Best views, weather, etc. How to test them 👓 SC, Ala. sites look back Betty Ford honored
NATION NOW
Barack Obama

Obamas choose home to rent after leaving White House

WUSA-TV, Washington

WASHINGTON — President Obama and Michelle Obama will rent a house in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington after he leaves office next year, according to media reports.

President Obama and his family have decided to lease this nine-bedroom mansion in Kalorama, one of Washington's poshest neighborhoods, when he leaves office in January 2017.

The Obamas have said they plan to stay in Washington to allow their younger daughter, Sasha, to finish her final two years at Sidwell Friends School. Older first daughter Malia Obama will graduate from the private Quaker school this year and plans to attend Harvard University in 2017 after taking a gap year.

The 8,200-square-foot mansion, which was built in 1928, sits off Massachusetts Avenue NW by Embassy Row and Rock Creek Park.

According to Politico, the first family will lease the home owned by Joe Lockhart and Giovanna Gray after they leave the White House in January. Lockhart was the White House press secretary during the Clinton administration and has moved to New York to become executive vice president for communications for the National Football League.

Zillow states the home has nine bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms. It last sold in 2014 for $5,295,000. The home features a castle-like brick exterior and sits on a quarter-acre lot just down the road from the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence, the Associated Press reported.

HOMEVISIT VIRTUAL TOUR: 2446 BELMONT RD NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20008

A gated courtyard leading to garages may have enough room to accommodate the Secret Service detail that will protect the president and his family after his term ends.

The posh area is already pretty secure. Neighbors who talked to WUSA-TV Wednesday said they are used to additional security in the neighborhood because it’s so close to Embassy Row. Many of them jog along the street that runs right in front of the home.

There are houses along one side of the street, but none directly across the street from where the Obamas will live.

With a sprawling terrace and a castle-like exterior, the home the Obamas reportedly will rent sits on a quarter-acre lot just down the road from the Naval Observatory, the vice president's official residence, in the wealthy Kalorama neighborhood of Washington near Embassy Row.

”There will be a few more people driving down the street to see where he’s moved into,” said Corey Gramling, who’s been walking in the Kalorama neighborhood for five years. “So I could see there being a little more traffic initially, but after the initial rush I think it should slow down a bit for everyone.”

President Obama is the first president since Woodrow Wilson in 1921 to stay in Washington after leaving office. Wilson also lived in the Kalorama neighborhood. Former president Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton also own a home in the area.

Follow WUSA-TV on Twitter: @wusa9

Featured Weekly Ad