Garage Space around Crystal City

DGS, your accent sounds familiar...

DC is congested, but it's not too bad if you plan for it. A 5:23pm Friday trip from Baltimore to Northern VA is probably *not* going to be pretty.

I'm not very familiar with Crystal City, but I know that there are some garages there. If you scout around a bit and talk to some of the owner/operators, I'm sure they could accomodate your needs. I'm assuming we're talking about safe parking for an FCar and not an '87 Accord DX Automatic right?

$300k unfortunately will get you a house way out...prob at least 60 mins from DC. That's assuming you don't want to live in an area which might be a little sketchy. I'd talk to a decent realtor about that one. I think a starter townhouse around here is mid to high $300k range...that's about 2500 sq ft, 2 car garage and 5 ft of grass on either side. All this at least an hour away.

Good Luck!

LS

 

DGS - I live just at the western edge of Crystal City, but in a house. My understanding is that all but the oldest high-rises (residential) in CC have underground parking. The ones without would be Crystal House (1 and 2) and the three River House buildings. I believe the newer ones would satisfy your needs. The nicer new buildings are the new ones at Pentagon City, one Metro stop away from Crystal City - like Parc Vista, the Metropolitan and the Residences at Pentagon Row. Probably the highest-end buildings w/ underground parking would be the Metropolitan in PC and the curved buildings in CC immediately adjacent to the water garden (I can't remember the name just now . . .).

good luck. CC itself is kind of a dog (although, they are trying to liven it up w/ some new, more urban, construction) but the location rules. It takes me about 8 minutes to drive to my office at 21st and Pennsylvania.

 

DGS-

My wife and I just went through that whole issue - ended up buying a house with no garage, but space to build one. The DC metro area is not good at all for the car hobbyist in terms of storage & workshop space (luckily, the high volume of enthusiasts and activities make up for it). Our search & purchase process took a loooong time. We had the luxury of time, as we already were in the area. We therefore took a very long time to research and look - must have seen about 40 houses in all different parts of town. PM me with your email and I'll share with you what ideas I can from our search.

Steve

 

The other thing you can do is talk to the operator of a garage near your house-most of the hourly places are willing to talk about monthly leases-the hitch is usually finding a place thats OK with you leaving the car there overnight in Bethesda these are in the 200-250/month range. Still not great for a nice car. Try the local ferrari club newsletter too-sometimes another ferrari person will rent out a sopt-though most are in the boondocks.
I'm still moving towards having a garage built in my big backyard-with a hoist, lift etc.
Good luck...DC is a hard place to live without a couple extra million to toss around.

 

If you really need 3+ garages, you should check out the Goshen area 10 min NE of Shady Grove in Gaithersburg. Most of the new homes there are 3+ car garages starting in the $800s. Some of the homes there have 5 car garages.
Most homes there are 1-2 acres with some being 5-10 acres. The public roads are always well maintained with no potholes. There are a lot of very nice roads for driving there. I live in the area. I have a 3-car garage and feel its not enough. You really need 5 to be safe or buy a warehouse.

 

there are also some homes near BWI... new construction on 1+ acre lots with 3 car garages for 400K +.

 

I am a Realtor in Northern Virginia. I have a 4000sf home with a two car garage and then rent space for about $400 a month for storage of my other three sports cars. I have five sports cars...let the Caddies and truck sit out. Unless you are in the $800K plus price range finding houses with garages and or enough land is tough. DC has gone through a huge price growth over the last few years and land has always been a premium. I live out near Dulles. Big thing that all coming here have to accept is commuting. People tend to buy where they can afford and then suffer the commute. The high rise condos sometimes include one garage space. But not always.

 

like anywhere else there are desirable areas to live and less desirable areas to live. Get informed.... those areas may have what you are looking for but they may also have a few other "features" you may or may not want....

 

i def. would NOT move to oxon hill or ft. washington...like Barchetta said...u get what you pay for. Cheap doesn't always mean better...i'd keep looking.

 

You should spend some time here. I would not recommend Prince Georges County (where you are looking) because of rising crime rates, school quality etc. Spend some time here to decide what you really want and what works here for you. You can spend a lot for something you dislike but you can also find something for less that you will love. It just can't be done quickly unless cost is no object or you will be working so hard that you don't need to even look at your house. I think I would spend some time talking to Bobert because he is a realtor

 

A friend of mine lives in Oxon Hill and has been ok. Just don't go out a night and drive a beat-up car. You don't want to draw too much attention out there.

College Park has also gone downhill lately as well.

If you decide to go North, I would avoid Montgomery Village in Gaithersburg. Thats not a safe place either.

 

Look in Northern Calvert County. 400 to 700 will get you a good sized house AND land to boot. There are a lot of homes with multiple car garages as well. It seems on a map to be far out, but in reality it's 20 minutes from the beltway on Route 4. To go to Crystal City you would take Suitland Parkway to South East - South West Freeway, over 14th Street Bridge and into Crystal City.

 

Make sure you hang out in the areas you're considering beforehand. What you might think is sketchy could be perfectly fine to someone else and vice versa.

I've been in neighborhoods that I think are okay, but would make some of my friends pee in their pants.

LS

 

Obviously you're "NOT Very" familiar with Ft. Washington...the true Ft. Washington.... Tantallion etc.. It's definetly worth a look.

 

I wouldn't condem the whole county, it depends on where you look or where you need to be. Some of PG is very nice, while other parts can be very seedy..obviously you're looking at the Southern part of the county if you need to commute to Crystal City.

For the record, it will be a tuff commute from that side of the Beltway in morning traffic, whether you go across the Woodrow Wilson bridge or if take 295 to the 11th St bridge etc...the commute will be even worse from Calvert County during rush hour times.

Also, one of the areas largest Ferrari collections once resided in Prince Georges County over on Enterprise Rd. Not sure if he still has all of his cars but the gentleman was very active in the club at one time, hosting at least two concours on the lawn of his property every year...The house can be seen if your headed north on 50 just before the exit for 495.

I'm almost in the same delima, I live in DC but need more space. I have garage parking for two cars (3 if I don't use the larger one as a shop) and pad space for another 3 to 4. I'm dealing with the city off and on to see if they'll let me cover the pad area and move it all back 20'. If not, I guess I'll be headed to either MD or VA....must have serious garage space because I like to "tool" with my toys

 

Not as familiar as you...but i'd rather live in howard county or potomac/bethesda/chevy chase/mclean/great falls. But just my opinion. I don't think i'd still wanna live in "the true ft. washington" either. P.G. county holds no attraction to me.

 

It's understood that PG County holds no attraction for you, and you are entitled to your opinion, however...its not "you" that is looking to make the move to the area. So, I think that "DGS" deserves to know about all the possibilities where ever they may be, and thus he can make the decision as to what suites him with regard to quality of life, cost, and commute.

On the other hand, I am also very familiar with every other place you have mentioned, having either friends or relatives in each. They are all great places to live, each on the "higher end" of the spectrum, but not all offering a positive.. space/car friendly environment/cost ratio, not to say that PG County necessarily offers this either in some sections.

Personally I'm not into the heavy commute thing...if I worked in Crystal City, Potomac, Bethesda, and Chevy Chase would be out of the question! McLean or Great Falls maybe as I could pop on the GW Parkway and cruise into CC, although it can be a bit tough in the mornings too.

 

DGS, unfortunetly the DC Metro area does in some cases suffer from a lack of open mindedness and thus we endure the problem you have mentioned above.
You are correct also in your assement of the Dulles cooridor areas. And you will find that same problem in many of the new developments around the beltway. I can relate to your dilemma, as "size does matter", especially when you find that you didn't/couldn't get rid of as much "junk" as you thought!

Good Luck!!

 

All "opinions" aside... looking at the areas described from an objective p.o.v. Yes there are desirable areas in PG county... but the areas that DGS was listing in his post in PG county for 200K are priced that way for a reason... There aren't too many undiscovered "finds" as related to living in the DC area anymore unless you go further out from the city.... Price does play an inportant role in regard to location in the DC area (or anywhere else I suspect) If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Now having said that, there are some very nice areas through Upper Marlboro, Bowie, Michellville along the border with Calvert and Anne Arundel counties... also to the south of Ft. Washington towards Indian Head, down Rt210, is worth a look. Hope this helps

 

I agree with you 100%...i retract my statement. 495 is a ***** though in the mornings. I guess your best bet is to go through the realtor.