At Home on the Southwest Waterfront

A midcentury sensibility and glistening coastal views lured this couple to their sleek condo in DC’s quietest enclave.

After living five years in DC’s lively Adams Morgan neighborhood, Compass clients Al Salas and Carlos Torres decided to buy a midcentury gem on the serene Southwest Waterfront. The hitch? Enduring nine months of renovations before they were able to enjoy the finished product: an open, light-filled space lined with balconies, leafy views, and the lapping waves of the Washington Channel.

Carlos is an economist, and Al is a landscape architect by training. Though Al’s family lived in New Mexico for four generations, his parents moved to the DC area, raising Al in nearby Howard County, Maryland. Carlos, born in Cuba and raised in Miami, moved to DC from New York in 2001, and met Al just a year later. Since then, the two have lived together in six different homes, most recently this airy unit within DC’s landmarked Harbour Square high-rise.

Preparing to semi-retire to a custom, porch-lined home in historic Lewes, Delaware, they’ve partnered once again with Compass agent Trent Hemingerand his team member Kevin Gray of Trent & Co. to put 550 N St. SW on the market. Al has known Trent for nearly two decades and has been through four real estate transactions with him, buying and selling homes in neighborhoods both buzzy and serene.

Tell me about your art collection: What inspires you, and how have you acquired the pieces in your home?

Carlos: My contributions are mostly from DC-based Latino artists. When I first moved to DC from New York, I found myself at an auction of Latin American art to benefit the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Having been born in Cuba and raised mostly in Miami, I’d always wanted a piece of art from a Latin American artist. I bought two that night and have invested in several more since.

Two of my favorites are these huge acrylics by DC-based Mexican artist David Amoroso. We saw the “Toro” piece at El Tamarindo, a Salvadoran restaurant in Adams Morgan near our previous home. We asked the owner about how we could purchase it, and he arranged for us to meet the artist. We came back one day, met David, and took the painting right off the wall!