Residents of Washington, D.C., neighborhoods such as Kalorama and Massachusetts Avenue Heights, which are popular with political operatives, ambassadors and well-heeled presidential appointees, are accustomed to sightings of Secret Service and high-level security on their streets. For the most part, their presence isn’t bothersome, said Coe Magruder, an investor who recently sold his home on Woodland Drive, about 3 miles from the White House.
But when a prominent official lives in a high-rise condominium, their presence can have a greater impact on the lives of their neighbors.
In the days following the Nov. 4 election, residents of the Westlight condo complex in the district’s West End, where Vice President Kamala Harris owns an apartment, received notice from building management of ramped up security at the complex. Among the changes:
• Before entering the garage, residents would need to turn off their vehicles and allow a K9 to make a sweep around it.
• A tent would be set up next to the garage entrance to serve as shelter for Secret Service agents in the case of inclement weather.
• All packages delivered by USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL would be swept by the K9 before being brought into the building.
• There would always be more than one agent in the lobby.
• Concrete barricades would be placed around the intersection outside the building.
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A representative for the building’s developer didn’t respond to a request for comment on how long the measures remained in place or whether they were still ongoing.
Vice President Harris, who paid about $1.775 million for her apartment at the building in 2017, is widely expected to move to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the vice president’s official residence after the inauguration. A spokeswoman for the Vice President didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on whether she would list her Westlight unit.
The building, designed by Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos in Mexico City, has a distinctive cantilevered glass facade and a heated rooftop swimming pool.
More than five months after settling into her official residence on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory, Vice President Kamala Harris sold her Washington, D.C., condo for $1.85 million, according to public records.
The 2-bedroom condo, at the Westlight complex in the West End, listed in April for $1.995 million. Ms. Harris and her husband, Douglas C. Emhoff, paid $1.775 million for it in 2017, the year she was sworn in as a U.S. senator from California, records show.
Kamala’s Condo
A look inside the Washington, D.C., unit that served as home away from home for then-senator Kamala Harris.
Mei-Mei Venners, director of sales at the Westlight, declined to comment on the seller or buyer. A spokeswoman for the vice president declined to comment.
Following her inauguration as the country’s first female vice president, Ms. Harris lived for several months at Blair House, across the street from the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported. At the time, the vice president’s traditional home at the Naval Observatory was being renovated, with repairs to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, Symone Sanders, a spokeswoman for Ms. Harris, said on Twitter. Ms. Harris moved into the Naval Observatory in April.
The Westlight condo measures roughly 1,700 square feet, according to the listing, with a den and a spa-inspired bathroom with teak shower floors. The building has a private club, a fitness center and a 25-meter heated rooftop pool.
The Northwest sector of Washington, D.C., includes some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city, including the West End, Georgetown and Kalorama. The Westlight is among a handful of full-service luxury buildings in the city, according to Ms. Venners. Spanning a full city block, it is walking distance to Georgetown and the U.S. State Department. Ms. Venners said there is no recirculated air in the building, a key selling point during the pandemic. The unit is also in a private location in the building, overlooking a rooftop garden, she added.
The condo is the second property Ms. Harris has sold since taking office. She sold a San Francisco apartment in March for $860,000, far more than the $489,000 she paid for it in 2004, records show. Ms. Harris and Mr. Emhoff own a home in Los Angeles, records show.
The pandemic and fallout from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol roiled the real-estate market in Washington, D.C, but Ms. Venners said sales have picked up in recent months. “We’ve been extremely busy, almost chaotic, the last five months,” she said.
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