Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

Ohhhh man. This Robertson/Lakritz Adler townhouse-style condo isn't just dramatic and bleeding-edge luxurious – it's also green. That's right, this place gets 80% of its power from solar panels, making it one of the very few things in life that's both sexy and virtuous. Jump on this now, because this is the future, and trust me, you never want to be the last one to make the transition. Before you know it, if you mention in mixed company that you still heat your home with natural gas, people are going to look at you like you're blowing cigarette smoke onto their newborn baby.

But this is not a Prius of condos – more like a Bentley. The epic living room has a 20-foot-plus vaulted ceiling and massive floor-to-ceiling windows, and there are two (!) floating staircases leading to the upper two levels. (Yes, the unit has three levels.) The upper levels feature three spacious bedrooms, and a splendid roof terrace. Some roof areas are just folding chairs on a tarred roof that you have to awkwardly climb out onto, but this terrace was an extension of the apartment that just happened to not have a roof over it, as thoughtfully laid out and furnished as any other room, and shielded from the wind.

And yeah, the solar panels. The agent told me that the present occupant saved at least 200 dollars a month this summer, compared to pre-solar panels. (Tip: there are tax incentives in the District that will reimburse you for half the cost of the panels. Do it!). So you could be living in this huge place and yet pay less in utilities than someone living in an efficiency. And look at it this way, if all the wackos are right, and the world really is ending in 2012, you'll have a huge edge in the postapocalyptic new world, what with your off-the-grid self-sustaining energy source. I'll agree right now to trade you three cans of beans and my firstborn for a ten-minute hot shower.

1937 12th St. NW #2
3 Bedrooms, 3 Baths
$1,369,000