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Zoning Amendment for Parking Lots in SW; Residents Not Happy
At Monday's ANC 6D meeting (which I missed because I had three meetings on my calendar for that night and the ANC never released an agenda for me to know whether I should go or not), there was apparently a big discussion of Zoning Case 07-08A, scheduled to be heard on Feb. 21, which seeks to allow temporary surface parking lots for no more than five years on a series of blocks in Southwest, mainly in Buzzards Point (squares 603, 605, 658, 661, 662, 662E, 664, 664E, and Square 658, Lot 7 for those of you with tax parcel maps handy, or look on the last page of this). A temporary emergency version of this text amendment passed with no discussion back in October; the Feb. 21 hearing is to make the amendment good for five years.
When the original case (07-08) establishing the ability to build temporary lots on a number of blocks in Near Southeast was passed, parking lots did not automatically appear on every block covered in the amendment. However, ANC 6D and residents of Southwest are apparently viewing this new amendment as the city going back on a promise to not build any parking lots in Southwest. Here is the ANC 6D resolution.
I've been at meetings over the past few months where city and team officials have said that there would be no ballpark parking offered in Buzzards Point this season because of the lack of sidewalks, streetlamps, and other improvements; the Office of Planning report for Case 07-08A says: "The Nationals have advised OP that, to date, no agreements with owners of individual lots have been reached so it is not likely that any of the temporary parking will be located on these sites prior to opening day in 2008[.]" I'm checking with the Nationals to see if this has changed. But certainly Buzzards Point would be still be viewed as a prime location for additional surface parking, if it's needed.
It's anticipated that the need for temporary surface lots will lessen as new buildings go up near the ballpark; in the next two years or so, underground garages that could potentially offer additional stadium parking will open at Monument Half Street, 100 M, 1015 Half, Onyx, 70/100 I, Velocity, and 909 New Jersey.
 

Metro: Proposals to Expand the N22 Bus Line and Vacate the Southeastern Bus Garage
The agenda is now out for Thursday's meeting of Metro's Finance, Administration and Oversight Committee, with votes on two items of interest to Near Southeast and to ballpark-goers:
* WMATA is proposing to expand the weeknight and weekend service of the N22 bus that currently shuttles between Union Station (and its Red Line Metro stop) and the Navy Yard station at New Jersey and M via Eastern Market (and its Orange/Blue Line stop) and the Washington Navy Yard. The buses would run every 10 minutes, and on nights and weekends the route would eliminate the loop to 12th and M streets, SE (see the map on page 2 of the current timetable), in order "to provide a shorter and faster route to the ballpark." The District of Columbia is apparently going to pay $432,000 to cover the cost of the additional service from March through August. If approved, the expanded service would begin in March. The agenda documentation doesn't say what times the expanded service would end on weeknights or operate on weekends. Read the agenda packet for more.
* The city is also apparently offering to cover the costs of relocating the buses out of the Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M (one block north of the ballpark), as part of a $1.39 million monetary shuffling that WMATA is proposing to undertake because the $69.25 million sale of the site to Akridge still has not been finalized. DC would cover the relocation costs until the sale is completed, and presumably by doing this the buses can get out of the garage by March 30. Read the agenda packet for more details. The city is extremely interested in getting the buses out of the way, not only because trying to operate that garage with hordes of pedestrians on their way to and from games would be a disaster waiting to happen, but also because the Nats might be able to squeeze a couple hundred more $35 Red Zone parking spaces out of the garage land and the two lots adjoining it across Van Street (one to the north and one to the south of the Public Storage building).
These are just preliminary votes; if approved on the 14th, they would then go in front of the full WMATA board for final approval on March 28.
 

Single-Game Nats Tickets To Go On Sale March 4
Word is out that single-game Nationals tickets will go on sale March 4 at 9 am. Barry has all the details.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Pay-to-Park Signs: No Specifics Yet
The new "Pay-to-Park" signs that have popped up around Near Southeast in the past few days (many without the accompanying multispace kiosks where one would actually *pay* to park) were brought up last night at a meeting last night with Tommy Wells and residents of Capitol Hill Tower. Rick Rybeck of DDOT seemed surprised that the signs were up already, and equally surprised to hear some residents reporting that they're getting ticketed for "expired meters" when parking by the signs, even though there's not as yet any meters to pay at. Neha Bhatt of Tommy's office said that the meter prices for parking still have not been determined, and that discussions are still ongoing as to whether high-cost meter parking will be allowed on I, K, L, First, and Half between New Jersey and South Capitol during ballgames.
But the main issue of the evening was that CHT residents are not as of now eligible for Residential Parking Permit stickers for their cars, which will leave them with no free on-street parking when the streets around their building are metered. (The plan is that everyone will have to pay to park on commercial streets, such as New Jersey, but on streets zoned residential, RPP-stickered cars will be able to park free but non-RPP cars will have to pay.) At first Tommy said that his impression was that trying to get RPP stickers for residents of a multi-unit building was not going to happen, but Rybeck said that it should be doable. By the end of the evening, it did appear that Rybeck and Bhatt had a bit more of an understanding as to the Catch-22 that CHT parkers could find themselves caught in if the Performance Parking plan is rolled in as currently envisioned. (The building does have an underground parking garage, but there is a long-simmering battle about garage parking between some residents and the building's owner that I'm way too chicken to try to characterize here, and so many residents park on the surrounding streets.)
 

Whole Lotta Photos From First and Half Streets
While hopefully you've already wandered through the pile of new stadium exterior photos I posted over the weekend, those aren't the only new pictures I grabbed during my camera time on Saturday and Sunday. Get your clicking finger going:
* The Velocity condo phase 1 building on L Street west of First is now one floor out of the ground, so that will now be added to my regular rotation of photo updates. For those who haven't been following along, this is a 200-unit condo building that will eventually be joined by a twin on the north side of the block (running along K Street). However, they decided to dig the entire parking garage and below-ground structures for both buildings at once, which is why only half the block is now rising above ground level. The other portion will be landscaped over until Phase 2 begins. (Phase 3, which will run along Half Street where the sales center is now located, could be either an office building or a hotel--I haven't heard of any decision being announced.)
* The Normandie-less corner at First and M has now been immortalized in digital imagery, and goodness gracious, has that spot changed. (Ditto for the other end of the block, at First and N.) This stretch is on its way to becoming temporary surface parking until Willco Construction moves forward with its reported office/residential/retail project on that site (no timeline).
* The road work on First Street continues, and on Saturday they put down the first asphalt between L and M (in front of Onyx and 100 M). Looking south and north you can see how much wider the street has now become. You can also see the windows starting to be hung at Onyx and at 100 M. Meanwhile, First north of L continues to be a war zone. They *say* it'll all be done (I Street, too) by Opening Day. First Street and Potomac Avenue appear to be pretty much done except for the striping.
* 55 M is almost topped out. As we heard a few days ago, they say the Metro entrance in 55 M's ground floor will be ready by Opening Day, too.
* How much has M Street changed in five years? Take a look. (This should be one of those list-the-differences-in-the-pictures contests.)
* Or you can just look at all the photos from Saturday and Sunday on one page (including the ballpark shots), though I cannot be held responsible for any sensory overload you may experience. Imagine how I feel, especially considering that what I've posted is probably only about a third of the photos I actually took....
 

'Pay to Park' Signs and Kiosk Meters Going Up
Late last week DDOT began installing "Pay to Park" signs and the green multispace kiosk meters on certain streets in Near Southeast--I've seen either the signs or the meters or both on K, L, M, N, First, and Potomac, but I didn't do a full-scale reconnaissance mission (I'm also seeing them around Garfield Park and I hear they're showing up on Barracks Row). These are indeed the beginnings of Tommy Wells's Performance Parking plan that is eventually going to regulate parking around the ballpark and in Southwest and on Capitol Hill. Right now I haven't heard any of the details like hours and prices, and whatnot, but hope to get some specifics soon. And yes, for a lot of you, this may mean your days of cheap on-street all-day parking could be coming to an end. More as I get it.
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Yards Park Design Approved by NCPC
Last Thursday the National Capital Planning Commission gave unanimous approval to the early designs of the Waterfront Park at The Yards, which was not a surprise given the nice things said about it in the Staff Recommendation. According to the NCPC web site (I wasn't at the meeting), the commission "commended the applicant, the General Services Administration; the developer, Forest City Washington; and the team's designers for the quality of the design, the range of activities the park will support, its visual and physical connections, and for creatively adapting the design to the site's ground elevation constraints." The design was also endorsed by the Commission on Fine Arts last month.
I've now received a pretty fabulous aerial-view rendering of the park, which I've added to my newly rejiggered page for the project (I've finally separated out the five phase I projects at the Yards onto their own pages), where you can also see a few additional renderings of the design, keeping in mind that these are still preliminary plans--and the NCPC staff recommendation document has even more drawings and detail. Forest City's plan is to complete the first phase of the park in summer 2009, with the retail buildings and the piers and marinas to follow.
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More posts: The Yards, Yards Park
 

South Capitol Draft EIS Now Scheduled for Friday
At the Anacostia Waterfront Community Fair a few weeks back, I picked up a card that indicated South Capitol Street Draft Environmental Impact Statement (which is centered around the construction of a new Douglass Bridge) would be released on Feb. 8. So, all last week, I kept checking in at southcapitoleis.com just to see if the site had been updated or if there were any "Coming Soon" announcements. Nada. Imagine my surprise, then, when on Saturday I received a brochure via snail mail (how wonderfully old school!) announcing the the EIS would be released on Feb. 15, with the two public meetings pushed to March 4 and 5, and the deadline for public comment moved to March 31. The web site still makes no mention of the impending release, though you can see the two build alternatives being evaluated. More about this when the draft is actually released.
 

Feb 10, 2008 2:30 PM
New Ballpark Exterior Photos, Pt. 2
As promised, I've now updated the rest of the Stadium Exterior Construction Gallery, where in addition to the usual spots you'll see some photos of the touches that are now being added to the ballpark, such as the directional signs, gates, the grand staircase, and even (if you have good eyes) the gold pendant lighting in the club lounge. There's also a shot or two of the outfield restaurant and the N Street Plaza, though the light still stinks for taking photos there. If you want more before-and-afters, there's also the First Street, Potomac Avenue, and N Street expanded galleries (as well as the South Capitol Street photos, which were updated yesterday), though be sure to look for the icon to make sure you're seeing the most recent images. (And don't forget to click on the Click to see all available photos of this location. icon to see every photo in the archive for angles you're interested in.)
Speaking of the ballpark, the Post says the first of the two job fairs for part-time and seasonal positions at the stadium drew 2,500 hopeful applicants. The second fair is on Feb. 21.
As for photo updates of the rest of the construction going on in the Hood, I'm going to string you along for another day or so. There's an awful lot of intersections to cover....
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Feb 9, 2008 6:34 PM
New Ballpark Exterior Photos, Pt. 1
Thanks to some unexpectedly good weather this afternoon, I ventured down South Capitol Street and took a slew of updated photos of the ballpark's western facades. (I even walked about halfway across the Douglass Bridge, which is always an adventure for a white-knuckler like myself.)
You can all today's new shots on my main Stadium Exterior Gallery (where you'll want to look for the icon, since the new photos are sprinkled throughout the page) as well as additional images in the Expanded Gallery. Come back Sunday evening when I'll have another batch of photos, from the eastern and southern sides of the ballpark.
Of course, these days I'm far from the only blogger trooping around down at the stadium--Screech's Best Friend has a pile of new photos, inside and out. (My own Interior Gallery will be updated soon, I promise.)
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Feb 8, 2008 2:28 PM
WTDW: DPW's 900 New Jersey Ave. Site
In our latest edition of What's the Deal With...., reader JD of JDLand.com asks: "WTDW with the old trash transfer site at 900 New Jersey Avenue, that place with the smokestack and all the Department of Public Works operations?"
At Wednesday's marathon capital budget hearing (no, I'm still not done watching it) the agency's director mentioned both the New Jersey Avenue site and the maintenance yard on O Street beneath the 11th Street Bridges as DPW locations that will eventually be moving to make way for development associated with the city's Anacostia Waterfront initiatives. I e-mailed DPW to get some clarification on his remarks, and have been told that the street sweepers that currently operate out of 900 New Jersey will be relocating in November to DPW's Bryant Street, NW, facility, but that other DPW functions are going to remain at New Jersey and K until the Office of Property Management can find them a new home.
This site is eventually supposed to be redeveloped as a mixed-income apartment building under the Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI plan, but no timeline has been announced. And William C. Smith's plans for a 1-million-square-foot project on the block just to DPW's north, which include reopening I Street between New Jersey and Canal, would seem to need DPW to move out before they can get started.
As I wrote about over the summer, neighbors have been wanting that building closed for a long, LONG time.
 

Feb 8, 2008 8:49 AM
Quick Links: Cap City Beer at the Ballpark, Pope, NPR
* Today's Washington Business Journal print edition (subscribers only) is reporting that the Nationals are finalizing a deal that would make Capitol City Brewing the "official local beer and the exclusive brew provider at the new stadium's beer garden." WBJ quotes Cap City's president as saying that the company is also negotiating for additional distribution points inside the stadium.
* From the Post, word that Benedict XVI will now be hauling out the Popemobile for two trips through the streets of Washington, adding public appearances that weren't originally part of the plan for his April 15-18 visit so that people who won't be able to get into the April 17 mass at the ballpark might still have a chance to see him. The routes haven't been finalized. Also, the Post says that information on tickets for the Mass is expected to be released this month.
* National Public Radio, which has been looking at locations in Near Southeast as well as NoMa and Silver Spring to consolidate its offices in 400,000 square feet of space, says it will make its decision by the end of May, according to the Montgomery Gazette, in an article that says Montgomery County has made a formal offer to lure NPR to Silver Spring. It's been rumored that NPR is the "preferred option" for DC officials to take over the city's lease at 225 Virginia Avenue (the old Post Plant).
 

Feb 8, 2008 7:50 AM
High School Baseball Title Games at Nationals Park
The Washington Times's Tim Lemke reports on his blog: "The D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission has arranged for the city's high school baseball title games to be played at the Nationals new ballpark on May 31. The day will feature three games, plus an all-star game." So, that now makes two non-Nationals events scheduled for the new stadium (along with some Pope guy on April 17).
 

Feb 7, 2008 6:43 PM
WMATA Still Planning to Leave Bus Garage Soon; Latest on Navy Yard Station
For those (like myself) who have been wondering: John Catoe, Metro's General Manager, said at Wednesday's mammoth City Council capital budget oversight hearing that the agency is planning to be out of the Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M by "the beginning of baseball season." He only briefly mentioned "legal issues" about the site's sale to Akridge that they "hope to have resolved" within a few weeks, and didn't say anything about what plans Akridge might have for the site.
Catoe also said (a couple of times) that the west entrance of the Navy Yard Metro station will be ready for Opening Day. If you've been sneaking peeks at it from the 55 M web cam (the station entrance is at bottom center), you've seen some concrete poured over the past couple of days for the floor and also the arrival of the escalators' steps.
(I've made it about half way through my recording of the six-hour-plus meeting, listening with one ear when I can spare a few moments. I still haven't gotten to the testimony from the Sports and Entertainment Commission and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, which might also yield a tidbit here or there.)
UPDATE: I'm not the only one reporting on the station's status today. Friday's Post has a piece with the latest: "[T]he station renovation is back on schedule, with all of the inside work to be finished by the end of this month. Work is also proceeding at street level, where the kiosk, ticket machines and turnstiles are to be installed. Fans will come up three escalators or one of the new elevators into the office building's lobby. One wall will be open, fenced with chain link, as construction continues." It also has some tidbits that people are always asking about, such as: "Metro plans 14 extra trains on game days." And there's this: "Metro is also considering flat-panel TVs at the station entrance, which would post train information and perhaps carry video telecasts of the games." (Hmmmm.) The article also mentions WMATA's Nationals page, which was announced a few weeks back.
 

Feb 7, 2008 10:26 AM
Normandie Now Demolished Building #151
With thanks to reader PK for the news flash (confirmed by the 55 M web cam), we can officially mark this morning's demise of the Normandie Liquors building at First and M by adding it to the Demolished Buildings pantheon. (The irony is not lost on this former lover of high-alcohol-content rum that a liquor store is Demolished Building #151.) I'll get photos of the Normandie-less corner this weekend.
In fact, so many buildings have been torn down in Near Southeast since 2003 that I've now had to break up the Demolished Buildings page by year, so that the dang thing doesn't take three weeks to load. This has also allowed me to separate out the buildings demolished in the Nationals Park footprint into their own mini-gallery, which will be handy in the coming weeks as no doubt many people will want to know what got leveled to make way for the stadium.
 

Feb 7, 2008 9:26 AM
Today's Ballpark Links
Your morning reading:
* Another worker has been fired at the ballpark for allegedly making "insensitive racial remarks," according to the Examiner and the Post (can't find this one online, though it was in the print edition). The Examiner says it's "the fifth dismissal of an employee at the stadium site over racially charged incidents in less than two weeks. D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission spokeswoman Chinyere Hubbard says a white carpenter made the remarks to two black electricians. She didn't specify what language prompted the action. The carpenter was employed by Mahogany Interiors, a minority subcontractor."
* Maryland congressman Steny Hoyer is concerned enough about the impact of the ballpark on the commutes of his constituents that he met with officials from the Nationals, DDOT, and Metro, and then sent out a press release about it: " 'With weekday evening games that begin at the tail end of peak commuter periods, it is critical that we explore all available options to streamline the flow of traffic and minimize congestion,' stated Rep. Hoyer. 'As opening day approaches, I intend to continue working with officials to mitigate the impact on motorists in our region.' "
* Hundreds are expected to compete this weekend to snag spots in the choir that will sing for Pope Benedict at the ballpark on April 17. About 550 people are signed up to fight for 250 slots.
 

Feb 6, 2008 9:15 AM
Last Call at the Normandie? Yup. (Updated)
Readers with bird's-eye views of the southwest corner of First and M are writing in to say that fences and equipment have been put in place around Normandie Liquors, with perhaps the final bell ready to toll. I'm on Super Tuesday duty in "real life" tonight, so anyone with a view (either in real life or via the 55 M web cam) should feel free post any updates on the little building's fate in the comments.
(The Normandie is on the Willco/Square 701 site, which in the near-term is expected to be a surface parking lot, followed eventually by an office/residential/retail mixed-use project that little is known about.)
UPDATED, 2/6: Demolition is indeed underway this morning, as seen from the web cam and by folks at 80 M and elsewhere.
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More posts: staddis, Square 701
 

Feb 6, 2008 7:53 AM
Wednesday's Ballpark-Related Links
An abbreviated list of Nationals Park links:
* On Tuesday the Post's Raw Fisher Radio talked about the ballpark and its related transportation issues with various big names, including Neil Albert and Andy Litsky. (I must admit I haven't had a chance to listen yet.) The podcast is available here for the rest of the week, and Marc blogged about the broadcast, too.
* Speaking of transportation, WTOP's Adam Tuss reports that DDOT is about to release the parking plans for the streets surrounding the ballpark. They say that the dry runs of the shuttle buses from RFK have taken about 15 minutes (about double the time the Nationals were quoting), and that "anyone who parks illegally will face consequences." The "Take Metro" mantra will be hitting the airwaves soon thanks to a Nationals' publicity campaign that's about to start.
* In the wake of the "noose incident" at the ballpark last month, City Council member Kwame Brown has introduced a bill that would make it a criminal offense to display a noose on any public or private property if the intent "is to deprive equal protection of the law, injure someone, to intimidate a person exercising a federal right or to cause fear of personal safety." Similar zero-tolerance laws already exist in the District for displaying a swastika or a burning cross with those intents.
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More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

Feb 6, 2008 7:41 AM
DC Budget Season Gets Underway
It's the start of budget season for the DC City Council, a process which Tommy Wells's blog explains better than I ever could. (Bleary-morning-after-Super-Tuesday-brain doesn't help.) I've added the hearings that will probably have the most impact on Near Southeast to my Upcoming Events Calendar; the entire lineup is available on the City Council web site.
Today at 11 am is the 07-08 budget performance oversight hearing for DPW, DMV, DDOT, WMATA, the Sports and Entertainment Commission, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, which means there's a good chance that the ballpark and related issues will come up at some point. The hearing will be broadcast live on Channel 13 and streaming video, and will be available on demand a few hours after the broadcast ends.
 

Feb 5, 2008 11:50 AM
Hall of Fame Branch at Nationals Park?
From Barry Svrluga's blog, rounding up some of the items from yesterday's media tour he didn't initially write about: "[Stan] Kasten didn't mention this, but the Nats have been discussing with the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum the possibility of haivng a permanent branch in Washington at Nationals Park. There is a two-story space down the left field line -- along South Capitol St. near the northernmost corner of the park -- that could house a museum. What Kasten did allow is that they're trying to figure out what to do with that space, if it could be a conference room or convention hall or museum or some sort of combination. In any case, it's unlikely it'll be done this year."
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