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You can't tell from the street, but there is some demolition-like work underway today on the roof of the old Capper Seniors building at 7th and M. However, the showy stuff with a wrecking ball will probably start later in the week, perhaps on Wednesday. It would be fab if folks who have a birds-eye view of the building could drop me a line if you see the wrecking-ball-crane getting into place, since the building is out of range of any handy web cams.
 

As I took two ventures out over the weekend to take pictures (and cursed the skies for only seeming to be cloudy when I was hitting the shutter, so be prepared for rotten lighting), I came to realize that my desire to capture the changing skyline means that I pretty much have to take photos at every intersection between New Jersey, I, South Capitol, and N, because there's hardly any spot covered by those 10 blocks or so that isn't seeing a big change to its view.
The new player is 55 M Street, with the signature steel beams above the Metro station now visible from two blocks in any direction. And I had to capture the brick work on 70 I, and the continuing climb of 100 M, and the preparations for glass hanging on the sides of Onyx, which gave me way too many photos to post, so it's probably just as well that I have no ballpark photo updates for you. (But be patient, there might be some coming soon.) You can see all of this weekend's photos here, or check out the Expanded Project Archives if you want to see the new photos paired with their "befores."
A couple things to note: 1015 Half Street now has signs marking it as a construction zone, and apparently all that stands between it and the start of excavation is waiting for permits from DCRA. (Snicker.) And Tingey Street, behind DOT, closed last week, I imagine for infrastructure work and perhaps streetscape work as well.
Looking ahead, this coming week should see the start of demolition at old Capper Seniors; I'll be lurking there pretty regularly for the next few weeks, I imagine.
And by the way, a general hat tip to the various folks who have said "hey" when coming upon me taking photos over these past weeks and months. Always nice to talk to people who read the site, and I also always appreciate everyone's kindness in not running over me when I'm standing in the middle of the street.
 

I received word earlier today that immediately on the heels of the nine home sites that EYA released at Capitol Quarter as scheduled at 11 this morning, they decided on the spot to release an addtional nine units, which have probably been snapped up by now and which complete the market-rate homes that make up Phase I of the project. (Phase 2, with no announced timetable, will be the townhomes on the blocks south of I Street between Second and Third.) There will still be additional workforce-level income houses to be offered, but those will be filled through a different process (last time it was a lottery) and no dates have been announced. (And low-income rental units are sprinkled throughout the development as well.) Bet it was a wild scene at the sales center when word of the additional units hit the people standing in line....
More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

The deadline for submittals for the redevelopment of Poplar Point passed on Friday, with seven proposals coming into the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. (I'm using the hook that one of the proposals is from Forest City, developers of The Yards and the Capper/Carrollsburg revitalization, as an excuse to go outside my boundaries.) The Washington Business Journal has the story, including that only two of the seven proposals include a soccer stadium.
More posts: Capper, The Yards
 

Nov 2, 2007 7:24 PM
At Thursday's meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission on its consent agenda "commented favorably" on concept designs presented to it by the city or Diamond Teague Park, the new public plaza planned for the foot of First Street along the Anacostia River (across from the ballpark).
The NCPC staff recommendation provides some good detail about the plans for the park, including a not-too-pretty site map, which I've added to my Earth Conservation Corps/Diamond Teague Park page. Yes, a water-taxi pier is still part of the plan, along with piers for fire, police, and EMS services. There will also be "educational piers" along the waterfront to allow visitors to walk out past the riverline--the NCPC calls this one of the few portions of the Anacostia's shoreline that hasn't had a concrete bulkhead built on it, which "represents a unique opportunity to showcase the diverse environmental restoration challenges faced with the Anacostia River."
This concept design is a revised version, after the Commission of Fine Arts suggested some changes in September, and so presumably the city will be returning to the CFA with this updated design sometime soon. There are also many more steps to go before this park will become a reality, including things like permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service. (You might want to read this story from today's Washington Business Journal about the needs for river dredging to keep up with all the planned uses of the city's rivers.)
In the meantime, you can see on my ECC/Teague page a photo of the park footprint as seen from the viewing platform across the street at Nationals Park to see how having a inviting public space could help draw stadium-goers the short distance to the river.
 

Nov 2, 2007 3:59 PM
If you're tired of watching the grass grow from just one angle, you'll be happy to know that the second stadium web cam is now back up, looking into the ballpark from a perch on the western garage in left-center field. Choose "Centerfield" in the pulldown at the top of the webcam page.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Nov 2, 2007 10:44 AM
Word has just gone out that tomorrow morning (Nov. 3) at 11 am reservations will be accepted for the next nine market-rate houses at Capitol Quarter. Prices range from $610k to $745k, and the offered sites now include lots on the block bounded by Virginia, I, Third, and Fourth. (Contact the sales office if you need more details.) Let the stampede begin!
UPDATE: The line hit the "nine" mark pretty quickly this afternoon, as I understand it. On the downside, word is now getting to some who have reserved homes in previous stampedes that the expected construction start date may be slipping again, perhaps toward the second quarter of 2008, though dates are not in stone. (I'm hearing conflicting things. Will try to sort out.)
More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

Nov 2, 2007 9:08 AM
This week's Washington Blade has a long story describing the continuing difficulties seen by the old Near Southeast nightclubs in their attempts to reopen elsewhere in the city. Nexus (now becoming 909 New Jersey Avenue), Edge/Wet and Club 55 (on the block being redeveloped with the Velocity project), Ziegfield's-Secrets, and Heat (taken by eminent domain to make way for the ballpark) are all still trying to either find new locations or get approvals for locations they've chosen. Follies and Club Washington will not be reopening elsewhere. Velvet Nation, a gay dance night that was held at Nation, is looking like it will be reconstituted at a new gay dance club called Town, in Shaw.
 

Nov 1, 2007 9:35 PM
While it might not be quite as exciting as watching grass grow, I can report that one of the real milestones of getting Nationals Park up and running has arrived--the application for a liquor license! There's a hearing on January 2.
 

Nov 1, 2007 3:46 PM
As I posted a few days back, the old Capper Seniors building across from the Navy Yard is in its last days, and with hazmat abatement having been completed, the Housing Authority is on schedule to start demolition on Monday. And while I'm sure they had far better things to do, the powers that be were nice enough to escort me up to the roof for a few minutes of camera time to document the skyline from that vantage point. I also took a walk around the block for some last shots of the building, which has stood in this location since the 1950s.
You can see all of the day's photos here, with the overhead shots starting about a third of the way down the page. Remember as always that I use a somewhat wide-angle lens (a Canon Digital Rebel XT with an 18-55 lens for you shutterbugs), so you get to see more in the images at the expense of everything looking smaller and farther away than it really is.
After the demolition is done--it's expected to take two months--there will be a temporary surface parking lot installed. Eventually a 500,000-sq-ft office building by Forest City will rise on the southern half of the site, and hopefully they'll be nice enough to let me go up on that roof when it's done.
(And I must say that all these roof sojourns are wonderfully ironic, given that my legs go gooey if I even try to walk down stairs that don't have a handrail. So be assured I'm never as close to the roof's edge as it might look in some of these shots. I'm a total chicken.)
 

Nov 1, 2007 3:08 PM
This week's Ballpark and Beyond column in the District Extra tackles Phil Mendelson's hearing last week on the First Distrct police station and the fate of 225 Virginia Avenue, last week's kickoff party for the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, the offering of the Market Deli and two of its neighbors along L Street for $11 million; the pending demolition at 1345 South Capitol (which I had been told would start on Oct. 29 but which isn't underway yet); and the return of a camper at Capitol Quarter. But I understand today that the camper is now either gone or in hiding. Will they be back? Stay tuned.
* I linked to the stories last week about the trial ferry run from Quantico to the Navy Yard; today the AP moves a quick blurb on the idea.
* Day one of turf-laying at the ballpark is completed, in case you haven't peeked; they finished the infield and much of the area along the first-base line.
* And while it has nothing to do with the column, I will mention that the demolition of Waterside Mall at 4th and M, SW (outside my boundaries, dammit!)started yesterday. The party is tonight from 4 to 6 pm, with the mayor in attendance. UPDATE: Here's video of the wrecking ball, on the Development in SW DC web site, where you should be looking for news on that part of town, rather than here. :-)
More posts:
 

Nov 1, 2007 12:50 AM
For those folks who get up earlier than I do (which describes a large portion of the population), here's the link to the ballpark web cam, since it does indeed appear that the turf will arrive on Thursday (confirmation via Barry Svrluga, who knows everything). So spend your day watching the grass grow.
Svrluga's article also says that the Nats tentative not-yet-released schedule for 2008 shows the first home series as being against Philadelphia April 7-9; the rumored March 30 home opener nationally broadcast on EPSN is yet to be confirmed, with ESPN saying only that "it's being considered."
UPDATE: Yup, there's grass.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Oct 31, 2007 4:55 PM
With let's-not-even-admit-how-many pictures now posted on this site, and with so many locations and so many angles to look at, it's sometimes hard to know where the most striking reflections of the changes in Near Southeast might be found. So of course I had to go and build a new page: JD's Favorite Before-and-Afters (or, in a lot of cases, Before-and-Durings). There's no rhyme or reason to the order (except maybe my mostest favorite faves at the top), and quite a lot of them are from locations still undergoing changes, but these are the shots that make even my jaded brain stop and say, "whoa." These photos will be updated as new pictures are uploaded, and I'll probably tinker with the lineup, but you get the idea.
More posts:
 

Oct 31, 2007 2:22 PM
DDOT has cancelled plans to close two outbound lanes on the Douglass Bridge from 7 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday (Nov. 3 and 4). So now you can take a weekend jaunt and buzz the new South Capitol Street and its renovated bridge without backups!
 

Oct 30, 2007 11:43 AM
It's now officially scheduled: the turf for Nationals Park will be cut at a farm in New Jersey on Halloween night, and trucked down here for installation starting Thursday morning. (I just hope the guys cutting it don't get distracted scanning the skies for the Great Pumpkin.) Unless the construction folks taunt everyone by pulling the plug, the press box web cam should give a great view of the field's change from brown to green. (If you haven't looked for a few days, don't wait until Thursday to check it out--the infield is now pretty well laid out.)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Oct 30, 2007 8:53 AM
WTOP talks to the man who's installing all 41,000-plus seats at the new ballpark, to see how they compare to RFK: "All of the seats are angled toward home plate, so fans will be able to see the batter and the pitcher, says Alveno, who is the foreman in charge of seat installation. Alveno says each seat is equipped with a cup holder and the size of the seats varies from 19 inches to 22 inches. Seats in the pricier sections -- such as behind home plate -- will be cushioned." There will be a "Meet Your Seat" event for season-ticket holders before the ballpark opens. Single-game ticket sales will start in February.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Oct 29, 2007 10:01 PM
UPDATE, 10/29: Very last-minute alert that this show will be on tomorrow (Tuesday, Oct. 30) morning at 10 am on the Discovery Channel. In case you missed it.
UPDATE: Sorry, guess I should have bumped this up on Wednesday before air time. (What, everyone didn't mark their calendar and set their Tivo as soon as they read this last week?) The show was really well done (I must admit I wasn't expecting it to be very good), so try to catch it again when it re-airs on Oct. 30 at 10 am. There's also behind-the-scenes clips available now on Discovery's web site.
Original Entry: Next Wednesday night (Oct. 17), the Discovery Channel's Build it Bigger series will profile the construction of the new Nationals ballpark. The official blurb for the episode is: "In Washington, DC, 800 workers attempt to design and build a $650 million baseball stadium in less than two years. Danny Forster finds out if they can finish the 41,000-seat Nationals stadium, complete with the largest scoreboard in the US, on schedule." (Although the Royals have now pushed ahead in the Scoreboard Size Race, apparently.) It's scheduled to be on at 8 pm and 12 am; check local listings, as they say, for the bat time and bat channel in your area. There's also a preview podcast available. (h/t to 08Cubs)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Oct 29, 2007 3:43 PM
Today's Washington Times has a long piece on the history of the Verizon Center (originally the MCI Center, for those of you not keeping up on your telecom mergers). The last portion of it deals with how the Verizon Center's success in revitalizing a somewhat moribund section of town might apply to Near Southeast as the baseball stadium opens.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Oct 29, 2007 8:48 AM
From the Post: "Monument Realty, which has filed a federal lawsuit against Metro over a land dispute, said Friday that the expansion of the Navy Yard station near the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium would be completed on schedule. Executives at the District company had threatened to slow work on the project because the transit agency plans to sell land near the stadium to another development company, Akridge. Jeff Neal, a Monument principal, said in a written statement that the project would be completed before the start of the 2008 baseball season. 'We have worked diligently and transparently to develop an aggressive timeline,' he said. Lisa Farbstein, a spokeswoman for Metro, said, 'We have every reason to believe that they will fulfill that pledge.' " Monument also stated that the station would be done on time a few weeks ago in a letter to ANC6D vice chair Andy Litsky and others, which I posted here. You can see my Monument Half Street page for more information on the station expansion as well as 55 M Street, the office building that Monument is constructing on top of it. (There's also the Half Street Web Cam for tracking the progress, but it's been offline for the past few days. UPDATE: It's back now.)
UPDATE II: There's also this interview with Russ Hines and Amy Phillips of Monument, conducted last Friday by the Nats320 blog, about the on-time-ness of the project.
 

Oct 28, 2007 1:04 PM
(I have no way of verifying the authenticity or the reputation of this story, as it's just being reported on one blog, but it's too juicy to ignore. All disclaimers apply. h/t Ballpark Guys)
The Pope is apparently planning a trip to the U.S. in mid-April, with visits scheduled for New York and Washington, and the "Whispers in the Loggia" blog reports: "While most of the previously-noted itinerary of the Catholic University of America and diplomatic courtesies at the White House appear to remain in place, one reported change has the venue for Benedict's DC Mass pegged not for the expanse of the National Mall, but -- as with New York -- the new stadium of the Washington Nationals, currently projected to open barely a week before the visit takes place. (On a related note, Major League Baseball's scheduling for 2008 is still in its tentative stages and has not been publicly released.) Built to house a game capacity of 41,000, Nationals Park would likely seat closer to 50,000 for a papal liturgy."
Even the author--who writes for a international Catholic weekly--adds a bunch of a caveats to the news: "[P]apal trips are not formally announced by the Vatican until three months prior to a visit's taking place, and the detailed final itineraries are held until weeks before the journey. Bottom line: everything can, and very well might, change. But this is where things are heading as of the present... even if 'Nothing is confirmed until the Holy Father signs off on it.' "
(See this September item from the Catholic News Agency for early news of the papal visit, saying that Mass would be held on the Mall.)
 
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