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Nats, City Tentatively Agree on Unpaid Rent
From WTOP: "A tentative agreement has been reached between the District and the Washington Nationals over millions of dollars in unpaid rent for the new ballpark. D.C. Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles informed D.C. council members he has received an email from the Nationals indicating the team is ready to sign an agreement. He did not talk about the specifics. There has been ongoing dispute between the Lerner family and the Nationals over more than $3 million. The Lerners say Nationals Park was not 'substantially complete' by Opening Day of the 2008 baseball season. D.C. officials disagreed."
Here's the Post's DC Wire blog entry, which has some detail: "Acting D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said tonight that he is on the verge an agreement with the Washington Nationals in which the team would pay $3.5 million in rent for the ballpark that it has refused to pay since the spring. In exchange, the District would seek extended warranties to cover repairs on the ballpark, Nickles said. Nickles said the agreement could be finalized tonight." More to come, I imagine.
UPDATE, 10/18: WTOP says the agreement was indeed signed last night: "Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles says the Nationals will pay the District $3.5 million on Monday. In exchange the city will return letters of credit to the Lerners, who own the team, extend the park's liquor license, and resolve 3-to-4-thousand unfinished items in the stadium. The city will also try to get warranty extensions from builders on things like elevators. Both the Nationals and the District say this solves all their issues and the team will pay full rent going forward." And, for posterity's sake, here's the Post piece on the agreement.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Capitol Quarter Foundations, Frames Coming Down
I Twittered this about a half-hour ago, but I thought I'd let the Web 1.0 folks know that demolition is underway on the south side of L Street between Fourth and Fifth, taking down the framing and foundation of the Capitol Quarter townhouses that are going to have to be redone. (Why? Read this.)

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More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

Roundup: ANC 6D Agenda, 11th Street Bridges Short List, Metro Ballpark Crowds
* The ANC 6D agenda for its meeting on Monday Oct. 20 has been sent around (though not yet posted online). There will be a discussion of the Ballpark Traffic Operations and Parking Plan as it relates to Southwest, plus public space requests for building signage at 909 New Jersey and "Brick Walls for Trash Enclosures" at Capitol Quarter. (These are also on the Oct. 23 agenda of the city's Public Space Commitee.)
* The short list for a design/build team to reconstruct the 11th Street Bridges is out--Shirley Design-Build LLC, Skansa/Facchina, Archer Western Contractors LLC, Perini/Parsons Joint Venture, and KCA Constructors Joint Venture. According to the procurement schedule, a draft RFP should already be out (haven't found it online), and final RFP should be issued by the end of the year, with a contract signed with the vendor by June 1, 2009.
* Metro announced yesterday that 53 percent of baseball game attendees this year arrived at Nationals Park via Metrorail. That's 1.8 million bodies, averaging 23,000 people entering and exiting the Navy Yard station at the 80 home games in 2008. (It apparently doesn't count people who took the bus or walked down from Capitol South.) In the last two years at RFK, only 38 percent of attendees took the subway. Marc Fisher has some thoughts on it all (including some questions on Metro's math).
 

Anacostia Waterfront Community Fair on Nov. 15
Back in January the city held the first Anacostia Waterfront Community Fair, with representatives from not only developers but city agencies manning booths with all sorts of information about all the projects planned along the Anacostia River corridor. It seemed to have been well received at the time, and clearly it was judged a success because they've now scheduled a second go-round, on Saturday Nov. 15 from 1 pm to 5 pm, this time at Nationals Park. Here's the "save the date flyer"--the e-mail alert I received about the event says that, in addition to info on projects and refreshments, there will be "waterfront tours."
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Demolished Buildings Gallery, Now in Poster Form
(Warning: this is another one of those goofy things I've done for myself that I'm just throwing open to the masses in case anyone's interested.) On a lark a few weeks ago, I created a poster-sized photo gallery of more than 100 of the buildings demolished in Near Southeast since I started taking pictures, which I've pompously titled "Before the Ballpark." It comes in two sizes: 16x24 or 20x30, and having just received the prints myself, I have to say that the reproduction quality is pretty darn good--certainly suitable for framing and hanging in the house, apartment, condo, workspace, restaurant, or sales office of your choice. Ordering is done through Qoop.com, and though I do get a small royalty, I don't have anything to do with the taking or fulfilling of orders. (Thank goodness.)
There might be other items to come, after I get my life back in mid-November.
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Foundation Troubles at Capitol Quarter
You may have noticed that work seemed to stop a few weeks ago on the new townhouses at Capitol Quarter. Here is the official statement given to me by EYA:
"Several weeks ago we noticed several locations with cracking in the foundations at Capitol Quarter. We immediately put construction on hold, and contacted several geotechnical engineering firms to analyze the situation. While several repair solutions were suggested, we felt the wisest decision to ensure the integrity of the homes was to change foundation designs, and start over with a new enhanced design. Even though this meant removing the framing on several started homes, we feel this solution provides the future residents the confidence of owning structurally sound homes."
Homeowners in these first blocks along L are being told to expect their move-in dates to slide 30 to 60 days as a result of the need to demolish the existing foundations and frames and start construction over again.
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More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

FiOS Agreement, 225 Virginia Choice This Week?, and Recognizing a Nice Shout-Out
A few items to quickly get posted before I disappear back down the rabbit hole:
* As has already been mentioned in some places, the bill to approve a FiOS franchise agreement with Verizon has been introduced to the city council (the agreement itself was announced in early August). The city's press release says that "Verizon plans to begin designing and upgrading its network in the District to all fiber optics and could begin offering its fiber-optic-based FiOS TV service in the District within about a year"--the question is whether the neighborhood that a few months ago saw a sign proclaiming "1st Neighborhood in DC to Offer Verizon FiOS" will indeed be one of the first areas to get it. (The 70/100 I apartment buildings have said that they are pre-wired for FiOS.)
* Proposals to take over the city's lease at 225 Virginia (the old Post Plant) are due by no later than noon on Wednesday. The OPM page on the offering indicates that the winner will be notified by Oct. 27--it seems like a pretty swift decision timeline, but I'll note that Oct. 27 also happens to be the day of the Zoning Commission hearing on the proposed shift of the 225 lot to the Capitol South (or is it Capitol Gateway) Receiving Zone.
* I obliquely Tweeted this last week, but was remiss in not officially giving props to DC Metrocentric for the kind words in this Washingtonian Blogger Beat profile. (I'll leave it to you folks to react to his comments on the neighborhood itself.)
 

What's Happening in the Half Street Hole?
One of the many folks on the ground keeping an eye on the neighborhood while I slack off these days has reported that concrete is being poured in the bottom of the hole on the south end of Monument's Half Street project. You can see it on the 55 M web cam if you zoom in; judging from the web cam archive, it looks like the first bits of action began in September, with real work getting underway a week ago. This south end of the block is where Monument has been planning a hotel and 340 residential units, which were originally slated to be finished by the end of 2009 or early 2010.
In mid-September, when a construction trailer was delivered to the south end of the site and a "Bovis" sign went up, I contacted Monument to ask if this meant that work was getting underway; I was told the while they are "hoping" to begin the hotel/residential project by the end of the year, the movement seen at Half and N was for work related to the office building and other improvements (not defined) on Half Street. We'll see if there's some sort of announcement or communique as to what's happening.
In other Monument Half Street news, their public space permit request for various fixtures (" 23-benches, 9 trash containers, 32 lights, 146 fountains, 8 bollards, 18 bike racks") at 1200 Half is now going to be heard at the Oct. 23 Public Space Committee meeting, after having been postponed from September. I can't wait to find out what the heck this "146 fountains" part of the agenda item actually means!
 

Reminder: Navy Day Events, Saturday Oct. 11
( Reposting this as a reminder) From our friends at the Navy Yard, an invitation to all neighbors (and everyone else) to attend Navy Day in DC festivities, on Oct. 11 from 10 am to 5 pm, both at the Navy Yard and also the Navy Memorial at 7th and Pennsylvania, NW. Events and offerings at the Navy Yard include the Navy Birthday Celebration 9th Annual NJROTC Color Guard Drill Meet, a performance by the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard Drill Team, the Display Ship Barry, the Navy Museum (with activities for children), a performance by the U.S. Naval Academy Band, and displays from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (though I'm guessing Mark Harmon won't be there), Naval Sea Systems Command, and the Navy Yard Fire Department, and more.
There will be continuous free bus shuttle service between the U.S. Navy Memorial and the Washington Navy Yard via the Eastern Market and Navy Yard Metro stations between 10 AM and 5:00 p.m. Photo ID is required to enter the Navy Yard. If you're walking over, pedestrians should enter at the gate at Sixth and M, SE; vehicles should arrive at the 11th and N gate.
More information about Navy Day in DC is available on the NavyMemorial.org web site.
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Dialing Back the Obsessiveness for a Few Weeks
A heads up: Those of you not living under a rock know that we're closing in on Election Day, which at my place of employment is the equivalent of the Super Bowl, the seventh game of the World Series, the moon landing, and the Oscars all rolled up into one. My time is going to be pretty short, so I may be a bit slow with updates and posts over the next few weeks. But maybe you won't even notice! Plus, I'm guessing I might be able to at least steal a few seconds every so often to Tweet something useful (or not useful).
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801 Virginia's Switch from Condo to Office
At Monday night's ANC 6B Planning and Zoning Committee meeting, there was a presentation about the new plans for the southeast corner of Eighth Street and Virginia Avenue, where a few years ago a small group of investors planned a four-story condo building dubbed "The Admiral." As I mentioned a few days back, the owners are now wanting to switch to an office building that would still have ground floor retail, and are going in front of the Board of Zoning Adjustment on Nov. 25 for some items that need to be addressed as part of this change.
According to the presentation, the new office building would use the same design as the condo building, with a few tweaks (they appear to be wanting to get rid of the turret in the original design). But because of the switch to office space, the number of parking spaces required goes up to 30, far more than the 13 in the condo design. According to the architects, groundwater and possible soil contamination issues (since a gas station used to be located there) would make digging two extra levels of parking prohibitively expensive, and so they are seeking relief from the 30-space requirement. (And, for those wondering, the garage entrance would be on L Street, not Eighth or Virginia).
Commissioner David Garrison asked about the ownership of the lot (which has been on the market for nearly a year) and about the property's tax status, given that it was listed on the city's tax sale rolls last month. He was told that the lot has not been sold but that investment partnerships are being shuffled and sold, which should be completed soon, and that the delinquent taxes are to have been taken care of; Garrison asked for some sort of documentation on both before the ANC votes (presumably on Oct. 14) on whether or not to support the zoning exception requests.
 

Interior Photos from Onyx and Axiom/100 I
Although the leasing office has been open for a few weeks now, I only just visited Onyx on First this past weekend. They're still putting on the finishing touches (their certificate of occupancy came through not too long ago), so I was only able to see the main floor and one of the model units, but at least now I do finally have photos from the inside of the building (scroll down if the link doesn't jump you down the page). I also got a couple shots from the roof, but things aren't quite completed up there, so I didn't get a photo of the pool. And since they're now open, I've moved Onyx to "completed" status.
The Axiom apartment building at 100 I has been open for a little while, but I hadn't gotten myself in there since a pre-occupancy construction-dust tour back in June. That has now been rectified, and I've posted photos of the common areas and one of the model units. (Didn't get back to the roof, though.) You can also see my interior photos from sibling Jefferson/70 I, to see the warehouse vs. modern differences in the designs.
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More posts: 70/100 I, jpi, Onyx, Square 743N
 

Mayor Receives $800k From Florida Rock for Diamond Teague; Latest on RiverFront Timetable
A press release from the mayor's office (not yet online) tells us that this afternoon Mayor Fenty accepted $800,000 from the developers of Florida Rock/RiverFront for the construction of Diamond Teague Park next door. This contribution was part of the second-stage Planned Unit Development approval given by the Zoning Commission a few months back for the 1.1-million-square-foot mixed-use project.
Here's what the press release says about the park (emphases mine): "The District will use the $800,000 contribution from Florida Rock to help pay for Diamond Teague Park, which is dedicated to the memory of Diamond Teague, a member of the Earth Conservation Corps (ECC) who was murdered five years ago. The Park will include a water taxi; new boat slips for the ECC and fire and life safety vessels; an environmental pier for educational groups, kayaks and canoes; and a riverfront boardwalk and a half-acre park. Construction of the park is expected to start in November and will be completed this spring."
The event was also touted as an "unveiling" of the plans for the Florida Rock site, which I'm assuming (since I wasn't able to be at this event today) haven't changed too much since they were approved by the Zoning Commission in May. The press release has the raw numbers, which don't look too different: "Florida Rock's 'Riverfront on the Anacostia' will include about 560,000 square feet of residential and hotel space - with 29,000 square feet is reserved for affordable housing. It will also include about 545,000 square feet of commercial office space, at least 80,000 square feet of retail and a large waterfront plaza with a waterfront promenade."
But there is one line in the release that's going to chagrin those who have been looking forward to this project: "Construction could begin as soon as 2011." During the time leading up to the final zoning approvals, RiverFront's developers had said that it was possible that the first phase of the project--the eastern office building and the public plaza, adjacent to Teague Park--could see construction begin in fall 2009.
 

Exxon Fences, Diamond Teague Event, Debates, and Register to Vote, Dangit!
* I've had a couple people write in to note that construction fences have been put up in the past few days around both the closed Exxons at South Capitol and I and 11th and M. I haven't heard anything about what might be happening at these sites--as of mid-September, neither lot had been sold, and with the public space and building permits data feeds still offline, there's no hint available from that end of things. (The underground storage tanks were removed from both locations right when they closed.) If anyone's heard anything, drop me a line.
* The mayor's schedule today has a "Diamond Teague Press Conference" scheduled for 3:15 pm at First and Potomac, on the grand staircase at Nationals Park. Alas, I can't be there, but perhaps it's some sort of status update on the construction of the park, which is supposed to get underway this fall.
* A little off-topic, but on Tuesday night (Oct. 7) there is a debate between the city's seven candidates for the two at-large council seats, at Tyler Elementary at 10th and G streets, SE. Then, after the forum, there's a Second Presidential Debate Watch Party being held at Finn Maccool's on Eighth Street.
* And, today (Oct. 6) is the last day to register to vote in DC for the general election. The DC Board of Elections office will be open until midnight. No excuses!
 

Some Late-Afternoon Pics (With Others to Come)
I took a few quick pictures on First Street and Fourth Street on Saturday, to capture 909 New Jersey and Capitol Quarter in the late-afternoon sun--you can see all of them with their befores here.
I also finally got to some other shots to fill in two glaring holes in my portfolio, but it might be a couple of days until I get those posted. Until then, you'll just have to guess.
 

801 Virginia Office Bldg Plans Coming to ANC 6B
I wrote a few days back about the appearance of a zoning variance request for a new office building at 801 Virginia Avenue, site of the once-planned Admiral condo project that fell by the wayside last year. The Board of Zoning Adjustment will be taking it up on Nov. 25, and I now see this request on the ANC 6B docket, first at its Planning and Zoning Committee meeting on Oct. 7, and then in front of the full ANC on Oct. 14. Both meetings are at 7 pm at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave., SE. (As always, all these dates are on my nifty Near Southeast Events Calendar, brought to you by Google Calendar with all sorts of bells and whistles to either subscribe to an RSS feed of calendar updates or add the events to your own Google Calendar or other iCal-enabled offering.)
 

Oct 3, 2008 2:22 PM
JPI East Lays Off Staff; Says I Street Projects Okay
From today's print edition of the Washington Business Journal (subscribers only): "In response to the burgeoning credit crisis, local multifamily developer JPI East has reduced its development and production capacity, laying off half its development divisions. The company would not say how many people were involved, but insiders say it was fewer than 10."
As for JPI's projects in Near Southeast, including the almost-completed 70 and 100 I, the under-construction 909 New Jersey, and the in-development 23 I? "The company still has 10 deals under construction in the region, including three luxury apartment projects in the Capitol Riverfront district near Nationals Park. All three have the debt and equity to go forward, [JPI East's president] says." It might be worth noting, however, that the previously announced September 2008 start date for 23 I has come and gone; and the Wendy's building is still standing, and I haven't so far seen any raze permits coming through the pipeline for it.
 

Oct 3, 2008 10:10 AM
Deadline for Post Plant Replies Pushed to Oct. 15; Hints on Trash Transfer Station Status
A recent wander past the Office of Property Management page on 225 Virginia (aka the old Post Plant) brings the news that the deadline for proposals from entities interested in taking over the city's $500,000-a-month sublease has been pushed back to Oct. 15. The page has also been updated with a few other items of note:
* One of the results of the case that's coming before the Zoning Commission on Oct. 27 that seeks to add the plant's block to the Capitol South Receiving Zone would be to allow the property to receive transferred development rights, which allows for increased density (i.e., add some floors on top), though the page notes that "[a]dditional height is expected to be subject to some design review by the Office of Planning."
* The building is not a historic building, and the city will not be seeking any historic landmark designation for it.
There's also this: "The trash transfer station located at 900 New Jersey Avenue, SE is expected to be relocated by September, 2009." I get asked a lot about What The Deal Is with the trash transfer station, so here's a bit of a roundup:
The city is working on moving the current DPW operations out of the building to other locations around the area, with that September 2009 mentioned above now being the official timetable (though perhaps some of the functions will be gone sooner than that). In the meantime, the city is still waiting for the little plot of land on the edge of the transfer station known as Reservation 17A to be transferred to District control from the Feds. (That land will then be transferred from the city to William C. Smith to round out the land that will be home to their 1.1-million-sq-ft 800 New Jersey Avenue project.) This transfer has been hung up for almost two years (it's part of the same transfer that would give Federal land at Poplar Point and in Hill East to the city), but there may be some movement soon.
The next step once DPW has left and the land transfer is settled would be for the city to start the infrastructure work, environmental cleanup, and demolition around the trash transfer site (including the new section of I Street to be built between New Jersey and Second), which will be paid for via another PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) plan that requires financing via the bond and credit markets--you know, those same bond and credit markets that are wheezing just a wee bit right now.
[All together now:] We shall see....
 

Oct 2, 2008 2:07 PM
Free Lunchtime Shuttles to Barracks Row
This is from the latest BID e-mail, and I just saw them in action on Eighth Street myself: "e-cruzers.com announces their new Promotional Lunch Shuttle Service, serving the Capitol Riverfront M Street Corridor from Maritime Plaza to the Navy Yard Metro Station. FREE RIDES to and from Barracks Row from 11 am - 2:30 pm will be given on all fair weather days. Visit BarracksRow.org for all of the dining and shopping! For cooler days ahead, shuttles will be enclosed and heated. Queue up at 3rd & M Streets or give e-cruzers a call at (443) 497-4769. " According to their web site, the vehicles (which were a staple around the neighborhood during the baseball season) "have a top speed of 25 mph, produce 'zero' emissions and run almost silent." The carts "are licensed, registered and insured [and] are street legal on all roads where the speed limit is 35 mph or less."
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Oct 2, 2008 8:40 AM
More Upcoming Events: Wachovia Branch Grand Opening, 'Night at the Yards' Benefit
Two upcoming events, mentioned in the Capitol Riverfront BID's e-mail-only newsletter:
* On Friday (Oct. 3), the new Wachovia Branch at 20 M Street is having its official Grand Opening celebration, from noon to 4 pm. Stop by "for some food, music, and prizes!"
* On Oct. 24, the nonprofit group Living Classrooms is holding an event dubbed "A Night at The Yards," to raise money for their operations, including the Discovery Creek Children's Museum, and the City Kids Wildreness Project. It's at at Fourth and Tingey streets, from 7 pm to 12:30 am. Tickets are $125 each. There will be food and drinks, and a performance by the English Beat. (No, seriously.) Living Classrooms, a non-profit group that "uses maritime settings, community revitalization projects and other challenging learning environments" to provide hands-on education and job skills training for students (especially at-risk youth), has plans to eventually build its new "main campus building" on the far eastern edge of the Waterfront Park at the Yards
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