News | advice | area guide

Buy It Now: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Bought the Biggest House in DC

Move over Ivanka Trump and President Barack Obama—your ritzy Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, DC, just got even ritzier. The former Textile Museum property was sold and is destined to be converted into a single-family home. The buyer? None other than Amazon founder and Washington Post owner/publisher Jeff Bezos.

It’s reported that Bezos anonymously purchased the property through the Cherry Revocable Trust, with the Post revealing that Bezos was the man behind the trust. Apparently, he paid $23 million cash for the property that was listed at $22 million.

It’s a compound, consisting of two large, historical buildings and a chauffeur’s residence and garage, totaling nearly 27,000 square feet of interior space. The entire lot measures more than 34,000 square feet, with landscaped gardens and lawns. When it was available, it was marketed as “perfect for a school or embassy or an exceptional private home.”

While Bezos and his wife, McKenzie, and their four children plan to remain living full time in their elegant estate near Seattle, this new home will be the perfect “other Washington” pied-à-terre, ideal for the family when they’re in the nation’s capital. It’s also ideal for the Post publisher to entertain a who’s who of DC elite—once it’s remodeled.

The property is on the National Register of Historical Places and comes with quite a background. Philanthropist and rug and textile collector George Hewitt Myers hired John Russell Pope, architect of the Jefferson Memorial, to design his classical Georgian home at 2320 S Street in 1912. It was completed in 1915. Ten years later, Myers bought the stately mansion next door which was designed by noted Washington architect Waddy Butler Wood.

In 1925, Myers’ impressive textile collection was moved into one of the houses, and the home was transformed into the Textile Museum, displaying 275 rugs and 60 related textiles. Myers lived in the mansion next door. After his death in 1957, Myers’ personal residence was used for museum staff offices and storage.

In 2013, the Textile Museum moved to the George Washington University campus, and the two residences went on the market, selling in 2015 to Capital Star Property Corp. for $19 million. In 2016, the compound went back on the market for $22 million, and along came Bezos and his avalanche of Amazon money.

However, it may be a while before the Amazon vans and drones start delivering to this address. Prominent local architecture firm Barnes Vanze has come up with what promises to be amazing renovation and remodel plans, and they’re currently being reviewed by the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission. Once the commission gives the go-ahead, the carpenters and artisans can come on-site to work their magic.

The remodeling project may take a couple of years, which seems like an eternity only when you’re used to free two-day shipping.

The post Buy It Now: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Bought the Biggest House in DC appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

Source: Real Estate News and Advice – realtor.com » Real Estate News