One of Georgetown's Largest Homes Could Become a Swanky Rental

• April 22nd 2022

by UrbanTurf Staff

The new owner of one of Georgetown's largest homes has some interesting plans in the works for the property.

Back in March, Ezra Glass purchased the ten-bedroom home at 1224 30th Street NW (map) for just under $9 million. The house sits on a 30,000 square-foot lot, quite large by Georgetown standards, however the 11,000 square-foot interior is in need of an overhaul. In addition to the main house, the property includes a four-bedroom guesthouse, a children's playhouse, two greenhouses, a garden pavilion, a heated pool and pool house, and a pair of garages. 

Although Glass purchased the listing, he will not call it home. Instead, he is turning it into a high-end, boutique property that will be rented out to one party at a time. 

"There is demand for this type of property as a rental in Georgetown," Glass said, noting that people often come into DC for business with their families looking for a home away from their home. The plan is for the house to have a full-time staff and house manager and likely be rented for a minimum of a week. 

The hitch in the plans is that the home, like most of Georgetown, is not zoned for lodging use, so Glass has applied for a variance with the city for the property to operate as a "six-room hotel."

As the application points out, Georgetown's largest homes are no longer owner-occupied. Evermay and Halcyon House have been transformed for non-profit use over the last decade. The last time that someone lived full time at 1224 30th Street was six years ago. The most recent owner, who purchased the house in 2019, found it "too costly and difficult to renovate and could not figure out a permissible way to use it as a primary residence" per zoning documents. 

Glass told UrbanTurf that the home will be kept intact, but it will be renovated over the course of the next 18-24 months. He has already spoken to neighbors and the local ANC about the plans and all parties seem amenable to the project. 

UrbanTurf will continue to update the project as it moves forward. 

Photos courtesy of HomeVisit.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/one-of-georgetowns-largest-homes-could-become-a-swanky-rental/19546.