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Near Southeast DC Past News Items
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25 M
Yards/Parcel I
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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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Canal Park Project Manager Not Part of AWC Shift
The word is now out that Carol Anderson-Austra, the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation's project director for Canal Park, is not among those AWC staffers moving over to the office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. As I mentioned in my "Whither Canal Park?" entry of a few days ago, the park itself appears to be at an impasse thanks to the issue of moving the school buses, so I'm sure residents and interested observers will be looking forward to word from the DMPED folks as to how they're planning to move the park forward.
Speaking of the move of AWC to DMPED, DC Cable Channel 16 is replaying the ceremony from a few weeks ago when Mayor Fenty signed the bill transferring AWC and the NCRC to city control. It's on this week on Tuesday and Thursday at 1:30 pm (also available via streaming video if you don't have DC cable).
More posts: Canal Park
 

Ducks Boat Ramp in Buzzards Point
It's not the water taxi ramp at the foot of First Street that baseball fans have been waiting for, but the Ride the Ducks amphibious boat tour company has applied for a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a 180-foot boat ramp on the east end of T Street SW in Buzzards Point. (At first I thought this was outside my self-imposed Near Southeast boundaries, but a glance at the ramp's proposed location shows that it's technically east of South Capitol Street and in my realm after all.) There's a public comment period until August 27, so if this is something you're interested in, read the very detailed public notice for more information and for instructions on where to forward your input.
This is not the "DC Ducks" company that's been operating around the DC area for a number of years now--"Ride the Ducks" currently has operations in six cities, including Baltimore.

More posts:
 

Photos Updated Again
I couldn't bear the icky gray photos I had to post last week with the overcast weather, so I went out again this morning and took a new batch of icky gray photos. So check the main Stadium Exterior Construction Gallery as well as the north/south/east/west additional views. The most striking change at the stadium in the last week is the work near Half and N on the west parking garage, which now has its fake limestone facade that matches the stadium.
I also added a couple shots of the Douglass Bridge extreme makeover, although this time there aren't really any new pictures of the bridge, but some updated shots of South Capitol Street, which has now been paved from the freeway south almost to P Street. (And kudos to the nice construction worker who told me about "this really cool site on the web" that's tracking the construction.) I also updated a few shots on my main South Capitol Street page (the first comparison is the most striking). Both of these pages are getting away from me a bit, and so are going to need some TLC to clean them up during this August lull, but today I opted for speed.
And I also updated the Onyx on First and 70/100 I Street pages again, with Onyx now having another floor added in the last week. And I managed to find a couple new 70 I angles to make up for my lack of access to I Street. (Speaking of I Street, I should note that in the past few weeks the old firewood lot that will eventually be part of the 99 I Street development has been cleared out. And, for that matter, I don't think I've mentioned that digging has truly begun at JPI's 909 New Jersey Ave. residential project.)
You can also just browse all of today's photos on a single page, and click the Click to see all available photos of this location. icon if you want to see older photos in the archive of a certain location.
 

11th Street and Douglass Bridges 'Structurally Deficient'
The surveys of DC-area bridges in the wake of the Minneapolis collapse continue, and today the Post reveals that both the South Capitol Street/Frederick Douglass Bridge and the 11th Street Bridges have been designated "structurally deficient", along with 13 other bridges in DC. But, before you panic: "It is a broad designation that covers major deterioration in a bridge's key components but is not a list of teetering bridges." And, of course, the Douglass Bridge is getting repaired now, with hopes for a new bridge in the coming years, and the 11th Street Bridges are scheduled for an overhaul in 2009. The Post also has another bridge-related piece on how construction of steel bridges has changed over the years, with the Douglass Bridge used as an example.
(For one more Douglass Bridge-related link, the Dr. Gridlock Get There blog entry from Thursday about the progress of the Extreme Makeover was excerpted in today's paper.)
 

AWC Staffers Getting the Word Today; And Whither Canal Park?
I'm hearing scuttlebutt that today is the day that staffers at the being-dismantled Anacostia Waterfront Corporation are finding out whether they and their jobs are being migrated into the office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. So tread lightly around 1100 New Jersey this afternoon, because the mood may not be all sunshine and roses.
As always, the question on many peoples' minds is, how will this transfer affect AWC projects in Near Southeast? And Canal Park always seems to be at the top of that list. While the commotion has now subsided over whether zoning changes had suddenly paved the way for ballpark parking on the Canal Park site, residents and activists are starting to be concerned that the city may not be moving with enough speed to get the school buses off the site and get the park built by its announced completion date of Spring 2008. I wrote a few weeks ago about testimony to the city council that negotiations to get the buses removed were continuing, but that no deal had been struck.
But now word is out that the city is working to create a new citywide school bus parking lot in Prince George's County, and there's rumor and speculation that the Canal Park buses would not be moved until that lot has been created. An open question is whether pressure from local leaders could persuade the city to find a temporary location for the Canal Park buses while waiting for the PG County site to come together, so that the park could move forward. The park is in ANC 6D's territory, and of course city councilman's Tommy Wells ward.
To make Canal Park fans feel slightly better, here's the just-posted minutes from the June 21 Commission on Fine Arts meeting, which, if you scroll way way way down, include descriptions of the public art for the park by sculptor David Hess that the CFA reviewed and approved. (Alas, no images.)
 

11th Street Bridges Rehab in 2009?
In a Post article today surveying the state of DC-area bridges in the wake of the 35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis, there is this little item of note: "For instance, there are plans for a major overhaul and redesign of the 11th Street Bridge beginning in 2009, according to [DDOT] spokesman Erik Linden." The Environmental Impact Study completed last year came up with a number of potential reconfigurations of the 11th Street Bridges to allow for traffic to exit and go northward on DC-295 (instead of having to cross the Anacostia on Pennsylvania Avenue and then make that hair-raising left turn). Visit the 11th Street Bridges EIS web site if you're interested in what the plans are, although we're still waiting for the official announcement of which configuration has been chosen.
And, of course, in the wake of Minneapolis, the two-month closure of the Douglass Bridge for not only the reconfiguration of its north end but also considerable work on its deck and undersides might be seen in a different light now....
 

TOP on TOPP
WTOP has a piece on last night's stadium Transportation Operations and Parking Plan open house, emphasizing that planners are still looking for 5,000-7,000 parking spaces, and that street parking anywhere near the stadium on gamedays will get you ticketed and towed. Ken Laden of DDOT is quoted as saying that they're hoping 50% of stadiumgoers will arrive via Metro; and the article says that "Metro is preparing for that crunch. The transit agency says it will add up to 18 additional cars on game days during the pre- and post-game peak hours."
UPDATE: Speaking of parking, if you haven't checked in lately, the Stadium Construction Cam shows great progress in the past few days on the west parking garage on the north end of the ballpark site.

More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

Capper Infrastructure Work Now Underway
I'm a few days late with this, but it's still worth marking the milestone that infrastructure work has now indeed begun at Capitol Quarter, on the northwest corner of 5th and L. Considering that the announcement in 2001 of the plans for revitalizing Capper/Carrollsburg was one of the first things that got me interested in goings-on south of the freeway, it's quite satisfying to see that forward movement (beyond just demolition) has finally started.
More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

Stadium On Time; DCSEC Wants it More On Time
From today's Washington Times: "The head of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission yesterday said he would like to increase the pace of work on the Nationals' new ballpark to ensure that it is completed in time for Opening Day of next season. Commission CEO Greg O'Dell said he has asked the stadium construction team, led by Clark Construction of Bethesda, to boost the number of workers at the site from 720 to the maximum of 900." And yet: "The project is on time and on budget[.]" The blurb also mentions that the commission is looking into non-baseball uses for the ballpark (such as concerts), since the city has the rights to use the stadium for 18 events each year.

More posts: Nationals Park
 

Douglass Bridge Update from Dr. Gridlock
Dr. Gridlock got a tour of the Douglass Bridge makeover on Wednesday, and reports about it today on his Get There blog (with pictures). Next milestone? "They are a few days away from the concrete pour that will connect the lowered roadway to an approach slab that will bring it down to street level. The workers also will install new lighting on the bridge, finish removing the old, ugly railing along the sides and replace it with something more decorative, and finish the deck repair and paving. 'Come back in two weeks and you'll be amazed at the changes,' [DDOT acting associate director Ardeshir] Nafici said." (Not mentioned by the Doctor but worth plugging again: the M Street overpass will also be getting the new, more decorative railings in place of the current chain link fence.) There's also paving going on along the northern stretches of South Capitol Street.
Overall, "Nafici says that's been going remarkably well, and the bridge reconstruction is on schedule. They say they'll be done by their deadline of Sept. 7, but are hoping to finish up before that."
 

Another Week, Another Column About Parking
I'm pretty sure that this blog has posts about more than just parking lots, but it sure doesn't seem like it lately in my Ballpark and Beyond column in the Post, as this week's items are about the draft Transportation Operations and Parking Plan and the various Zoning Commission votes in the past week on temporary surface lots at The Yards and other locations around Near Southeast. You can also check out Stadium Parking page for more background on the scrambling to find enough parking spaces for ballpark goers, and my Yards page for more information and renderings about the plans for its redevelopment. And if you're interested in the TOPP, don't forget the open house tonight from 6 to 8 pm at 20 M Street, SE.
 

Stadium to Fully Comply with ADA
Thursday's Post reports that the new Nationals ballpark "will have wheelchair seating in nearly every section and will fully comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act," which "requires sports arenas to reserve 1 percent of their seating for wheelchairs with affixed companion seats." The Justice Department pushed stadium architects HOK Sport to include more disabled seating in the luxury suites, while architects with the Paralyzed Veterans of America recommended "inconspicuous, wheelchair-accessible seating throughout the stadium -- from luxury boxes to the cheap seats" along with "designs that make the ticket booths and concessions more accessible."
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Reminder: TOPP Open House Thursday
Just a reminder (as I scramble desperately for fresh content during the August Dead Zone) that tomorrow night (Thursday, Aug. 2) is the open house on the new ballpark's Transportation Operations and Parking Plan. There will be information stations "manned by DDOT, Sports Commission and traffic consultants to allow residents to learn about Traffic Operations and Parking; Transit, Pedestrian Access and Bikes; and Residential Parking Permits, [and] Curbside Management (including shuttle and charter buses)." If you haven't peeked at it yet, here's the TOPP executive summary, or, if you're in need of 8 or 10 hours of light reading, the complete 58 MB version (summary, contents, and appendices). Or you can read my quick impressions from a few days ago.
The open house is at the new 20 M Street office building at Half and M, SE, from 6 to 8 pm.
More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

New Capitol Riverfront Web Site
A few weeks back I linked to a new video created by the Washington DC Economic Partnership showcasing all of the plans for the Anacostia waterfront, not only in Near Southeast but also the other areas along the Anacostia River. Since then, the WDCEP has launched a full web site devoted to this "Capitol Riverfront" area, with details on the various projects in the pipeline. While there's not much there about Near Southeast that you can't already find on certain obsessive-compulsive web sites, there's a good deal of information and renderings about planned projects in Southwest and Anacostia. (And you can watch the video again, too.)
Note: this is not the web site for the new Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District--that site is still under development, though it will probably feature much of the same information, specific just to Near Southeast and Buzzards Point.
 

August Hill Rag Articles
Within the past few weeks I've posted a lot about the MPD move to 225 Virginia Ave. and the falderal over the surface parking lots zoning amendment including Canal Park, but if you can't get enough, the August issue of the Hill Rag has pieces on both items. And a summary of the July ANC 6D meeting, too.
 

Zoning Commission Actions on 1325 South Capitol, Canal Park Parking
The Zoning Commission shoe-horned in one last public meeting tonight before its August break, and took up a couple of Near Southeast-related items.
After having asked for revisions, clarifications, and refilings on three previous occasions, the commissioners once again had before them a first vote to approve the planned 276-unit residential project by Camden Development at 1325 South Capitol Street, across the street from the Nationals ballpark. The major sticking point in the last two meetings has been the design of the western side of the building, which is technically the "rear" of the building but will be on full display to much of Southwest because only low-rise buildings back up to the project site. Commissioner Turnbull had led the complaints in previous meetings about the need to "step up" the architecture, and while he was not jumping up and down for joy (calling the latest revisions "brutal at times"), he indicated that the plans had indeed made some progress. Commissioners Parsons and Hood agreed, and the commission voted to give first approval to the project three votes to zero, with commissioners Mitten and Jeffries not voting (having not participated in the case). The project now goes to the National Capital Planning Commission for its review, with a final vote by the Zoning Commission in the fall.
The Commission also gave its final approval to Case 07-08, which amends the zoning regulations to allow temporary surface parking lots on various blocks near the stadium. This is the case that stirred an outcry a few weeks ago when it was discovered after the commission's preliminary approval that the language specifying the parcels approved for parking included the three blocks slated for Canal Park. But with a supplemental report from the Office of Planning amending the language, and also with the report from the National Capital Planning Commission indicating its support of the amendment as long as the Canal Park boo-boo was fixed, the zoning commission approved the amended amendment three votes to zero, with commissioners Parsons and Jeffries not voting. And then they amended the original emergency amendment, too, just to make 100% sure that there were no loopholes big enough to build a parking lot on.
 

Revised Invitation for Bids on Bus Garage Now Available
As expected, WMATA has re-posted its Invitation for Bids to purchase the Southeastern Bus Garage land at 17 M Street, with a new deadline of 2 pm Aug. 28, at which time the bids will be opened and a winner immediately chosen. Minimum bid price is still $60 million, and settlement is to be held on Nov. 30. The IFB still contains a leaseback provision, requiring that the bidder rent the land back to Metro for 36 months. UPDATE: Here's the Metro press release on the sale process being re-opened.
So, it looks like the temporary detour taken when the city briefly expressed an interest in buying the property and then withdrew that interest (would love to know the real story behind that) has only caused about a one-month delay in the bid process. But does this mean WMATA will still have to be operating this very busy garage when the ballpark opens a block away, or is there still enough time for them to get a temporary facility built at DC Village before April 2008?
On the bright side, this means there will be at least one Near Southeast news item in August; otherwise, I think it's gonna be a little quiet around here over the next few weeks, other than some photo updates of the stadium, the Douglass Bridge, Onyx, and 70 I. But it's not necessarily a bad thing--even obsessive-compulsive webmasters can use a bit of a breather once in a while!
 

Special Ballpark Metro Fare Under Consideration?
The Examiner has a piece today entitled "City Considers 'Ballpark Fare' For Fans Who May Ride Metro to Games": "Concern about game-night gridlock on the roads surrounding the new Washington Nationals ballpark is leading D.C., transit and team leaders to consider a special 'ballpark fare' for those fans who ride Metro to the stadium." But most of the quotes in the piece seem to emphasize that this is not anything close to a done deal, that it is just one of many options being looked at as planners try to figure out how to get as many fans as possible off the streets and onto Metro or other transit options. And: "Neither side would release details of talks between Metro and the Nationals -- including what entity or government would absorb the cost." This idea is apparently mentioned in the latest Transportation Operations and Parking Plan draft.
More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

Rainy Days: Good for Droughts and Naps, Bad for Construction Photography
Yeeech. I managed to get out this morning before the rain started, and while there was a smidgen of sunlight at first, I've mainly got a bunch of gray, gray photos for you to look at. I updated the main Stadium Exterior Construction Gallery (and have added a few new angles), plus the north/south/east/west additional views for the diehards. New things to look for: the arched steel atop the scoreboard, the rounded steel marking the construction of the outfield restaurant, a lot more glass installed on the southwest side of the ballpark, and the ever-growing west parking garage. There's also now a big ole' trench dug down the middle of Potomac Ave. and rounding up onto First Street (two roads now completely closed south of N Street to anything but construction traffic). But with these photos being so dingy, if there wasn't something obviously new and different in the shot, I didn't update every angle on every page.
I also posted some shots of the Douglass Bridge extreme makeover, as work continues on the new ramp up from Potomac Avenue to the existing bridge. The rest the closed section of South Capitol Street doesn't look too different, although I did see that new sewer drains/curbs have started to be installed. (I also spied from the freeway a nice fresh layer of pavement on South Capitol heading into the underpass beneath M Street, but no pictures.)
And I also updated the Onyx on First and 70/100 I Street pages as both those projects now have an additional floor since last week. And 100 M looks to be getting close to coming out of the ground.
You can also just browse all of today's photos on a single page, and click the Click to see all available photos of this location. icon if you want to see older photos in the archive of a certain location.
 

Bidding Reopened for Bus Garage; City Decides Not to Buy
From this morning's Post: "Metro is reopening bids for the sale of its Southeastern Bus Garage in the District. The board had been scheduled to consider a request yesterday to sell the property to the District, but a Metro spokeswoman said the District is no longer going to buy the property. [...] Metro had received three bids, but after the city decided it was not going to buy the garage and an employee parking lot, Metro decided to reopen the process, agency spokeswoman Candace Smith said. 'We think some firms were dissuaded from putting in a bid because the District had said it wanted to buy the property,' she said. The bidding period will last 30 days, beginning Monday, she said." (Note that one of the stories earlier this week said that no bids were received by the original deadline. Hmmmm.)
They've taken down the links on the bid process from this page, but here's the original Invitation for Bids, with a minimum bid set at $60 million. Perhaps the documents will be reposted on Monday.
 
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