Approximately 29 properties along Rhode Island Ave NE that were delinquent on taxes were put up for auction last month. Of those 29, Janice Booker’s offices at 2027 Rhode Island Ave NE was one of them. She owed more than $113,000 on her law office building. Ms. Booker also is the community organizer who brought the Woodridge Farmers Market to us (which has not really grown since its inception a few months ago). Why am I bringing up these auctioned properties on RIA? Very few of the RIA properties were actually sold during auction (Ms. Booker’s was not one of them). Of the total auctioned in the City, only 1,653 sold. This doesn’t bode well for prime real estate for a “Main Street” like Ms. Booker’s. It was cheap property compared to buying it outright yet no entrepreneur or restauranteur thinks the area is ready.
My take: Perhaps if our elected officials from Ward 5 and At-Large were serious about making RIA a Great Street and revitalizing it, these properties would be prime. The problem is our elected officials have not made much effort to attract the revitalization to the corridor. Only to its fringes on each end of it. I know that some of our elected officials have their own issues to work out and perhaps they should step aside so that others can step up and bring real change to our area. Otherwise, they need to stop the lip service and put more emphasis on the corridor. Redeveloping the Metro station is the one thing to hang their hat on (BTW, the Shoppers/Target and WalMart shopping centers is not Rhode Island Ave). The local ANC leaders who were embroiled in their own financial scams with ANC money have done what was right and new leadership is stepping up (more on this later). This is the first step.
Here is a full list of properties along RIA NE that were delinquent and up for auction:
JOHN GOODWIN 2109 RHODE ISLAND NE $1,611.04
ATLANTIC CAPITAL ONE, LL 2600 RHODE ISLAND NE $3,295.20
TX BROOKLAND HOMES LLC 2604 RHODE ISLAND NE $763.55
TONI COEFIELD 20 RHODE ISLAND NE $2,174.88
INGRID LIPSEY 330 RHODE ISLAND NE $913.47
METROPOLITAN COOPERATIVE 200 RHODE ISLAND NE $791.69
METROPOLITAN COOPERATIVE 210 RHODE ISLAND NE $15,747.37
M N REAL ESTATE ENTERPRI 720 RHODE ISLAND NE $929.30
ARNOLD CUNNINGHAM ALVIN MARTIN 1236 RHODE ISLAND NE $3,181.22
ALYCE GULLATTEE 1515 RHODE ISLAND NE $31,005.28
KING SOLOMON TEMPLE OF T 1602 RHODE ISLAND NE $12,474.95
ROBERT MCDUFFIE GALE MCDUFFIE 1731 RHODE ISLAND NE $5,222.61
KATRINA MOON JAMES GRAYTON 1818 RHODE ISLAND NE $1,573.18
JANICE BOOKER 2027 RHODE ISLAND NE $113,783.39
BARBARA DEMENT 2014 RHODE ISLAND NE $1,279.42
1723 MONTELLO LLC 2000 RHODE ISLAND NE $3,570.05
JIM THORPE 2379 RHODE ISLAND NE $10,894.62
SULTANA INC 3001 RHODE ISLAND NE $1,196.12
SULTANA INC 3005 RHODE ISLAND NE $1,423.90
SULTANA INC 2919 RHODE ISLAND NE $3,232.48
SULTANA INC 2911 RHODE ISLAND NE $2,510.72
CORNELIA WOODFORK 2810 RHODE ISLAND NE $826.99
(Some were not included in this list because I could not determine the address)
rhodeislandavene.com 
This is fascinating- thanks for posting. Do you know which properties sold and to whom?
Check out this article from WBJ and scroll to the bottom, there are links that show properties sold: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2011/08/dc-tax-auction-generates-87m.html
“no entrepreneur or restauranteur thinks the area is ready.” Who are these entrepreneurs saying this? Two to three years ago there was a Dunkin Donuts where the Golden Skillet is now. It got plenty of business, but too much crime. Crime may also play a part in deadening the success of the retail at Rhode Island Row, as it has done for 12th Street and the Brookland Metro.
As I recall, that same property at 2027 Rhode Island Ave was on the auction block last year, but nobody bought it. Who is the new owner and what do they intend to do with it?
It is important that the readers of this blog let our elected officials know how we feel and our strong desire for quality retail. I’ve been spending a lot of time at the new eateries in the Hyattsville Arts District. I know a number of others in the community who are going there, too. We should be spending our money on retail in this corridor, so I hope entrepreneurs are listening and will deliver the proper goods.
Crime on 12th St? I’ve never seen a thing. The Subway remodeled and took down the bullet proof glass. The wings place did too. I was under the impression that crime was down there. Columbia Hts stores seem to thrive, and I know there’s more crime over there.
12th St and the metro stops will be fine. The far end of RI Ave is dead because there isn’t really an anchor. No metro either. You need something to bring people to that area. It’s a no man’s land right now.
And Hyattsville? Sorry, I’d rather jump on the metro and go downtown to a restaurant than drive to Hyattsville. To each his own I guess.
right on target, woodie. it’s great to see flip it getting so much business.
and thanks, insider, for the post. those properties are dirt cheap!
perhaps an investment group is something we could think about. the development will come; it’s just having the patience to work with everyone while waiting for it to eventually happen.
I don’t disagre with your comments on our elected leaders and the need to expect more. But having taken part in some of these auctions in the past, I’m not sure they are really a good measure of interest. The city tax auctions (not just in DC, but pretty much everywhere) are not really a way to buy a property. They are a way for the city to collect back taxes (from investors) in exchange for the investors collecting future penalty payments from the property owners. Even those properties that do sell at auction rarely change hands. The winner at auction gets a “Tax Deed.” Very rarely do they end up with title to the property. And if they do, it takes years (literally).
Possibly promped by this auction, it appears to me that the owner of 1515 RI Ave. is finally getting ready to sell that building. In my opinion that would be a good thing. But it would probably mean that the building would be taken down, which I do think would be a shame as I find it pretty attractive. But it is once again unsecured. I’ve put in a call to the vacant property office – 202 442-4332 – and asked that an inspector be sent by. If anyone has time, please feel free to call. The entrance on the 16th Pl. side is open again and people are coming and going….
On a brighter note: I had a delicious spinich omlet for breakfast yesterday at Flip It.