As Washington, D.C. prepared to swap occupants of the White House on January 20, veteran broadcast journalist and conservative political pundit Brit Hume prepared for his own, if less illustrious change of address. Hume, an opinionated and outspoken senior political analyst for Fox News — last year he called newly elected president Joe Biden “senile” and just a few weeks ago, after his supporters stormed the Capitol, called twice-impeached former president Donald Trump “’radioactive’ to mainstream Republicans” — has packed up and sold his luxury condo in Arlington, Va., right across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The $1.7 million sale price is but a smidgen under the $1.75 million price tag. However, unfortunately for the semi-retired septuagenarian newsman and his wife, former Fox News executive Kim Schiller Hume, there was no profit in the sale as it’s the exact same price that tax records show was paid for the house-sized condo just over eight years ago.
Located on the sixth and seventh floors of The Weslie, a fortress-like ten-story red-brick boutique building in a quiet pocket of the dense and bustling Rosslyn neighborhood, the unit measures in at a bit more than 2,100 square feet over two floors with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. Residents of the 40-unit complex enjoy a variety of amenities that include a 24-hour attended lobby, a fitness room, secured underground parking and landscaped gardens. Besides the Humes, notable former residents of the building are said to include late billionaire candy heir Forrest Mars Jr. and Texas congressman Charlie Wilson whose involvement in the covert effort to arm the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s was documented in the star-studded 2007 film “Charlie Wilson’s War.”
The front door opens abruptly, and less than ideally, into the dining area of the 24-foot-wide and nearly 35-foot-long open-plan living and entertaining space on the condo’s lower level. The ceiling height jumps to a grandiose 13 feet in the living room, where two opposite walls have built-in bookshelves painted crimson and a third features a floor-to-ceiling wall of glass with sweeping, landmark-filled views. Indeed, glass sliders open to a balcony with a head-on view of the Washington Monument and the Capitol Dome, not to mention a spectacular view of the fireworks set off during the recent inauguration.
The ceiling drops to a more intimate height over the adjoining dining area, which is wrapped in smooth wood paneling, while the updated open-plan kitchen is a traditional affair fitted with buttery granite countertops, up-to-date stainless steel appliances and Biedermeier-style cabinetry.
Floor plans included with marketing materials show the primary bedroom is located on the main floor and includes a fitted walk-in closet and a compartmentalized bathroom complete with a double-sink vanity and bidet. Reached by an elegantly curved staircase lined with over-scaled striped wallpaper, the upper level contains two guest bedrooms, one of them converted to a dressing room with custom built-ins. A shared hall bathroom is well maintained but definitely could use a modern update.
The condo was listed with Steve Wydler of Compass. The buyer was represented by Jackie Wang and BMI Realtors.
It’s not too far fetched to imagine the Humes will keep a foothold in the D.C. area — he was born in D.C., after all— but they may instead have their sites set to the south where about six years ago they splashed out $940,000 for a not-quite-1,800-square-foot waterfront condo in Boca Grande, Fla., a small, affluent resort and retirement community on Gasparilla Island, about an hour’s drive south of Sarasota.