Apartment Look

Diners enjoy lunch at Tortilleria Sinaloa, which has top-notch tacos in tortillas made the right way — by hand. The unassuming storefront in Fells Point is one of several cheap-eats destinations in a city suddenly flush with award-winning chefs. (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post) Baltimore is that rare city with a dish so fundamental to its culture that the food’s name is an answer to a crossword puzzle. But if the crab cake is Charm City’s calling card, it can also be a cross to bear for those planning to open a restaurant there. The chef who dares to ignore the crab cake is the chef who risks losing the tourist searching for Baltimore’s signature dish, typically built with Chesapeake jumbo -lump crab, saltine cracker crumbs , a mayo binder and, of course, Old Bay. “You will find that in many restaurants there is a crab cake,” says Suzanne Loudermilk, restaurant critic for the Baltimore Sun. “It’s just part of our cuisine. When people do come from out of town, they inevitabl...

As we put the finishing touches on the plans for our home, our dreams of dinner parties in the finished open kitchen , of repurposed original sconces and refurbished original details , gave way to a less sexy obsession. The mop, the vacuum, our winter coats, the laundry. Specifically: Where would they all go and how could we banish them from sight? In the New York prewar apartments we’d lived in for years, closets were strictly optional and washer-dryers were nonexistent. What made glossy interior photos appealing , I came to realize, was what you didn’t see, because it was tucked into a hidden closet or built-in cabinet. Renovating our house gave us a shot at discreet convenience. Entering the first-floor apartment, pre-renovation, meant coming face -to-face with a faux-wood- grained cabinet door —in actuality, a false front. It was an arguably clever way to bump out the bathroom on the other side to make room for a turquoise jacuzzi-shaped tub. Otto’s initial plan for the enlarged ...

Aqua Vista is Fairway Properties ’ latest addition to the skyline of the rapidly growing southern capital of Galle, that still preserves its unique colonial legacy with unsurpassed quaint old-world charm that draws attention to a bygone era.  Perched atop a cliff on the shoreline of Galle, affording an all-encompassing view of the sea, Aqua Vista comprises a majestic high- rise luxury tower that vertically streaks into the sky, boasting of 20 floors comprising 120 units with each floor containing 8 apartments and three floors allocated for parking. The building’s common terrace with its very own restaurant, bar and outdoor dining area provides the perfect ambience to entertain family and friends. Also, an infinity pool, kid’s pool, poolside lounge, pool bar, fitness center and yoga studio for recreation with a multi-function hall, meeting hall, restaurant and supermarket comprise a host of shared facilities for the convenience of residents. It’s a microcosm of living and cocoone...

Funny how your tastes change. There once was a time – back when Coolio actually was cool – when I desperately wanted to live in a town with an Applebee’s . I now reside in a metro area with five, and I’m more concerned that a hole-in-the-wall joint like Silla Cafe is closing. The Broad Street eatery , whose teriyaki chicken has been beloved by downtown denizens for more than two decades, is calling it quits next month. Owned and operated by Felton and Tae Mitchell , the literal “mom-and-pop” restaurant serves its last dish at 855 Broad St. on Sept. 14. “We had fun, but we’re ready to retire now,” Tae said. “We’ve been talking about retiring for a couple years now.” She said that decision to retire was hastened, however, by a steep increase in their rent. “It’s almost double,” she said in a phone interview. Last year the building was purchased by Rafik “Rafi” Bassali , a young real estate investor who is becoming somewhat of a downtown property mogul . The owner of The Swank Company...

April 16, 2010 | By LUCY CLARK It's easy to miss the entrance to the Forest Park Apartments in Farmington. That's because carefully landscaped arborvitae , maple trees, rhododendrons and other greenery screen the suburban enclave from the road. The development, with 58 two-bedroom townhouse and ranch- style apartments built around two manmade ponds with large fountains, offers stunning views . All of the 1,200-square- foot carpeted apartments have private decks, new maple kitchens and 1.5 bathrooms. Units are equipped with washer-dryer hookups and have central air conditioning . Thermal windows increase energy -efficiency. "It's very private; there is a very secure feeling. A lot of people are looking for that today," says Jean Munson, manager of the complex, where she has lived for 15 years. "It's very home-like." Her apartment doubles as the office for the apartments. Munson - affectionately known as the "mayor" of the Forest Park A...

Industries › Commercial Real Estate August 22, 2017  |  Print this page Pinnacle Living , a provider of retirement and senior living options in Virginia, plans a multimillion dollar expansion at its 90- acre Cedarfield campus in Richmond.The company said the expansion, announced Tuesday, was made possible through a $50.6 million loan from SunTrust Bank.The project will include a new fitness and wellness building,  upgrades to dining spaces and existing facilities and additional parking.The fitness and wellness center will offer space for lap swimming, an aerobic studio and a weight training room . Renovation of the facility's Health Care Center will add 23 additional one- and two- bedroom assisting living apartments .  Pinnacle Living is one of the largest life plan community (LPC) providers in Virginia. Its communities provide a variety of service options from independent and assisted living to memory support and higher levels of care.Formerly known as Virginia United M...

PASSAGES FROM HAWTHORNE'S NOTE-BOOKS. C ONCORD, August 5, 1842.—A rainy day,—a rainy day. I am commanded to take pen in hand, and I am therefore banished to the little ten-foot- square apartment misnamed my study; but perhaps the dismalness of the day and the dulness of my solitude will be the prominent characteristics of what I write. And what is there to write about? Happiness has no succession of events, because it is a part of eternity; and we have been living in eternity ever since we came to this old manse. Like Enoch, we seem to have been translated to the other state of being, without having passed through death. Our spirits must have flitted away unconsciously, and we can only perceive that we have cast off our mortal part by the more real and earnest life of our souls. Externally, our Paradise has very much the aspect of a pleasant old domicile on earth. This antique house—for it looks antique, though it was created by Providence expressly for our use, and at the precis...