One half of Washington's most talked-about twin houses is back on the market. The black-painted home in the salt-and-pepper pair on Foxhall Road NW is listed for $2.3 million, years after its owners sued the development team behind the project over allegations of rot, mold and sewage in the basement, according to the seed facts behind this report.
The listing comes after a long and, at times, ugly saga. As reported by Axios, the twin black-and-white homes were built during the past decade using prefabricated panels assembled by robots, part of a development effort backed in part by restaurateur Steve Salis, known for Ted's Bulletin, Federalist Pig and Kramers. According to Washingtonian, the homes were built in 2018 by the real-estate venture Prefab Partners, which Salis launched with the general contractor behind many of his restaurants.
Leaks, Mold and a Rotted Beam Sparked a Lawsuit
Neighbors nicknamed the properties the salt-and-pepper houses because one is painted white and the other black, per Washingtonian's 2022 account of the dispute. The owners of both homes sued Salis and other parties in 2021, alleging the houses suffered from constant leaks, mold, sewage in the basement, and failing heat and air conditioning, with one lawsuit claiming a major structural beam at one of the homes was so rotted it was crumbling apart. The owners argued the developers had concealed these problems, while Salis and his partner denied wrongdoing, Washingtonian reported in its April 2022 article detailing the litigious saga.
Both homes had sold for the same price when they first changed hands. Washingtonian reported that Reem Sadik and Dave Grimaldi closed on the pepper-colored 1522 Foxhall Road for $1.8 million in November 2019, while neighbors Vandana Puri and Manan Mahadevia closed on 1516 Foxhall Road that same autumn, also for $1.8 million. The homes' troubles became a subject of local online discussion in 2022, including on the DC Urban Moms forum, where one commenter recently wrote simply, “Pepper is for sale,” while another wondered, “I wonder what was done to remediate all those issues.”
A Settlement and a Gut Renovation
The lawsuit was settled in 2025, with D.C. Superior Court records reporting that the parties agreed to dismiss all claims and counterclaims, per the seed facts. Daniel Heider said the home today is fundamentally different from the one described in the 2022 article, adding that the issues that were the subject of that reporting have been addressed. A home inspector examined the home twice as part of the renovation process, which included comprehensive structural repairs, resolution of water intrusion and a new HVAC system.
What's for Sale Now
The now-renovated black house spans 4,600 square feet with five bedrooms and 4.5 baths, and includes a retractable wall, wine storage and a dog-washing station, per the seed facts behind this report. The home had been listed earlier in summer for $2.7 million before the listing was taken down for a few months and relisted at its current $2.3 million asking price. Separately, Redfin's listing for the neighboring white house at 1516 Foxhall Road NW identifies 3,121 square feet as the lot size and gives an estimated finished area of 4,320 square feet, with Michael Rankin as the offering agent and Rob Mangas Jr. as co-listing agent, according to Redfin.
