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Near Southeast DC Past News Items
In the Pipeline
25 M
Yards/Parcel I
Chiller Site Condos
Yards/Parcel A
1333 M St.
More Capper Apts.
Yards/DC Water site
New Marine Barracks
Nat'l Community Church
Factory 202/Yards
SC1100
Completed
Thompson Hotel ('20)
West Half ('19)
Novel South Capitol ('19)
Yards/Guild Apts. ('19)
Capper/The Harlow ('19)
New DC Water HQ ('19)
Yards/Bower Condos ('19)
Virginia Ave. Tunnel ('19)
99 M ('18)
Agora ('18)
1221 Van ('18)
District Winery ('17)
Insignia on M ('17)
F1rst/Residence Inn ('17)
One Hill South ('17)
Homewood Suites ('16)
ORE 82 ('16)
The Bixby ('16)
Dock 79 ('16)
Community Center ('16)
The Brig ('16)
Park Chelsea ('16)
Yards/Arris ('16)
Hampton Inn ('15)
Southeast Blvd. ('15)
11th St. Bridges ('15)
Parc Riverside ('14)
Twelve12/Yards ('14)
Lumber Shed ('13)
Boilermaker Shops ('13)
Camden South Cap. ('13)
Canal Park ('12)
Capitol Quarter ('12)
225 Virginia/200 I ('12)
Foundry Lofts ('12)
1015 Half Street ('10)
Yards Park ('10)
Velocity Condos ('09)
Teague Park ('09)
909 New Jersey Ave. ('09)
55 M ('09)
100 M ('08)
Onyx ('08)
70/100 I ('08)
Nationals Park ('08)
Seniors Bldg Demo ('07)
400 M ('07)
Douglass Bridge Fix ('07)
US DOT HQ ('07)
20 M ('07)
Capper Seniors 1 ('06)
Capitol Hill Tower ('06)
Courtyard/Marriott ('06)
Marine Barracks ('04)
 
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New 70/100 I Street Rendering
At the groundbreaking ceremony a few weeks ago for JPI's new residential project at 909 New Jersey Ave., an updated rendering of the 70/100 I Street project just across the way was on display as well. JPI was nice enough to pass the image along to me, and you can now see it on my 70/100 I Street page. And it looks like within the next few weeks the 70 I building will start to peek up above ground level, giving me a new site to photograph relentlessly.
Speaking of the groundbreaking, DC Cable Channel 16 will be showing it on Wednesday and Friday (June 20 and June 22) at 11 am, and perhaps later times as well. You can watch it on your District cable, or on live streaming video. And don't turn it off right when it's finished, because at 11:30 they're replaying the April check presentation ceremony at Canal Park.
More posts: 70/100 I, jpi
 

Maryland Commuter Bus Plans During Bridge Closure
The Post's Dr. Gridlock has a blog entry today about the Maryland Transit Administration's plans for how MTA commuter buses will be diverted during the two-month shutdown of the Frederick Douglass/South Capitol Street Bridge that begins on July 6. Quoting: "MTA says that after listening to passengers, it has decided to bring some of its routes into the Branch Avenue and Suitland Metrorail stations for those who wish to transfer to the subway, but continue in and out of dowtown Washington for the other riders willing to tough it out through the congestion. (The buses will be stuck in the same congestion as the cars.)" See the entry for specifics on each bus route. Metro's bus route changes were announced a few weeks ago. (And thanks for the link, Dr. G!)
 

Capper Building #2 Almost Finished
The final touches are starting to be put on Capper Building #2, the wraparound addition to the Carroll Apartments at 4th and M. It's expected that new residents will start arriving in July, with full occupancy by the end of the summer. While this was originally planned as a building for low-income senior citizens, there was a modification to its zoning back in March to allow younger residents with lower incomes as well. Seniors who have lived at Capper / Carrollsburg but chose not to move to the new Capper Seniors #1 when it opened in December get first dibs on units in this second building, followed by other former Capper residents who meet the requirements of having an earned income and having participated in their community supportive services program. Applications are also being accepted from non-Capper residents who have incomes between 50 and 60 percent of the area median income (just under $38,000 for a single person or $54,000 for a family of four). If you meet the income requirements and are interested in applying, you can visit the BallparkApts.com web site for more information, or call 202-546-1024.
As for the old Capper Seniors building at 601 L Street, it is scheduled to be demolished sometime this summer late this year. Temporary surface parking lots will be built on the site in time for the opening of the ballpark in spring 2008, but long-range plans call for office buildings to be eventually developed there.
UPDATED 6/19 with the revised timeline for demolition of the old Capper Seniors building; it's now scheduled to happen toward the end of 2007, thanks to hazmat abatement needing to take longer than originally planned.
 

New Stadium Photos (Inside and Outside) and More
It seems like it's been forever since I updated my Nationals Ballpark Construction Gallery, but I'm actually only a week behind my usual schedule--it's now updated with a pile of pictures I took during yesterday morning's beautiful weather, but beware that some of the showiest shots didn't get updated this time around thanks to actual construction going on at the construction site.
But to make it up to you, I have a whole new series of photos from inside the stadium so you can see stuff that the Webcam might not be showing real clearly.
And I've also finally expanded the construction gallery to include four additional pages of befores-and-afters (well, befores-and-durings) that have vantage points you don't see on my "main" gallery page. So knock yourself out looking at more shots from First Street, Potomac Avenue, South Capitol Street, and N Street. (There's also links to these new pages from the top of the main gallery.)
I also updated the Photo Archive with a fair number of photos from other spots around Near Southeast. You can see every new photo posted on this page; if you look really closely, you'll see a few shots that include the campers' tents at the Capitol Quarter sales office on 4th Street, as well as photos of the colorful new fence drapings that now surround the Velocity Condos site.
 

Post Profiles the Capitol Quarter Campers
The Post profiles the hardy souls giving up weeks of their lives to camp out for the next release of Capitol Quarter townhomes, in "Line Forms and Sleeps Here to Live Near Stadium."
More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

Normandie Liquors Site to be Onyx Sales Center?
I'm hearing a rumor--that I haven't been able to get confirmed/denied yet--that the Normandie Liquors site at First and M (which has a raze permit now winding through the bureaucratic maze) is going to be home eventually to the sales center for Onyx on First, one block to the north. Like I said, unconfirmed as of now, but intriguing (and logical) nonetheless. This of course would just be temporary until Willco Construction moves forward with its office/residential retail plans for that stretch of First between M and N, though no dates for that project have been announced.
UPDATE, 6/16: Duh, I'm an idiot. The trailers have been on 1st Street south of M for weeks now, south of the Normandie. And the building permits in the trailer window say that they're for a sales center. But no doubt the Onyx folks would prefer to not have the Normandie in their sales front yard, hence the raze permit.
More posts: staddis, Square 701
 

Florida Rock Background
If you're visiting here after reading this week's Ballpark and Beyond column on the plans for Florida Rock, here's my page with more background and photos on the project. (And thanks for dropping by!)
More posts: Florida Rock
 

Lew Moving to DC Schools Modernization
From today's Post: "Allen Y. Lew, who managed construction of the Washington Convention Center and is overseeing completion of the Nationals baseball stadium, has agreed to become the director of a new city department created to carry out the D.C. public school system's $2.3 billion modernization program, government sources confirmed yesterday. Lew, 56, has served as chief executive of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission since 2004 and is respected by city leaders for his ability to deliver large, complicated public construction projects on time and on budget. He is expected to resign from his position at the sports commission next month to join Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration, the sources said." That sound you hear is the anguished cry of baseball fans devastated at the news, led by DC council member Jack Evans: " 'Do you want to take the main guy out of the picture, the guy who is able to get it done on time and on budget on opening day?' Evans said. 'If you take him out of it, who will replace him? Getting the stadium done is not automatic.' "
UPDATE: Well, that didn't take long--Mayor Fenty has named Lew's successor at the DCSEC: Gregory A. O'Dell, who currently serves as the chief development officer in the office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Raze Permit for Normandie Liquors
A raze permit has now been filed for 83 M Street, which is the address of the defunct Normandie Liquors on the southwest corner of First and M. It's working its way through the approval process, so who knows when demolition might actually take place. Willco Construction is planning an office/residential/retail project for that entire stretch of First between M and N, but haven't as yet announced any timeline. Plans submitted during the request to close an alley on that side of block indicated that the project would have 324,000 sq ft of office space and 430 residential units; I don't know whether that's still the case. Hopefully we'll hear something soon. (Hint, hint, Willco.)
UPDATE: I forgot to also mention that raze permits have also been requested for the properties on the site of Camden Development's 1325 South Capitol Street residential building, across from the stadium.

 

Capitol Riverfront BID Moving Forward
The legislation creating the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District had its hearing on Tuesday in front of the DC Council Committee on Finance and Revenue. (Need to know what the heck a BID is? Start here.) It was a pretty straightforward session, with BID executive director Michael Stevens giving a quick summary of the amount of investment coming to Near Southeast and Buzzards Point, repeating the mantra about how the area will eventually rival the downtowns of medium-sized cities. There were also representatives of the CFO's office and RestoreDC testifying in support and one concerned resident of Southwest testifying about his wish that the BID's boundaries be expanded across South Capitol Street instead of stopping in the middle of the street.
Along those lines, council member Tommy Wells expressed his concern about not covering both sides of South Capitol, given the work DDOT is going to be doing on streetscape improvements, and not wanting only one side of the street to be maintained. He also talked about M Street's importance as the "Main Street" of this part of town, especially since it will eventually be connecting the revitalized Southwest Waterfront to the revitalized Waterside Mall to the revitalized Near Southeast.
There was some discussion about how currently the new ballpark is not part of the BID (because it is government-owned property), but that there are negotiations to see if the BID's "clean and safe services" could be extended to the stadium site during the 81 home games each year, which would cost about $250,000. The Capitol Quarter townhome development is also not a member of the BID, even though it is surrounded on all sides by the BID; Wells questioned that area being left out of the BID's services, but the BID's executive director Michael Stevens mentioned that residents of Capitol Quarter will be paying monthly public-space maintenance fees. He also said they hope to cover the three Capper apartment buildings that will eventually be constructed east of Canal Park, but it depends on the amount of market-rate units.
The bill (B17-0208) will be marked up on Thursday June 14 at 11 am, and is expected to have its first vote in front of the full council on June 19.

 

Florida Rock Zoning Correspondence Deferred
Last night there was scheduled to be a discussion at the Zoning Commission's public meeting about Florida Rock (aka "RiverFront on the Anacostia"); the developer and architect had requested guidance from the commission about whether the project's new design is what the commission was looking for when it asked for revisions back in February. However, chair Carol Mitten announced that the agenda item was being deferred to the commission's July 9 public meeting, so that the Office of Planning can submit comments on the plans. That'll teach me to drag myself down there and show up in person instead of just hanging out at home watching the webcast!
More posts: Florida Rock, zoning
 

Google Updates Satellite Shots, But....
I check Google Maps every so often to see if they've updated the satellite photos of Near Southeast, which have been of a 2002 vintage since, well, sometime after 2002. So imagine my excitement today when I pulled up the link and there were finally buildings on the DOT HQ site! Woo-hoo! One small problem--after inspecting further, I've determined that the "new" photos are from Spring 2005. If you look at my Satellite Comparisons page, you'll see MapQuest's shots are from Fall 2005 (and have been for quite some time), so this new Google view isn't even the most recent one available. Dadgummit. I was really hoping that we'd finally have a bird's eye view of the stadium construction.
More posts:
 

More on MPD/Post Plant
Last night at its monthly meeting, ANC 6D passed a resolution opposing the proposed relocation of the First Distrct Police Station currently at 415 4th St. SW to the old Post Plant at 225 Virginia Ave. SE. There's a series of 11 bullet points describing the ANC's opposition, many of which were brought up at the city council subcommittee hearing last week, most notably of course being the potential impact on "community policing" if the police are no longer housed right in the community. Other issues such as parking at the new site, the "massing" of so many police functions in such a small area given that the 1D1 substation is just four blocks away, and the potential loss of easy walk-in visits to 1D if they are housed in the same building that contains high-level MPD functions such as the chief's office, the Special Operations Division, the evidence warehouse, and other departments.
I also finally got a chance to see the portions of the hearing that weren't originally broadcast, and one of the items that jumped out at me (and that is mentioned in the ANC resolution as well) is that the Office of Property Management is already looking for 10,000 square feet of "swing space" for the 1D substation, because it needs to be out of its current location by early 2009 to make way for the new combined forensics lab. Because of timing issues with getting the 225 Virginia building ready for occupancy (a project that could cost up to $100 million), 1D may not be able to move directly to the new building. (OPM said it should know within 60 days if 1D will need to move to swing space.) Both Carol Schwartz and Tommy Wells were quite skeptical of moving 1D to 225 Virginia, with Schwartz saying "Have you thought of how ridiculous that is?" (But she said it really nicely.) The council members pressed OPM and MPD about why the forensics lab couldn't be at 225 Virginia instead, but issues with ceiling heights and ventilation seemed to be stumbling points, although former OPM head Carol Mitten testified that it wouldn't be impossible. There was also a lot of discussion about the possibility of buying 225 Virginia outright, rather than leasing it.
And of course, as I mentioned in my initial summary, parking issues were a large part of the conversation as well. Neither OPM or MPD would commit to Wells's idea of a ban on employee on-street parking; and as I said last week, OPM and MPD were floating the DPW trash transfer lot at 2nd and K as a parking alternative without seeming to be aware that that lot is already going to the DC Housing Authority as part of the Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI project. (I shouted it at the TV as loudly and often as I could, but apparently they couldn't hear me.) As described, a new parking structure built on top of the surface lot at 3rd and I would have about 520 spaces, 200 of which would be for police vehicles and another 100 for 1D staff, leaving only 200 spaces for the remaining 500 employees at this new headquarters.
Next steps? OPM is now looking at getting architectural drawings and guaranteed maximum buildout costs to the council by October (two months later than originally forecast); there is also supposed to be a parking plan given to the committee within the next two weeks, and also at some point a meeting between OPM, MPD, and ANCs 6B and 6D. A separate Zoning Commission hearing on adding the site to the Capitol South Receiving Zone originally scheduled for this week has now been postponed. I imagine there will be a fair amount of behind-the-scenes maneuvering on the project that we won't hear much about until it comes time for the city council to vote on paying for the renovations to the building.

 

Name Your Own Near Southeast Development Project!
As a public service to developers, planners, and other folks looking to name their upcoming projects, I've put together this handy list. Just pick one or two words from Column A and one from Column B, and presto! Your Near Southeast development has been christened!*
Column A
Capitol
Navy
Southeast
Waterfront
Ballpark
Stadium
Canal
Nationals
The
Anacostia
Column B
Yards
Riverfront
Waterfront
District
Quarter
Center
Landing
Plaza
Esplanade
Riverwalk
* credit to the JD Spouse for the idea.
More posts:
 

Another Round of Surface Parking Lot Requests - Update
As expected, there is now a request in front of the Zoning Commission to approve temporary surface parking lots on parcels totaling 396,000 sq ft in the Southeast Federal Center (i.e., "The Yards"), to last no more than five years and to be available for Nationals ballpark parking (among other uses). There are four lots, which I highlighted a few months back on my Stadium Parking page map: on the southeast corner of 1st and N (where there is already a parking lot, along with a one-story brick building scheduled to be demolished); two spots on the SEFC land south of Tingey and DOT and east of the WASA pumping plant; and on the southeast corner of 4th and M, behind the red brick wall, where a surface lot already exists. According to the meeting notice, temporary lots at the SEFC are already permitted under the existing Southeast Federal Center overlay, subject to approval by the Zoning Commission.
I don't know anything more about this other than that there will be a ZC hearing on July 26; I'll be working to find out exactly how many spaces these lots may make available, although in the presentation slides from the March public meeting there was an indication that 1,700 additional spaces could be available at the Federal Center. These would be on top of the other temporary surface lots recently approved, and would bring the count of potential available spaces on all temporary lots to 5,475 spaces, on top of the 1,225 spaces being constructed on the stadium footprint (adding up to 6,700 spaces, higher than the 4,900 spaces that planners anticipate will be needed for the highest-attendance games). Of course, not all of the identified potential lots will end up being used, and the likely total count from all lots is probably closer to 5,200, but this is clearly a healthy-sized addition to the lots approved last month. More information as I get it.
UPDATED with corrected numbers on the potential spaces, because math is apparently not my strong suit late on a Friday night. But these new numbers are still just speculation on my part based on that March public meeting on parking--we have to wait to see exactly how many spaces planners are anticipating at the SEFC.
UPDATE, 6/11: This zoning request apparently would allow for 925 paking spaces in four lots at The Yards; so it's far lower than what was projected for the SEFC at the March public meeting on the stadium transportation planning. It does mean that, if approved, up to 5,925 permanent and temporary spaces are in the mix around the stadium site (1,225 on the ballpark site itself and the rest from the temporary surface lots). And that doesn't count any possible spaces in lots beneath already-constructed buildings near the stadium. But hopefully some clarity will arrive when the draft Traffic Operations and Parking Plan is released by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, supposedly this month.
 

Ballpark Update in the Post
Today's Ballpark Update in the Post: "Though it's not the most significant structural breakthrough at the new Nationals ballpark, it might be the most symbolic development of the week. Construction crews this week excavated the site for the Nationals' bench. Or, as Rick Buckovich of the construction company Clark/Hunt/Smoot said, "We dug out the dugout." Crews also placed the last wood-framed elevated concrete deck in left-center field, the last major concrete pour in the park."
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Council Subcommittee Hearing on MPD Post Plant Move
I must admit to dragging my feet on writing a summary of yesterday's hearing in front of the council's Committee on Workforce Development and Government Operations about the potential move of portions of the Metropolitan Police Department to the old Post Plant at 225 Virginia Ave. The main issue is that the TV feed of the 4 1/2-hour hearing switched to a different hearing for 45 minutes, right at the start of testimony by representatives of MPD and the Office of Property Management, so I don't feel like I got the full picture. It's scheduled to be replayed on Channel 13 (available both on DC cable and streaming video) a couple times over the next few days, if you can't bear to deal with this broaching of my responsibilities and want to watch it yourself. (Though, as I always say, remember that the motto of JDLand is: The Site Where You Get What You Pay For.)
I'll post more once I get to see that missed 45 minutes, but I can tell you that the main issues discussed during the portions I saw were the concern of Southwest residents about losing the 1D station to a location quite a few blocks away (putting a crimp in the idea of "community policing") and where exactly 1,100 MPD employees are going to park and the problems of traffic flow and parking especially at the daily shift changes. (The double- and triple-parking a few blocks away at the 1D1 substation on E Street were frequently referenced.) MPD and OPM seemed to be talking about using the Trash Transfer site at 2nd and I as a parking solution, but unless I missed something during the non-broadcast portion, none of them seemed to realize that that parcel is part of the Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI redevelopment, and is supposed to eventually be redeveloped with an apartment building. There were indications from Tommy Wells that he'd like to see on-street parking by MPD staff completely prohibited; alas, with the building's location being about five blocks from a Metro station (compared to being basically on top of one at their current location on Indiana Avenue), I'm sure that proposal will go over real well. I'm not sure if there's going to be additional hearings, though clearly council members Schwartz, Mendelson, and Wells had a fair number of concerns.
 

Velocity Updates, and a New Rendering
The folks at ADC Builders have passed along to me a new rendering of the Velocity Condos building planned for 1025 First Street (on the Square 699N block), which you can see on my Velocity page. Digging has now begun on the underground parking that will be shared by both this Velocity and its Phase II sibling; and within the next week you should see banners advertising the project hung on the fences surrounding the site. Work is continuing on the sales center trailers at Half and K, and it's projected to open in late July or early August. And the official web site, as I posted last week, is now "Coming Soon", but should be launched later this month. And, in answer to the question everyone *really* wants to ask, it's expected that the 200 units will start in the $300s; completion is expected in 2009. With all of this, I've now moved Velocity to a coveted "Under Construction" slot on my project directory.
So, on the New Development Tote Board, we're now loooking at 950 new residential units delivering in Near Southeast in 2008, and at least 800 in 2009 (not counting Capitol Quarter). And I can envision another 800-plus in 2010 (with JPI's 23 I Street and the residential projects at The Yards the likely candidates). Maybe someone will build a grocery store by then!

 

Southeastern Bus Garage Officially Up for Sale
Proving that WMATA's plans to move the Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M to DC Village are proceeding, there's an ad into today's print Washington Business Journal announcing that the property at 17 M Street is for sale. It's two parcels (the garage itself and the parking lot across Van Street) totaling almost 100,000 sq ft, and the sale is through a leased bid process; Metro is asking for a leaseback provision for 36 months with an early termination provision with 90 days' notice. There's supposed to be more information on this page, but it's not there as of yet.
In looking around, though, I did find this page they've created on the bus garage move, though I think it's probably geared more toward the residents around DC Village. And the various board of directors meeting documents I've linked to in the past probably have more detail.
UPDATE: The Invitation for Bids and other accompanying documents are now available on the WMATA site. Minimum bid price is $60 million; bids are due by July 23 at 2 pm, and the IFB calls for settlement on whichever bid is approved to take place on Oct. 26. And if you feel like bidding, you need to include a deposit check for $300,000 and a security deposit of $3 million.

 

More Details on Douglass Bridge Extreme Makeover
This morning DDOT had a big press briefing about the plans for the coming Douglass Bridge "Extreme Makeover"; there was a gaggle of media in attendance, so I imagine there will be lots of play on TV tonight and in tomorrow's papers, so in the interest of time (mine, not yours), I'm going to hit the high points right now and wait for the reports from the big players to roll in for additional detail.
*The bridge will be shut down on July 6 (after the July 4 holiday). As soon as it's closed, crews will be on site beginning the demolition of the viaduct from Potomac Avenue northward, using "big shears" (DDOT's description) to drop it down. At the same time, the existing South Capitol Street will be ripped up, with infrastsructure and utility work done, and with the streetscape improvements started as well, which will include new "globe" lighting, a median with trees, etc. (Incidentally, by spring 2008 there will also be some sprucing up of the M Street overpass, with the chainlink fences removed and new historic iron railings installed.)
* It is expected that the 580 feet of the bridge from the Anacostia River to Potomac Avenue will begin to be lowered on July 20. They are going to put jacks under the bridge, cut the existing columns, and then lower it down. They should sell tickets for this part.
* The bridge itself will see its roadway milled, and the existing rails and chainlink fences replaced with a new special fancier railing; this railing will be affixed to the outside edge of the bridge, allowing the sidewalks on both sides of the bridge to be widened. (The bridge has already gotten a new paint job, have you noticed?)
* DDOT is creating an additional lane on I-295 between the Suitland Parkway and South Capitol Street to help improve the traffic flow.
* The closure of the bridge is planned for 60 days; however, the contractor (Corman) can receive up to $1 million in incentives if the work is finished sooner.
There are some new before-and-after renderings of what the approach to Potomac Avenue will look like, and I've added those to my Douglass Bridge makeover page, along with some photos taken on a barge tour today beneath the bridge. (You get to see the osprey nests!)
DDOT has also produced a spiffy video about the plans for the bridge (as well as information about a new Douglass Bridge, which is a few years and $300 million away from now); when they post it on their site, I'll link to it (UPDATED: now online). You'll probably see portions of it in tonight's media coverage. And just to warn you, a certain Near Southeast blogger puts in a very brief appearance, but don't let that prevent you from watching.
I'll update this entry as the day goes on with other media coverage.
UPDATE I: .... such as Dr. Gridlock's posting on the briefing, discussing the commuting impact of the closure. And the DDOT press release.
UPDATE II: And WTOP. And NBC. And ABC. But not a lot of news in any of them.
UPDATE III: Here's the Post and the Examiner.
UPDATE, 6/11: And another Examiner piece, focusing a bit more on the eventual new bridge. (But I wish their headline writer had correctly spelled "South Capit*ol*.")

 
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