23. SMD 06, 3030 P Street, NW, OG 13-256 (HPA 13-446) Residence, Demolition of rear addition, 2-story rear addition, Concept – revised design

24. SMD 07, 1644 31st Street, NW, OG 14-009 (HPA 14-013) Tudor Place, Alterations to service entrance, chain-link fence and sliding gate, Permit

25. SMD 07, 1703 32nd Street, NW, OG 14-014 (HPA 14-018) Institution, Replacement roof, Permit

26. SMD 07, 3015 Q Street, NW, OG 14-016 (HPA 14-020) Residence, Replacement standing seam metal roof, Permit

27. SMD 07, 1815 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-019 (HPA 14-023) Commercial, Alterations to opening – existing, and third awning, Permit – revision to permit

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Armed Robbery on 31st St.; Robbery on Wisconsin Ave.

Robert Devaney •

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At about 2:30 a.m., Nov. 1, on the 1200 block of 31st Street, a woman sitting outside was approached by a robber with a rifle who took her purse and cell phone and then fled, according to police reports.

Meanwhile, there stabbing at 23rd and P Streets, NW, just before 3 a.m.. Nov. 2, according to another report from the Metropolitan Police Department. The suspect is in custody.

Another robbery occurred just after 4 a.m., Nov. 2, on the 1300 block of Wisconsin Avenue. Police described an “Arab male with beard,” wearing a dark blazer and flannel shirt.

Ta’Rea Campbell: the Real Deal in ‘Sister Act’

Robert Devaney •

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It isn’t easy being Ta’Rea Campbell these days, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun.

Campbell—who has had so far an impressive career in Broadway-style musical theater that might take some folks the better part of a lifetime to achieve—is starring in the national tour of “Sister Act,” the hit Broadway musical take on the popular 1992 Whoopi Goldberg comedy. Campbell plays, and Whoopi played a diva on the lam from the mob who enters a San Francisco convent and makes it a hideout. Laughter then—and laughter and music now—ensued.

The show is now at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House through Nov. 10 as part of an extended tour that’s a hectic pace for Campbell, who’s starred in “The Lion King,” “The Book of Mormon” and “Aida” among other hit shows.

“I have to admit this so far in my career has been the most challenging thing I’ve ever done,” the Philadelphia native said. “It’s hard work, but it’s fun because the role is so much fun. And when we were doing rehearsals, I met Whoopi who was looking in. She was the most fun, the nicest, most helpful person, just couldn’t be better. I admire her a whole lot, but you can’t just imitate her. You have to find your own way in it, how it relates to you. Seeing her in ‘The Color Purple’ and the movie itself inspired me to want to become an actress.”

“You know what it is,” she said. “This is it. This is me. There’s a lot of responsibility there, you expend a lot of energy. In “The Lion King,” I was only on stage for less than an hour. Here, I’m on stage pretty much all of the time. That’s work.”

But Campbell sounds like the optimist, glass-half-full or probably mostly full type, and she’s been wowing them all across the country. The biggest wow probably occurred in April in Philadelphia, where the show played there for a short run. “That’s my hometown,” Campbell said. “That’s where I grew up. Everybody I knew came, my family, everybody. Here’s the thing: because the show’s setting has been changed from Las Vegas to Philadelphia, the first line of the show is naturally ‘Hello, Philadelphia.’ That was kind of a big line for me.”

Campbell started out wanting to be a dramatic actress. “I still want to do that, but you know, in this business, things happen,” she said. “You can’t envision the future. Everybody’s got dreams. Mine were a little different. I studied acting, but ended up in musical theater, which has been an amazing experience.”

“What’s great about this show for me is that I can do everything in it—sing (disco, gospel). I can clown it. I can act. So, it’s kind of perfect.”

“I’ve been blessed,” Campbell said. “My boyfriend, who’s a musician, he’s a violinist, and I got engaged. He’s working in New York where I live. I get to take Stevie, my beautiful Chihuahua-Beagle mix with me. Stevie is great company.”

“Sister Act” features a score by Alan Menke and is directed by Broadway veteran Jerry Zaks.

10th Annual Living in Pink Honors Carolyn Aldigé, Rachel Brem

Robert Devaney •

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The 10th Annual Living in Pink Luncheon & Boutique was held Nov. 1 at the Fairmont Hotel and honored Rachel Brem, M.D., of the George Washington University School of Medicine and presented the Noel Soderberg-Evans Award to Carolyn R. “Bo” Aldigé, who founded the Prevent Cancer Foundation in 1985 in memory of her father, Edward P. Richardson, who died of cancer one year earlier.

Councilman Jack Evans presented the Soderberg-Evans Award, named in honor of his first wife Noel who died of cancer in 2003, to Aldigé. Evans noted that the award is crafted in the image of a Monarch butterfly, by which Noel asked her three children to remember her. In her acceptance speech, Aldigé echoed the butterfly theme, saying a butterfly landed on her father’s casket during his burial. There were few dry eyes in the room with that remark.

Guest speaker Pamela Peeke, M.D., chief medical correspondent for Discovery Health Television, spoke of the “Hero’s Journey,” as explained by mythologist Joseph Campbell, an archetype aptly tied to those afflicted by the scourge of cancer.

Emcee Greta Kreuz, news anchor for ABC 7/ WJLA-TV kept things moving with her witty asides.

Watching over it all was hostess Michele Conley, a two-time breast cancer survivor herself, and founder of Living in Pink, which is dedicated to aiding breast cancer research. Since its inception in 2004, Living in Pink contributions have helped fund a variety of local and national research endeavors to further the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.

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