Roof deck adds quality to the condo life

For many urbanites, a roof deck has long been a sought-after amenity in a condo building or private home — especially when the lawn is minuscule or nonexistent.

As amenities go, a roof deck “ranked very high” for Laura Katzman, a professor at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va., when she was in the market for a condominium.

Ms. Katzman ultimately purchased a unit in a building called the General Scott, at Scott Circle, built in 1941.

“Because the [units] in the building tend to be small, the roof deck feels like an extra space you have access to,” says Ms. Katzman, who purchased the one-bedroom home in 2004.

“I go up a couple of times in season,” she says, noting that the view of the Washington Monument from the roof is stellar. “It’s a great way to be social, especially on July 4 for the fireworks. You see all these people you’ve never seen before, or people you might have wanted to talk to in the elevator but didn’t have a chance.”

From Capitol Hill to Southwest, from Kalorama to Columbia Heights, the prospect of a high perch from which to enjoy sweeping views of the city attracts many would-be owners and renters.

J.G. Huckenpahler has lived with his wife, Victoria, at the Westmoreland Cooperative in Sheridan-Kalorama for 30 years. Like Ms. Katzman at the General Scott, Mr. Huckenpahler says the Independence Day view from the top of the Westmoreland is spectacular.

In a city filled with elegant multiunit buildings, roof decks are “a selling point,” says Mr. Huckenpahler, who adds that a portion of monthly co-op fees levied on ownersis earmarked for maintenance of the roof deck.

Volunteers on the co-op’s garden committee are responsible for bringing in plants during the winter and carting them back out again come spring, Mr. Huckenpahler says.

City dwellers are not the only people enamored of a quiet retreat in the sky.

Out in Reston, Jeff Seymour, who does graphic design for a nearby church, lives in a condominium building with an accessible roof.

“I have no business living in a place so nice,” Mr. Seymour says with a laugh, citing the roof deck, exercise room, sauna and in-building movie room among the perks of the rental he found on Craig’s List.

“Last summer, I was going up there three times a week,” he says. “There’s a gas grill up there anyone can use, and I would just go and cook my supper up there. Normally I was there by myself, but a couple of times I met people over the grill.”

Mr. Seymour says he is surprised how few people use the roof in-season, given the size of the building.

“Some people have balconies, so maybe they use those rather than go up to the roof,” he says, “but I also think that everybody has their own lives and own friends, and their neighbors are not really a part of that.”

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