Another item to add to your busy Zoning Commission calendar: The Zoning Commission has placed on its July 10 agenda the new office building project at 250 M Street--it is actually part of the Capper/Carrollsburg planned unit development, so this is coming before the Zoning Commission as a second-stage PUD. UPDATE, 7/11: The second-stage PUD was approved for setdown; a hearing date should be set before too long.

From the Post: "The D.C. Council's Economic Development Committee voted unanimously yesterday to transfer to developer Herb Miller development rights to two parcels of public land next to the Nationals stadium site in Southeast Washington." The full council will vote on the measure today, PR 16-852.

It's been a while (I've been out of town), so I'm now catching up and giving you updated construction photos of 20 M Street and Capper Seniors #2, which are both making good progress. I also added two new shots to my Stadium Construction Gallery, but I didn't visit my perch on the South Capitol Street Bridge today, and until the stadium skeleton actually starts to appear, I probably won't have too many new photos, and it might be just as interesting to visit the Clark/Hunt/Smoot Stadium Construction Cam every so often. Holes in the ground are tough to make exciting from street level :-). As always, let the icon be your guide. (I'd post updated photos of the continuing Capper demolition, but for crying out loud they're STILL not finished with the tiny block bounded by Virginia, I, 3rd, and 4th, which they started eight weeks ago. I think I could have done it faster with a hammer and shovel.)

These are a little bit old at this point, but I'd still like to point people toward these two pieces in the July Hill Rag: ANC 6D chair Andy Litsky spells out the commission's reasons for opposing the baseball stadium, and the report on the June ANC 6D meeting includes the many concerns about the stadium, the parking, the lighting, and the traffic, expressed by the ANC commissioners.

The Nats owners have finally broken their silence on Mayor Baseball's plan to wrap the required stadium parking with mixed-use offerings, according to "Nats Owners Attack DC Parking Plan" in Saturday's Post: "Incoming team president Stan Kasten released a written statement yesterday discrediting the plan that the D.C. Council appears poised to approve next week. Kasten said the plan is shaky and threatens to blow the construction deadline and budget for the project, which could delay completion of the stadium and cost the team and the city "tremendous losses" in the tens of millions. He urged its rejection." The council's Economic DevelopmentGovernment Operations subcommittee approved the plan today 5-0, and Jack Evans is quoted as predicting the council will approve the plan on Tuesday if CEO Gandhi certifies it. If it doesn't happen, or if the project goes south, the city will be in for millions in penalties if there's no parking ready on-site when the stadium opens. So let's close with an optimistic it'll-all-work-out quote from Stan Kasten: " 'The proposal will not work for many reasons,' Kasten said. 'But most important, it has the potential to cause considerable damage. Our efforts to create a strong fan base will also be harmed for years to come.' " UPDATE: Here is the short WashTimes piece on the parking ("City Can Sell Land Next to Stadium"), which corrects my mistake on which council subcommittee approved the plan on Friday. The Economic Development subcommittee will vote Monday, and the full council on Tuesday. Also, the WashPost editorial page weighed in today in support of the plan (as long as CEO Gandhi approves it).

Opus East has launched a project page (and posted a press release) for 100 M Street, its 240,000-sq-ft office building planned for the current site of the On Luck Cafeteria at 1st and M, SE. The site says that construction is expected to begin in "late summer 2006", with delivery in late 2008. 100 M's construction will run concurrently with Faison Enterprises's 254-unit residential tower at 1st and L. (Now if Faison would post information and a rendering about it's project!) You can of course see photos (and the 100 M rendering) on my 100 M/1st and L page.

From Friday's Post, "Mayor's Stadium Proposal Advances": "The D.C. Zoning Commission approved the mayor's plan for the new Nationals stadium in Southeast yesterday, including his proposal to wrap four levels of parking inside two condominium towers, a first for Washington architecture." The commission rejected the backup plan for plain boxy aboveground garages, the ones preferred by the Lerners: "'Going back to exposed garages does nothing for the revitalization of the community,' Commissioner Michael Turnbull said. 'It's not good land use, not good planning.' " This WashTimes story gives additional details. The remaining hurdles to this plan are the city council (which will vote as a whole on the plan on July 11, with a vote coming today from the Economic Development subcommittee) and whether CEO Gandhi can certify the financial aspects of the plan, which he says needs to be done by Aug. 1 in order to allow construction to proceed by Labor Day to keep the project on time. Developer Herb Miller's quote: "What Nat Gandhi wants, we want." However, NBC4's Tom Sherwood is reporting that the DC Council appears ready to reject the plan. UPDATE: Here is Mayor Baseball's statement on the Zoning vote.

There are two big hearings today on the fate of the stadium parking--at 10 am the city council's Subcommittee on Economic Development will take up PR 16-852, the "South Capitol Street Development Disposition Approval Resolution of 2006," the proposal to sell the parking lot land to Herb Miller's Western Development Corp. However, Thursday's Post is reporting that DC CFO Gandhi is raising doubts about the ability of the city to work out the financing details quickly enough to allow the stadium to go forward and stay on schedule. (But everyone will breathe a sigh of relief to hear that Marion Barry has an idea for a solution!) Then at 5:30 pm, the Zoning Commission will hold a second hearing on Case 06-22, District of Columbia Sports and Entertainment Commission - Construction of a Major League Baseball Ballpark, and take the case up for action. Fun fun fun!

A Building Permit Application has appeared on the DCRA web site for 909 New Jersey Ave., SE, which would be JPI's residential tower on the current site of the Nexus Gold Club. I've heard nothing recently about when Nexis will close, when demolition will begin, or when construction on this project will begin.

The Navy Yard's Naval Historical Center has posted its calendar of July and August events open to the public. (I'll add them to my own calendar in a few days.)

(Apologies for the posting delays, which will continue for about another week) The DC school board has approved the superintendent's plan to close Van Ness Elementary, at 5th and M SE, as part of the plan to shrink the school system's unused space (see the short Post story on the vote). You can read my previous entries on the Van Ness closure here and here.

The 11th Street Bridges Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been released. Two public meetings have been scheduled, on July 26 and 27; the comment period extends until August 28, 2006.

More posts: 11th Street Bridges