Cheneys building 12,765-square-foot "bungalow" in McLean, Virginia

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012903154.html

Never too early to begin transition planning. So there were Vice President Cheney and spouse Lynne out in McLean on Sunday afternoon, strolling about the house they're building in that tony suburb.

A Loop Fan spotted the veep -- attracted by three black SUVs, a limo and a marked Secret Service car all parked discreetly along the road outside the property -- taking the tour of what he described as a "large home under construction."

The "in-town home" -- as opposed to the Chesapeake Bay house -- is on a small lot (just under an acre) that the Cheneys bought for $1.35 million on Jan. 12, 2000, months before his selection as George W. Bush's vice presidential candidate, according to property records.

Cheney tore down the previous house, we were told, but left the lot vacant -- much to the consternation of the exceptionally well-heeled neighbors -- when he moved into public housing at the Naval Observatory off Massachusetts Avenue NW.

The area is close enough to the CIA that Cheney could easily wander over from time to time to make sure they're getting the real intelligence on Iran, North Korea and various nuclear wannabes. (We agreed to a request from Cheney's office not to provide an exact location for the new manse.)

Unclear when the 12,765-square-foot bungalow will be finished, but it's not a Halliburton project, so it should be done by Inauguration Day '09. The estimated cost of construction is only $1.5 million.