Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week

• February 17th 2011

by Mark Wellborn

Ed Carp's restaurant-turned-home at the Tilden Gardens complex in Cleveland Park is a one-of-a-kind home by DC standards. And UrbanTurf has learned that this unique residence will be put on the market next week.

UrbanTurf first wrote about Carp's home almost a year ago, detailing the owner's history in real estate investment and the lengths that he had gone through to convert the space to his home.

3000 Tilden Street NW (map) was originally built as part of a six-building co-op complex, and the restaurant at Tilden Gardens was where residents would eat. The restaurant had a country club feel to it, offered room service and served a delicious brook trout, according to reviews. It closed in 1971. Soon after, the Daughters of the American Revolution moved in and used the space as their offices and ballroom. When the Daughters moved out in 2005, the space sat empty for two years.

Carp closed on the 3,600 square-foot space in 2007. For the next three and a half months, he and a team went to work on the place, turning the back three rooms of the space, which had been used as offices and a women’s bathroom, into the master bedroom and two guest rooms. He completely renovated the kitchen and built all new bathrooms. He also redid the floors using a wood stain and created a large home office for himself just off the living area. A second round of renovations a couple years later included the addition of a private entrance with a large cast iron door that provided him with a small area where he could smoke cigars, and the unit’s piece de resistance: a movie screening room.

The room was the former entrance to the unit, so in order to block out sound from the lobby, layers of drywall and insulation were installed to cover up the door and block out sound. Now, it has a massive HD-quality projection screen surrounded by couches and a movie collection years in the making.

So, given the work put in and the stunning result, the obvious question is: Why is Carp selling this wonderful place?

"My boyfriend of 6+ years has finally agreed to move in with me, and we would like to look for a large house further downtown that will be more 'ours' and less 'mine,'" Carp told UrbanTurf. "And while I love this place, it is very much my place – meaning very customized to my likes."

But that is not the only reason.

"Also, my mother has moved to DC from LA, so I’d like to find a house with an in-law apartment for her," he said. "Yes, I am a true Mama’s Boy."

For details about the listing, which is expected to hit the market next week, see below.

• Price: $1.25 million
• Bedrooms: Three
• Bathrooms: 2.5
• Square Footage: Approximately 3,300
• Listing Agent: Vincent Hurteau, Continental Properties. Email -- vhurteau@aol.com

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/tilden_gardens_restaurant_turned_home_hits_market_next_week/3013.