For months now, I've been dreading this part of 2007, when so many projects would be underway--and it turns out I was right to be worried. Goodness gracious, tons and tons of photos were needed to keep to my perfectionist mandate, but at last I've gotten them up on the site, even though it's pretty much taken a week to get every shot I wanted. For your perusing pleasure:

This morning the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District held a kick-off celebration on the 10th floor of 20 M Street, the latest stop on the 2007 Traveling Road Show of Near Southeast groundbreakings. Mayor Fenty, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, Council Member Tommy Wells, and others saluted the changes happening in Near Southeast--and fans of Canal Park will be happy to know that Wells took time to stress the importance of getting the park built, not just from a greenspace standpoint but also because of its stormwater management operations. Renderings of the projects underway were displayed on easels throughout the room, most of which are available as well here at JDLand. There were also diplomas presented to the first graduates of the "Clean Team" program, the blue-jumpsuited workers now starting to be visible around the neighborhood as they work to keep the streets and sidewalks clean, no mean feat when the entire area is basically one big construction zone. For more about the BID, visit their web site. I took some pictures of the proceedings, a few of which I've tossed up on a page (opting for speed rather than depth of coverage). And I also took the opportunity to get some updated overhead shots of the neighborhood from the 20 M vantage point, which I'll be posting along with the rest of the photos I took this weekend as soon as I can finally get through all of them.

Word has arrived that the Market Deli at First and L, the cab company at New Jersey and L, and the small empty lot between them have gone on the market as a joint sale, with an asking price of $11 million for the 9,000-plus square feet of land. It's one of the last spots in Near Southeast west of Eighth Street where the land is still owned by individuals and not developers, and anyone watching the corner shouldn't be surprised that this is finally happening--and given that behemoth Akridge owns most of the rest of that block's land along First Street, maybe they might be watching this offering with interest. The deal is being spearheaded by the Resnick family, which over the past few years has sold family land on both sides of the 1100 block of New Jersey, and on L Street where Onyx is now going up. (And their father once operated a 5&10 where the Courtyard by Marriott now stands.) In the meantime, they're talking with restaurants about perhaps renting some of the existing space to sell "quick food" for ballpark goers.

I've posted a new batch of photos from inside the stadium, where the main item of interest is the dirt being spread out on the field in preparation for the planting of the grass, which is not far off ("Turf or Treat!"). Check back tomorrow for additional photos from along South Capitol Street and other locations that need updating...

After being vacant since the beginning of the year, the old Capper Seniors building at 601 L Street is in its final days, with demolition scheduled to begin the first week in November. Once the hazmat cleanup that's been going on is finished, the building, which opened in the late 1950s, will be brought down floor-by-floor (no Vegas-style implosion). I was inside the fences yesterday and between the raindrops got a few pictures of this building, though I hope to get some more before the final curtain.

On Monday (Oct. 22), there's going to be a "signing ceremony" to officially enact the law creating the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (Near Southeast and Buzzards Point). Mayor Fenty will wield the pen, and the Usual Suspects are expected to be in attendance (Eleanor Holmes Norton, Tommy Wells, other council members, developers, nosy bloggers, etc.). It's at 20 M Street at 10 am.

The Post's Dr. Gridlock has a blog entry today about the work that continues on the Douglass Bridge: "Out of sight below the deck, in a big box-like area of pale gray steel, workers are riveting new bolts into place while either refurbishing or replacing aging parts of the structure across the Anacostia River. Aside from making the whole thing look better as a southern gateway to central Washington, the work will extend the life of the bridge until it can be replaced by a new structure the city plans to build right nearby." DDOT hopes to wrap up the work on the bridge, and on the streetscape improvements to South Capitol, Potomac, First, and I, by February.

It's a slow Friday afternoon, so I'll sneak across South Capitol Street for this tidbit from the Post: "D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer won a court order yesterday requiring the owners of a property near the new baseball stadium to clear it of abandoned cars and trucks, construction debris and hazardous materials. Singer filed suit last week in D.C. Superior Court against John Henry Davis and John Reginald Davis, who she claimed have been using a vacant lot as an illegal dumping ground. The court order calls for the site, at 1800 Half Street SW, to be cleared within 21 days. The lawsuit was filed after citations calling for a cleanup were ignored, D.C. officials said. 'The area surrounding the stadium and the nearby neighborhood is expected to be a new and exciting entertainment destination, not a junkyard,' Singer said in a statement." If it's really 1800 Half Street, they must be talking about the cars and junk on the north end of the site, judging by this Google Maps satellite view (though it's from 2005).

Thursday's Washington Times has a piece on the continuing push to expand the boundaries of the Mall, and mentions legislation that Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced yesterday, describing it as envisioning "redrawing East Potomac Park, Banneker Overlook, the grounds of RFK Stadium, the Kennedy Center Plaza and the new South Capitol gateway as sites that would be defined as part of the Mall. All of them could host monuments and museums that various groups ask to be put on the Mall." The bill, H.R. 3880 (text not yet available) would "authorize the National Capital Planning Commission to designate and modify the boundaries of the National Mall area in the District of Columbia reserved for the location of commemorative works of preeminent historical and lasting significance".

One of two new Stadium Web Cam views has gone on line this afternoon, showing the view of the ballpark from the press box, high above home plate. As I mentioned last week, soon the other camera (currently looking down Half Street from atop 20 M) will move as well, to a position on top of the north/west parking garage along N Street (north of left field). These new angles will give great views of the turf being installed, which should start happening within the next few weeks. Then we can all sit at our desks and watch grass grow!

I posted about this a few weeks ago, but I'll pass along this DDOT press release from today as a reminder that on October 24 there is a public meeting on the project to create a more appealing connection between Garfield Park north of the Southeast Freeway and the to-be-built-hopefully-eventually Canal Park, one block to the freeway's south. The meeting is from 6 to 9 pm at St. Peter's Catholic Church at 2nd and C streets, SE. Here's the project web site, for more information.