Dilapidated building sold and is to become restaurant or retail

Going down Massachusetts Avenue you may have noticed this odd building.  Literally tucked between two large buildings, the address is 433 Massachusetts Avenue.

The properly was foreclosed on in 2009, and a bid was put in for $715,000.   The owner, however, fought the foreclosure (he had apparently been offered very large seven-figure sums during the real estate boom).  He then offered to sell his house--for one and a half million dollars.   No one bit.

Now, the Washington Business Journal reports that the property has sold.  A partnership between D.C.-based Zusin Development and Manhasset, N.Y.-based Sivan Properties bought the property for $800,000 and plans to turn it into a restaurant or retail property, but they have not signed a deal with a tenant yet. 

The plan is apparently to mix modern glass with the current facade--though we are not sure why (or how) you would want to keep the current facade.