From The Washington Post
By Audrey Hoffer
A new four-story, 15-unit condominium building named 11Q stands at 11th and Q streets NW in the District, a stone’s throw from Logan Circle, the U Street corridor and 14th Street.
The convenient location and the building’s relatively large units attracted Johnny Van Hoosier, who moved in at the beginning of August. He sold his one-bedroom unit in the Atlantic Plumbing condos on Eighth Street NW and bought a two-bedroom unit in 11Q.
“It’s much quieter here,” Van Hoosier said. “It was crazy on weekends in my last place. People were everywhere all the time. Now I have a bigger place. I get a lot of natural light. I can walk to work. I have a huge balcony.”
The white brick building, highlighted by black-framed windows, stands out as bright and contemporary. The site was previously occupied by dilapidated rowhouses with a few tenants at the end of their tenure. Madison Investments, the builder and developer, bought the property and rebuilt it inside and out.
“We dug down, went up one story and pushed out the back to maximize the allowable square-footage,” said Barry Madani, co-founder with a brother, Sia Madani, of Madison Investments, a local company.
Madani said a great deal of effort also went into designing the individual units. “We drafted multiple iterations of floor plans and room alignments to lay out the units with the best living spaces we could come up with,” he said.
The name “Madison,” derived, in this case, from the phrase Madani and Sons, is, in part, a tribute to their father, who was a real estate developer in Iran during the shah’s regime. The Iranian revolution drove the Madanis from the country, and the family moved to Britain.
The company served as its own general contractor, managing the building’s design and construction. “This is our typical management style . . . because it gives us the flexibility to make decisions quickly,” he said. “When you do a rehab, you don’t really know what’s there until you get into the space.”
He added, “With a general contractor there’s a lot of paperwork and time involved in change orders.”
Private entrances: The building’s 15 units have a variety of floor plans. Six two-bedroom, two-bathroom units are still for sale. Two units on the second level have balconies. Three lower, semi-basement-level units have private entrances.
The entry door to the model unit, 201, leads to the open-plan kitchen and combined living-dining area. To the right is the kitchen counter with a stove and refrigerator. Beyond the appliances, there is a laundry closet, with stacked washer and dryer, and a utility closet. The large kitchen island has a sink and room for four stools. The living and dining area is laid out against a backdrop of big windows.
The short passage to the two bedrooms has a double-door closet and bathroom. The bathroom has two doors, one from the hallway and the other from the smaller bedroom. The larger bedroom has an en suite bathroom. A wall of closets, one for each, separates the two bedrooms.
Akseizer Design Group is the architect and KMID Studio designed the interiors. Landscaping is by Botanical Decorators. McWilliams Ballard is handling sales and marketing.