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25 M
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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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Wednesday Lunchtime Concert Series Launches
Starting Wednesday May 28, the Capitol Riverfront BID and US DOT developer JBG are launching a 10-week lunchtime concert series, to be held every Wednesday at noon on the Southwest Plaza behind DOT at New Jersey and Tingey. Quoting from the press release: "Capitol Riverfront Concerts is a ten week summer concert series with lively and diverse musical artists, performing everything from original pop to Latin Jazz, R&B, bluegrass, Caribbean and more. Bring your lunch or enjoy a special outdoor grill menu provided by the U.S. DOT cafeteria."
Folks desperate for outdoor recreation space in the neighborhood might note this line from the release: "The concerts are part of a growing number of programs that you will see in the Capitol Riverfront as several new parks begin to open next spring 2009." (There could indeed be three parks opening in some capacity next year, if previously announced [or hinted at] timelines hold: Canal Park, the waterfront park at The Yards, and Diamond Teague Park.)
Here's the flyer with the lineup of performers, and a map if you can't quite figure out where the plaza is. I've also added the schedule of performances to my own Near Southeast Upcoming Events Calendar.
 

This Week in Zoning: 250 M, Yards Park
There's two Near Southeast projects with hearings in front of the Zoning Commission this week:
* On Wednesday (5/28) the ZC will hear the request to extend the height of the office building planned for 250 M Street. I've written about this here, and you can read the Office of Planning's final report for much more detail on the request (and see the latest design). OP recommends approval of what is technically a modification to the Capper/Carrollsburg second-stage PUD (yes, this office building is part of the Capper redevelopment). After initially refusing to vote on the plan because of a lack of community benefits, ANC 6D voted 3-3 on it at its May meeting, which means there will be no support from the ANC. (I wasn't at this meeting, so I can't give you the specifics of what the developer offered to the ANC, or why the resolution didn't pass.) It's possible that 250 M will begin construction this year, but there's no confirmation of that.
* The next night (Thursday 5/29) the ZC will undertake a Southeast Federal Center Zoning Overlay District Review for the first-phase plans of the 5.5-acre waterfront park at The Yards. This design was approved by the National Capital Planning Commission back in February (with some suggestions for refining the pedestrian bridge that is one of the focal points of the design). The Office of Planning report for Thursday's hearing gives a lot of good detail on the plans for the park, as does my original entry from when the design was unveiled. OP supports the design for the park, while also hoping for refinements to the bridge and noting that there should be additional bike racks. You can all sorts of cool renderings of the plans on my Yards Park project page. The first phase of the park is expected to be finished by the end of 2009; subsequent phases, which will include piers and retail pavilions, will come later.
 

New Overhead Vantage Points: 70 and 100 I
Watching from ground level as new buildings pop up is all well and good--but when they are completed, it also means a new vantage point for overhead views of the neighborhood (as long as I can convince the owners to indulge a pesky camera-toting neighborhood blogger). So, thanks to the folks at JPI, I'm now able to add 70 I and 100 I to the Overhead Photo Gallery, joining existing perches on top of 1000 New Jersey, 20 M, and various spots at the ballpark. Even though it wasn't a brilliantly sunny day when I visited, I still got some good photos of the current state of Near Southeast (such as 100 I's southward view seen above, showing the renovated First Street, Onyx, 100 M, Velocity, Nationals Park, and 20 M). In these new 70 I and 100 I overhead galleries, you'll also see 909 New Jersey, the hole being dug for 1015 Half, and even some views east toward 225 Virginia and west toward Southwest. Enjoy. (And, if you want to see the photos I took *inside* 70 and 100 I this week, check out the project page.)
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More posts: 70/100 I, jpi
 

Last Scheduled Weekday Afternoon Game in 2008; Big Pile of Neglected Recent Items
* The Post has an article on how today's Nationals game against the Brewers is the second of only two weekday afternoon games at Nationals Park this season. " 'We love afternoon weekday games but had to hold off this year due to the uncertainty about daytime parking availability,' Nationals President Stan Kasten said. 'We'd certainly like to have more next season, but no decisions have been made about '09.' " The article also talks to hookey-playing grownups who miss these games. Given that it's a holiday, and the gorgeous weather, and Sunday's second-highest-of-the-season attendance (35,567), this final weekday game might see a pretty big pile of people.
And, catching up on a recent few links that I've been slow to post:
* Columnist George Solomon Saturday's Post has a brief preview of the upcoming Congressional Bank Baseball Classic, which will showcase the the first-ever, city-wide high school baseball championship game, at Nationals Park on May 31. Games begin at 9:30 a.m., with private schools St. Albans and Maret meeting, followed by the DCIAA's Wilson High facing McKinley. Tickets are $5, and kids get in free--read more here.
* Dr. Gridlock hears that using the Capitol South station on the Orange and Blue lines and then walking down New Jersey Avenue to go to games is a great idea. Yes, it certainly is, even if it isn't exactly a news flash. (But use the JDLand Recommended Route instead!)
In non-ballpark news:
* Metro Weekly looks at the planned reopening of Ziegfield's and Secrets on Half Street SW in Buzzards Point, a few blocks away from their original homes at Half and O SE (now shallow left field).
* The Naval Historical Center at the Navy Yard takes a bit of a beating in a piece from Saturday's Post, comparing it with the shiny new Marine Corps museum at Quantico.
* For those of you counting the moments until the armed encampment at First and M departs, here's a May 14 story from the Mount Vernon Gazette on the progressing construction at Ft. Belvoir of the new home for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. It's expected to be completed by August 2011, with NGA employees from Reston, Bethesda, and the windowless white box on the old Southeast Federal Center footprint starting to move in early in 2011. Eventually that First-and-M site will be redeveloped as office space as part of The Yards.
 

Onyx: New Web Site, and Leasing This Summer
Mere moments ago I saw for the first time new banners hung on the temporary plywood walkway that runs along M Street between First and New Jersey, announcing that Onyx Apartments at 1100 First Street is now leasing. (Perhaps the signs have been there for days, but if so, my vast network of eyes-on-the-ground missed a spot.) There's also a new URL, OnyxApts.com. The web site itself says "Leasing Summer 2008," and is nothing more than a slightly updated rendering and a sign-up form. But for folks who've been wondering if Onyx was going to be making any sort of progress toward opening, it is evidence of some forward motion. Between Onyx and 70 and 100 I, close to 1,000 rental units will be opening in Near Southeast over the next few months.
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More posts: Onyx, Square 743N
 

Florida Rock Gets Its Final Zoning Approval
With a unanimous 5-0 vote after a brief discussion, the Zoning Commission approved last night the plans for "RiverFront," the 5.8-acre mixed-use project on the Anacostia River south of Nationals Park, ending the decade-long trip through the zoning process for the site long known as Florida Rock.
Before the final vote, chairman Anthony Hood quoted from the recent ruling by the National Capital Planning Commission that the RiverFront project "would not adversely effect" any federal interests. Remarking that the passage "says it all," Hood read: "This project is expected to bring activity and amenities to the Anacostia waterfront and is respecting the planning for the South Capitol Street corridor and the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Furthermore, it is enhancing the connection of the Nationals Baseball Park and surrounding district to the Anacostia waterfront, goals supported by the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative[.]"
Now it's onto construction drawings and a trip through the city's permitting process. It's not expected that work will begin until sometime in 2009 on the first phase of the site, which includes an office building with ground-floor retail and a public plaza across Potomac Avenue from the ballpark's grand staircase. [see update below for caveat]
If you want to know more (dear heavens, I'm not going to go through all the details AGAIN), look at my project page for renderings and also scroll through five years' worth of news items on it all. UPDATE: The press release is out, and I'll note that it gives no indication of when the first phase could start. Given the Monument Realty news of financing troubles, Camden's pause at 1345 South Capitol, and the commercial real estate biz in general, it's probably best to now be pretty skeptical of start dates until permit approvals start popping up and shovels start digging into the ground.
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More posts: Florida Rock, zoning
 

Monument Realty's Financing Problems (No Money Yet for Half Street Residential)
From today's print edition of the Washington Business Journal: "With two failed condominium projects seeking apartment investors, incomplete financing at two major D.C. projects and at least one empty office building, Monument Realty is feeling the pinch from today's constricting real estate economy. [...] And, contrary to industry speculation, Monument is not for sale, [Monument co-founder Jeffrey] Neal said. In the coming weeks the company hopes to nail down financing for two ongoing projects -- the residential portion of its Half Street project and The Watergate Hotel -- and finalize negotiations to sell two residential projects, he said."
As for the status of Half Street, where the 55 M Street office building is topped out and a hole is dug awaiting the start of a planned 200-room hotel and 340 residential units: "Monument recently secured $72 million in construction financing for the office portion of Half Street, along with an undisclosed sum for the hotel piece. The development company is still in the hunt for financing for its planned 340 residential units, Neal said. Once that is in place, the residential and hotel portions 'will come out of the ground this summer,' he said."
The article, which has a lot of detail on the difficulties Monument is facing on its other projects, also mentions that the litigation between Monument and WMATA over the sale of the Southeastern Bus Garage "has been put on hold while the parties mediate their dispute."
 

First Look: 70-100 I Street Interiors (and Roof Decks!)
The folks at JPI were kind enough to take me on a walk-through today of their getting-close-to-opening Jefferson and Axiom apartment buildings (better known as 70 and 100 I Street). Jefferson, with its warehouse/industrial feel, is about a month away from opening its shared spaces and first few floors of apartments, with all 12 stories expected to be open to tenants by late fall; Axiom will see its first units open in July, and also is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Together, the two buildings total nearly 700 apartments, and will be the first rental units to open in Near Southeast.
My interior photos of Jefferson/70 I give you a glimpse of the huge "sports pub", the interior courtyard, the other shared spaces, and the roof deck and pool, with hints of the amazing views of the city from up on high. (Don't worry, I'll be adding lots of big images to my Overhead Photos Gallery soon.)
Since Axiom/100 I is not quite as far along in its construction, the interior photos don't hint as much at the final look-and-feel of the shared spaces; but I actually got more photos inside the units in 100 I. And it's on 100 I's roof deck that I got the above photo.
The temporary rental office in the trailer at Half and I is open for business. At Jefferson, rents start at about $1,600 for a studio, $1,855 for a 1-bedroom ($2,225 for a 1 br/den), $2,555 for a 2-bedroom, and a $3,320 for a 3-bedroom; Axiom's prices are a little higher. For both buildings, a single parking space is $200 per month, or $275 a month for a tandem space. And pets are allowed, but there are size and breed restrictions, and additional fees. There are also some special deals being offered on lease terms.
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More posts: 70/100 I, jpi
 

$100k/Day Question: Was the Ballpark Finished On Time?
The Post's Marc Fisher writes for Thursday's paper about the behind the scenes battle between the city and the Lerners about whether Nationals Park was completed on schedule, with the owners pointing to the $100,000-per-day damages owed to them according to the stadium lease agreement if construction was not finished on time. Quoting: "But nearly three weeks after the stadium played host to its first game, the Nationals were still demanding $100,000 a day because, among other items, the team offices at the new ballpark were not yet completely ready. The city conceded that the offices weren't done as soon as the ballpark itself, but sports commission chief executive Gregory O'Dell reminded the Nationals that the offices make up less than 3 percent of the stadium project. He called that delay a "minor inconvenience" and noted that the District allowed the team to stay at its old RFK Stadium offices rent-free."
In other ballpark-related news, reader D. reports that the valet parking that was launched a few weeks ago at the Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M has gotten cheaper, now down to $40 from $50.
UPDATE: Tim Lemke has more on the $100k/day issue, saying that it does appear to revolve around the admin building. He also has a bit about the upgrading of some of the stadium bonds from BBB+ to AA, which I'm sure is faaaabulous!
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Metro Board Talking About Monument Suit Again; Chiller Site May Get Developer in June
Just like last month, the agenda for the WMATA board of directors meetings this Thursday includes an executive session, and in that executive session is the agenda item "Legal Issues - Monument vs. WMATA." For those of you just joining us, this lawsuit is a result of the bidding process for the Southeastern Bus Garage at Half and M that awarded the site to Akridge for $69 million--Monument argued that they were supposed to have first dibs on the site after being named "master developer" by the city. A judge awarded a preliminary injunction on the sale in February, saying that Monument has "demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that they were substantially prejudiced when WMATA considered Akridge's nonresponsive bid and participated in improper ex parte discussions with Akridge." I never heard about anything coming out of last month's board executive session when this was supposed to be discussed; perhaps there will be some action needing to be taken this time outside of executive session to give us a hint.
There's nothing else of Near Southeast-interest in the other WMATA board meetings on Thursday, but the Subsequent Agenda for the Planning, Development and Real Estate Committee says that its June 26 meeting will include an action item for approving the term sheet on the Navy Yard Chiller Site at Half and L. A joint development solicitation for this 14,100-sq-ft site was released back in September of 2006. A "developer selection" was supposed to be on the board's agenda back in January, but then disappeared; we'll see if this June item actually holds. The 2006 solicitation described WMATA as "looking for innovative plans . . . that will yield quality developments for the local communities, increase transit ridership, enhance the local tax base and provide a stream of revenue to WMATA for capital needs." Proposals were also supposed to follow the principles of "transit-oriented development" -- "providing safe, walkable, mixed-use communities that emphasize transit connections and reduce auto dependency." While doing all that, the site's developer would still have to replace the chiller operations either on site or somewhere close to the Navy Yard station.
 

Charity Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction at the Ballpark; Zimmerman, Milledge, Hanrahan on the Block
If you've ever said, "I'd PAY to get a date with Ryan Zimmerman," this is for you. On Thursday (May 22) from 7 to 10 pm there's a charity date auction being held in the Stars & Stripes Club at Nationals Park, to help Nationals communications guru Chartese Burnett raise $170,000 in her quest to become the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Woman of the Year. Bachelors on the auction block in addition to Mr. Zimmerman are Nats Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan, former DC United player Shawn Kuykendall, and former Secret Service Special Agent Shawn Holtzclaw (if G-Men are your thing). The Bachelorettes will be Miss DC of USA Chelsea Rogers, Cherry Blossom Princess Jen Corey, Former Woman of The Year Candidate Colleen Sasser, and Becky Lee of Survivor: Cook Islands. You can also bid on spending an afternoon with Many Acta and Chartese.
Tickets to the auction are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. More information here.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Official Web Sites for 70/100 I (Jefferson/Axiom)
I haven't officially visited the rental office/trailer at Half and I yet, but I can still pass along that 70 and 100 I Street now have their own web sites: 70 I is officially the Jefferson at Capitol Yards, and its sibling 100 I is known as Axiom at Capitol Yards. The sites (which could perhaps use a bit more horsepower or a bit less Flash) have floor plans (just for the Jefferson, Axiom coming soon), amenities lists, and photo galleries.
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More posts: 70/100 I, jpi
 

New Sunny Day Photos!
Now this is what Spring is supposed to be like. I didn't have much time, but I wandered around to get mainly new photos of 909 New Jersey, which is sprouting like a weed. Here's the entire batch of today's photos, centered mainly on the area bounded by Half, New Jersey, I, and K (with a few from Second Street thrown in). You can also look at the Half and I, Half and K, First and I, First and K, New Jersey and I, and New Jersey and K intersection archives to see the before-and-after comparisons. (You'll also see the new rental office trailer for 70/100 I on the southwest corner of Half and I.) Watch for the icon, though the photos I took on gloomy May 1 are marked as "new" still, too. And, as always, the See All Photos of This Angle icon will show you all photos in the archive of a certain intersection (like the northwest corner of New Jersey and K, which you can watch get demolished, then see 70/100 I rise up in the distance, and now watch 909 New Jersey climb up.)
 

Baseball Ticket Tiff Between Mayor and Council Resolved
From both the Post and Bruce Johnson of Channel 9 (using my pictures again), news that the standoff about tickets to the two luxury boxes at Nationals Park for baseball games has been resolved. Attorney General Peter Nickles personally delivered the 19 tickets per game for Suite 61 to council chair Vincent Gray this morning. Says the Post: "The suite has 19 seats. With 13 council members, the chairman will create a "fair rotation," said Dawn Slonneger, Gray's chief of staff. The chairman would like to have nine more seats in the lower section so that the council has 28 tickets, the number it had to RFK stadium where the Washington Nationals played before the new stadium opened this spring, she said. Under the old system, Gray received four tickets to each game while the other 12 members got two each."
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More posts: politics, Nationals Park
 

May 15, 2008 7:32 PM
Breaking News: 70/100 I Apartments Having a 'Preview Grand Opening' This Weekend
Word has just arrived that there's a "Preview Grand Opening" this weekend for JPI's first two "Capitol Yards" apartment buildings, the brick siblings at 70 and 100 I Street (officially known as Jefferson and Axiom at Capitol Yards). There's apparently now a leasing trailer on I between Half and South Capitol (next to Wendy's perhaps? I haven't been by in a few days), and tours of the new buildings will start there, with the preview running from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday and Sunday (the 17th and 18th). The two buildings will have almost 700 rental units available, and should have some pretty amazing views of the neighborhood and the Capitol dome (and the freeway!). (The building permits for rooftop pools on both buildings just came through within the past few days.) The official web site is at capitolyardsdc.com; you can see the history of the project (which broke ground in fall 2006) on my 70/100 I project page. These are the first residential units to open in Near Southeast since Capitol Hill Tower was completed in spring 2006, and they are the first rentals. It's expected that Onyx on First (now apartments, at least last I heard) will be opening later this year as well, adding another 266 rental units to the neighborhood.
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More posts: 70/100 I, jpi
 

May 15, 2008 10:30 AM
Post Column; Smattering of Recent Ballpark Links
* My Ballpark and Beyond column in today's District Extra of the Post includes a series of items I've posted here over the past few weeks, including the signing of sales contracts at Capitol Quarter, the return of the DOT Farmers Market, work starting/not starting on the Pattern Shop Lofts at the Yards and 1345 South Capitol, and the plans Monument Realty has for 50 M Street. (The column's just going to run every other week from now on, which will be festive given that the amount of news out of the neighborhood has dropped by about 70 percent since the ballpark opened; so my desperation for content will be even greater than before).
* Tim Lemke reports that the D.C. Building Industry Association is presenting today "a 2008 Building Achievement Award to the ballpark project team, in recognition of the accomplishment of building the stadium in under two years while facing significant budget pressure."
* A native of Chicagoland has good things to say about the ballpark, especially its "green" aspects.
* It took a while, but here's some press coverage of the May 6 high school baseball game at the ballpark between B-CC and Whitman.
* Keith Olbermann's video tours broadcast during the past two weeks of the under-construction Yankees and Mets ballparks have made me wistful.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

May 14, 2008 11:49 PM
What Parking Crisis? Sayeth City Paper
City Paper's latest issue brings us "What Parking Crisis?", detailing how hard the city and the Nationals worked to plan for the expected parking catastrophe when the ballpark opened, and then surveys the nearly empty the parking lots during the recent homestand, along with the decline in use of the Nats Express and the lack of much problem with on-street parking by fans in Southwest and on Capitol Hill. (It also mentions the $550,000 a year the DC Housing Authority is getting from the Nats to lease the T, U, and W lots in the old Capper footprint, whether all the spaces are used or not.) Gregory McCarthy of the Nats is quoted as saying that it's still early in the season: "Summer is not here. The inventory of lots was based on the experience we think will unfold. The parking situation is still evolving." It also mentions last week's community meeting on the on-street parking restrictions, which I summarized here.
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More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

May 14, 2008 2:42 PM
OT: Solicitation for Hill East Master Developer
This tidbit is outside of my boundaries, but news is slow these days, so I'll pass along news that the city has just released its solicitation looking for a master developer for 50-plus acres in Hill East, the area along the Anacostia River near RFK and Barney Circle. Responses are due by August 1. It's expected that the redevelopment would take a decade. You can find out lots more about the solicitation and the area itself at hilleastwaterfrontdc.com. There's also a press release, but it's not online yet. Here's the Post's DC Wire blog about the plans.
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May 14, 2008 10:13 AM
Retail Space Survey, in Graphic Form
Handy timing: not long after my long and wordy survey of retail space that will be coming online in Near Southeast over the next few years, the Capitol Riverfront BID has released a Retail Opportunities map, showing basically the same data in a purty graphic format, for those of you who prefer colors to prose....
 

May 13, 2008 5:33 PM
Nighttime Douglass Bridge Closure This Weekend
From DDOT: "The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will be conducting operational testing of the swing span of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, a.k.a. South Capitol Street Bridge this weekend beginning on Friday, May 16th at 10pm. To conduct a full operational test of the swing span, and ensure the safety of motorists and workers, the bridge must be closed during the testing activity. The initial closure is scheduled for Friday evening, May 16th from 10pm - 5am, weather permitting. If all results return positive no further closures will be necessary. The rain date is scheduled for Saturday from 10pm - 5am. Motorists will be detoured to the 11th Street bridges. Variable Message Signs will be posted along the north and south bound routes leading to the bridge to alert drivers to alternate routes."
 
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