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99 M ('18)
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1221 Van ('18)
District Winery ('17)
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ORE 82 ('16)
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Southeast Blvd. ('15)
11th St. Bridges ('15)
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Lumber Shed ('13)
Boilermaker Shops ('13)
Camden South Cap. ('13)
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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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Reminder: Youth River Sports Day on Saturday
A reminder: tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 8), the 3rd Annual Youth River Sports Day will be held at the Anacostia Community Boathouse, from 10 am to 2 pm. Rowing and paddling instruction, guided river tours, and more will be offered; my photos from last year's event give a taste of the activities.
 

Piers at Diamond Teague Open (Basically)
It was commenter Charlie in the last thread who really broke this news on Tuesday, but now here's official word, via the BID's newsletter. Since I'm still technically on hiatus, I'm just going to copy and paste: "The grand opening of the Diamond [Teague] Park piers behind Nationals Ballpark was marked by the Sequoia docking at the 250 ft. commercial pier on Tuesday, August 4th. Water taxis will dock at the commercial pier, providing a gateway to the Front and a unique entrance to Nationals Ballpark. Gangplank Marina is managing the 250 ft. commercial pier that will be serviced by a number of operators. Gangplank Marina is launching a website in the next few days listing the suggested ferry/charter boat operators with contact information for booking river cruises. There are plans for hourly service for games and special events next year. A second environmental pier for kayaks and canoes will open in the next few weeks." That's all I know at this point....
 

Summer Vacation (But With Canal Park Renderings)
I'm going to take it *very* easy for the next couple of weeks, so updates will probably be minimal unless some big news breaks. But, so as to not leave everyone completely without something fresh, here are some renderings of the new Canal Park, on the web site of STUDIOs Architecture (with thanks to commenter "NotAlwaysReliable," who is King of Every Conceivable Canal Park Detail); you'll need to either do a search for Canal Park, or click on "Projects/On the Boards," since Flash web sites (grrrrrr) don't allow for direct links. I don't know anything about these renderings, so questions should probably go to the folks at the Canal Park Development Association.
So, I guess until I get back you can use this as an open thread. What's on everyone's mind these days? (But try to avoid asking me piles of questions, because I'm hoping that "vacation" can also mean "Vacation from Answering Stuff For a Few Days." )
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More posts: Canal Park
 

11th Street Bridges Open House (+ Boathouse News)
On Wednesday, August 19, there's going to be an 11th Street Bridges Open House, billed as an update for Ward 8 residents about the status of the bridge replacement project. (But I'm guessing people from other wards can come, too.) It's from 7 pm to 8:30 pm, at the Union Temple Baptist Church at 1225 W St., SE.
(This is on the heels of a Tweet from Tommy Wells just a few minutes ago that says "Succesfully moved an amendment to protect Anancostia Community Boathouse Assoc. Re: 11th st bridge const." I don't know anything more right now than what that says, but if you're a boathouse patron, keep an eye out for additional details. There have been concerns and issues between the boathouse association and DDOT about where to relocate ACBA during the estimated five-year construction project, and also getting commitments that the boathouse has a location to return to when the new bridges are completed.)
 

Outdoor Movie Thursday: Dirty Dancing
The BID's Best of the 80s outdoor movie series is winding down, and while I haven't been posting about them every week (I don't like to be a nag), I didn't want to seem as though I've been completely ignoring them, so I'll remind everyone that tomorrow (July 30) they're showing the epic tale of love, lust, and summer camp longing, Dirty Dancing, which stars one of my all-time favorite actors, Jerry Orbach. (Plus some other people, too.) They're encouraging you to wear your snazziest legwarmers (though that's more of a Flashdance reference), and there will be "free 80s candy giveaways," though I can't think right now of what candy was specific to that era. The movie will start 8:45ish at Tingey Plaza (on New Jersey Avenue behind USDOT), and On the Fly will be there with its vending carts.
Next week was supposed to be the final movie of the summer (Big), but rainouts caused the rescheduling of Back to the Future to Aug. 13 and Ghostbusters to Aug. 20.
 

55 M Street Awarded LEED Gold Status
Monument Realty just passed along word that 55 M Street, the 275,000-sq-ft office building at Half and M that was home to Artomatic 2009, has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the US Green Building Council. A quote from Monument's head, Michael Darby: "This is a great accomplishment for us. We expected to earn LEED Silver certification at 55 M, so to be awarded Gold is a true testament to the hard work that all the team members put into this project."
 

Jul 29, 2009 4:03 PM
The Stakes and Spray Paint at Canal Park
A number of readers have written in over the past few days asking about some new stakes in the ground and spray paint that appeared on the Canal Park site recently, asking if this meant that construction was coming soon. I checked in with the park's overlord, Chris Vanarsdale, and this is his explanation: "The stakes and paint on the lots reflect major design features as reflected in the current schematic design documents. Staking out the site was a design exercise in order to get a better sense of proportion and relationship of the features on the site before we make any final decisions -- the design may be modified somewhat as a result. We may stake it out again after the next iteration." If you want to see the early look and feel of the (new) preliminary design, check the official web site at CanalParkDC.org.
Also, Chris mentioned some other changes folks will soon see on the site: "We will be taking down the orange fence on the south block and putting up "no dogs permitted" signs there in order to protect the sod. We will soon open the north block to dogs and place signs and plastic bags for dog waste -- we want to give the grass a little more time to establish before doing so. Folks should keep in mind that leashes will be required."
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More posts: Canal Park, Dog Parks
 

Jul 28, 2009 9:01 PM
Domino's at 900 M Now Open
Reader J passed me the word late this afternoon that the Domino's at 900 M Street appeared to be open, and I confirmed the tip with a quick drive-by a little while ago. The lights were on, a customer was at the counter, and the signs in the window were flashing. It's not yet available as a location on the Domino's web site, but I'm sure they'll take your call--the phone number (from a sign above the door) is 202-484-3030, the same as the old Domino's at South Capitol and M (not that I had it memorized or anything).
 

Jul 27, 2009 10:53 PM
Neighborhood Gumshoes Report on Cornercopia
I personally don't have anything new to report on Cornercopia (I'm starting to feel a bit of deja vu to all the "no, really, the school buses are leaving soon" statements I heard from 2003 to 2009), so I'll just pass off to two readers who couldn't bear the suspense and visited the store themselves this weekend, then wrote/Tweeted what they heard (and I'll note that there's been varying reports between "they have all their permits" versus still needing their liquor license):
First, reader J reported via e-mail: "They are going to open sometime next week (the exact day was not disclosed). They will be open from 7 am to 9 pm, 7 days a week. Besides the gourmet deli, they will have produce, fresh sushi delivered daily (not sure where it's coming from), limited frozen items, milk/eggs/cheese, sodas, gourmet beers, and a lot of wine. In fact, they are going to have a back room full of wine. There were a lot of rows of canned goods, pastas, etc. as well. They are doing a last push right now with painting, stocking, etc. All permits are in, just waiting on a few other things. There will also be an ATM inside the store, though they will accept all major credit cards. They said when they open, the credit card machine may not be working quite yet, though. Other than that, they are all excited about joining the neighborhood."
Then, mhoffy tweeted an unintended followup: "met the owner of cornercopia yesterday and he said he is working on a contract with Sticky Rice for sushi. Yay!"
Will it happen this week? We shall see....
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More posts: cornercopia, Retail
 

Jul 27, 2009 10:29 PM
Closing the Budget Gap: Ballpark Taxes, 225 Virginia
As the mayor and the city council try to figure out how to close a huge FY09 budget gap and work to revise the FY10 budget to deal with expected shortfalls, a few items:
* The Examiner says: "Mayor Adrian Fenty's revised 2010 budget plan shifts $50 million from the Ballpark Revenue Fund to the general fund over the next four years. There it would be used to help bridge shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through 2013. The move has incensed medium- and large-business owners, who are charged an annual gross receipts tax to augment the ballpark fund -- a pot specifically created to pay off $535 million in stadium bonds." The Chamber of Commerce is pledging to fight the idea.
* And today, the city council met "privately" (with media in attendance) to discuss what it sees as the best approaches to find the money. Mark Segraves of WTOP and Mike DeBonis of City Paper were in the room Tweeting like mad. Here's what they said about the council's discussions of the mayor's idea to spend $160 million to buy and renovate 225 Virginia, to get out from under the $6 million a year lease payments:
@SegravesWTOP: Talk has turned to 225 Virginia Ave, the old Washington Star building near the SE Freeway.
@mikedebonis: Council mulls purchase of 225 Va. Ave. to save on ridiculous rent. Vince Gray says let's look at the numbers.
MD: Lotsa handwringing over 225 Virginia Ave. SE and the astronomical lease thereto. 'Outrageous!' say several.
MS: City pays 12 mil per year in rent. Wells says mayor wants to. Buy building for 85 mil plus another 85 mil in upgrades. It would house CFSA
MS: DC has been paying rent on VA Ave since 2007. Other agencies slated to move there, OCTO and Arts and Humanities
MD: OCFO will have 225 Va. Ave purchase numbers by tomorrow. Evans calcs that $9M rent savings would float a $100M note.
 

Jul 27, 2009 12:29 PM
New Fences on Canal Street by DPW Building
A number of readers wrote in over the past few days with news of a new fence that has gone up across Canal Street west of Second, just north of the DPW/Trash Transfer Building where I Street will someday be built to connect Second and New Jersey, as well as another fence across Canal at H, across from the Charley Horse Stables entrance. (The photos are from just a few minutes ago, showing both fences open.) After asking DDOT about it (they said it wasn't their fence, although they did say they are doing some work on the freeway bridge across New Jersey Avenue), I've passed along the news to Tommy Wells's office. Hopefully they'll have further information. Technically the land being enclosed by the fence is on Square 737, which is owned by William C. Smith Co. (I believe these "streets" were technically "closed" in late 2006 in council bill B16-0888.)
 

Jul 24, 2009 8:57 PM
Upcoming Zoning Hearings (Trapeze School, B & B)
What could be more interesting late on a Friday evening than news of two upcoming zoning hearings?
* On Sept. 21 the Zoning Commission will be having its hearing on the necessary amendments to the Southeast Federal Center Overlay to allow the trapeze school to set up shop on Parcel O on the southeast corner of Fourth and Tingey. You can read the Office of Planning's setdown report for more information on what's being requested.
* On Nov. 17 the Board of Zoning Adjustment will consider a special exception to allow the naval-themed Casa degli Angeli at Third and L to operate as a six-room bed and breakfast (right now it's renting rooms month-to-month).
Both of these have been entered on my calendar--don't forget that you can easily add events from my calendar to yours if you're using Google Calendar, and you can also subscribe to its RSS feed to be notified automatically.
 

Jul 23, 2009 8:05 PM
12th Street Ramp Closures This Weekend (?)
DDOT hasn't sent out a reminder, but I'll post it anyway: the M Street/Washington Navy Yard exit off of I-295 North, along with portions of M and 12th streets, are supposed to be closed this weekend to continue work on the demolition of the ramps to RFK. The closure times are listed as being from 6:30 pm on July 24 through 6:30 am July 27; access to the boathouses and ramps along Water Street will be open, and the 8th Street SE exit off of I-295 North can still be used. They've posted three maps showing the detours that will be in effect.
The ramp demolitions (bad pictures from last week here) are tied to preliminary work for the reconstruction of the 11th Street Bridges.
 

Jul 21, 2009 6:40 PM
New Tweak: 'More Posts' Tags on Blog Entries
Those of you who actually visit the site to read my blog (rather than using RSS or e-mail) may have noticed a little addition late last week: the "More Posts" links at the bottom of each entry. These take you to all previous blog posts about a certain subject/development/location--it was possible to get to these lists by going to the project pages and clicking on the "News" tabs, but there are some subjects (like Cornercopia or the Little Red Building or the inauguration) that don't really have a project page but where people might want to easily browse past posts. You'll also find these categories (and there's a boatload of them) on my Blog Archive page.
I haven't yet added them to my RSS feed--because I'm lazy.
 

Jul 21, 2009 12:54 PM
Florida Rock Seeking Equity Partner
(I Tweeted this a week ago, then forgot to ever post it here.) From the WashBizJournal: "Florida Rock Properties Inc. is on the market for a joint venture partner to help develop its much-anticipated 1.1-million square foot project, which will put retail, office space and a waterfront plaza on the land across from Nationals Park." My RiverFront page has scads of renderings, showing the designs and planned phases; the initial plans were to construct the office building and public plaza on the east end of the site (by Diamond Teague Park) first; the later phases can't be built until the new Douglass Bridge is constructed and the old one demolished.
 

Jul 20, 2009 11:28 PM
City Would Need to Spend An Additional $85M to Renovate 225 Virginia
From the Examiner, in a piece called "Vacant Buildings Costing DC Millions," this tidbit from today's council hearing on the mayor's proposed changes to the city's FY09 and FY10 budgets: "In its amended budget proposal now before the D.C. Council, the administration seeks permission to buy [225 Virginia Ave.] for $85 million, subject to the availability of funding -- a long shot given the city's $150 million 2010 shortfall. Renovating it will cost an additional $85 million, City Administrator Neil Albert told the council Monday." (You can see this part of his testimony at about the 1hr9min mark of this video.)
Quoting again: "The capital improvements, Albert said, 'will increase the value and use of a property that the District actually owns.' The mayor's multi-year search for a firm willing to take over the lease failed. Fenty claims to have twice reached tentative deals with private groups that fell through as the economy collapsed. 'I think it makes sense for us to buy it, but we've wasted roughly $15 million to get to this point,' said at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson. 'The decision to buy should have been made two years ago.'" You can read more about this proposed purchase here, and about today's hearing in this Examiner story. The council will vote on the revised budget on July 31.
 

Jul 20, 2009 12:54 PM
Velocity Move-Ins May Start in September
Last last week the sales team at Velocity began contacting residents-to-be with the news that they are planning to begin settlements on units in the building on Sept. 21 (unless issues crop up), and also will be moving the sales center into the building itself on Sept. 1 (there will also be three additional model units opened, on the 10th floor where the current model unit is, too).
The 200-unit building is still less than half sold, which is deduced from learning that the sales people are advising reservation holders who are planning to get an FHA or VA loan or who are making less than a 20-percent downpayment that it will be extremely difficult to find a mortgage lender until the building is 51 percent sold. Construction on Velocity began in Spring 2007, and the sales center opened that Fall.
 

Jul 18, 2009 6:54 PM
Mayor's Revised Budget Includes $85 Million to Purchase 225 Virginia/Post Plant
From the Examiner, at the very end of an article about the mayor's amended 2010 budget (which "slashes previously approved earmarks, hikes fees, and eliminates numerous capital projects to close a projected $150 million shortfall"): "And the mayor is seeking council permission to spend $85 million on the outright purchase of 225 Virginia Ave. SE, an empty, 421,000-square-foot warehouse that the city has leased for $546,000 a month since mid-2007. The Fenty administration, having ditched earlier plans to use the building, has failed to find anyone willing to take over the lease, which has now cost the city more than $13 million."
If you want to wander through the budget yourself, it's online. In the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Support Amendment Act in the Nature of a Substitute*, there is on page 44 Subtitle X, "Purchase of 225 Virginia Ave. SE," with this wording, should the council choose to approve it: "[T]he Council approves the exercise by the Mayor of the purchase option contained in the District's sublease dated December 15, 2006 between Washington Telecom Associates, LLC, as sublandlord, and the District of Columbia, as tenant, for the real property located at 225 Virginia Avenue, S.E., known for tax and assessment purposes as Lots 21, 36, 37, and 831 in Square 766 (the "Property"), and the Mayor may enter into a contract to purchase the Property in an amount not to exceed $85 million, exclusive of the costs of settlement, subject to the availability of budgeted and appropriated funds."
Also, in Chapter 2 of the Agency Budget Chapters, on page 442, you'll find this: "Within the past year, the District twice reached tentative agreements with private entities to assign the District's rights and obligations with respect to unoccupied leased property at 225 Virginia Avenue, SE. In large part, due to the dramatic slowdown in real estate markets and, particularly, the scarcity of affordable credit for real estate transactions, the tentative agreements failed to result in the transfer of the District's lease for this building. The District now plans to prepare the building for a public purpose."
Right now I don't know anything more than this--don't know what plans the city has for the buildings, and don't know how excited the council is going to be to spend $85 million on it when cutting jobs and services elsewhere in the city's budget. But maybe there's some sort of accounting sleight of hand that my unbudgetary mind isn't familiar with. (Bonds? PILOT/TIF funds from projects elsewhere in the city? Bake sale?) The current assessed value for the four lots that make up the site is just a smidgen under $84 million.
If you want to stroll through the tales of this building back to the first news of the city's lease, you can read my previous 225 Virginia blog entries, and/or check out my project page with photos and links.
 

Jul 16, 2009 8:46 PM
Diamond Teague Progress, Cornercopia Peek, Plus a Few Other Photo Updates and a Parking Lot Update
I took advantage of the sunny evening to dart around getting some desperately needed photo updates. First up is Diamond Teague Park, where progress on not only the water-taxi piers but the "on-land" portion of the park itself is now clearly visible from the viewing platform at Nationals Park. The last projected opening date I heard, a few months back, was July, but while it looks like maybe the park won't be pulled together in the next two weeks, it definitely appears to be getting there. See my Teague page for the latest pics.
I also snuck a peek through the door at Cornercopia and snagged a quick photo, showing goods now stocked on the shelves, but perhaps just short of being ready to open. Maybe they can get ready for all the folks heading to the ballpark this weekend? Don't forget, my offer still stands of a free sandwich to the first person who reports to me that it's open....
I also took some updated photos at Fourth and K in Capitol Quarter, where framing has sprouted on the north side of K. Then I wandered down to the Yards to get some better shots of the southeast corner of Fourth and Tingey, which is where the Trapeze School is going to be located. (You can also see the entire batch of today's photos, where you can then click on the icon to see an angle's entire history.) Speaking of the Trapeze School, the Post's Health section had a story today on what it's like to take a class from them. (You probably won't ever see *me* flying through the air with the greatest of ease.)
One other item--the WashTimes reported today that the Elton/Billy stage left centerfield in a bit of a mess, requiring the grass to be painted. As you can see from this shot I took during batting practice, it seemed to work pretty well.
Lastly, it only took me half the season, but I've now updated my Stadium Parking map to show the many options for cash parking (official and unofficial), in addition to the official Nats season ticket lots. And to think that there was a time when *some* people were worried there wouldn't be enough parking.
 

Jul 16, 2009 7:33 PM
Reminder: 12th Street Ramp Closures This Weekend
A reminder that the M Street/Washington Navy Yard exit off of I-295 North, along with portions of M and 12th streets, will be closed this weekend and next to continue work on the demolition of the ramps to RFK. The closure times are listed as being from 6:30 pm on Friday, July 17 through 6:30 am Monday, July 20 and from 6:30 pm on July 24 through 6:30 am July 27; access to the boathouses and ramps along Water Street will be open, and the 8th Street SE exit off of I-295 North can still be used. They've posted three maps showing the detours that will be in effect.
The ramp demolitions (bad pictures from last week here) are tied to preliminary work for the reconstruction of the 11th Street Bridges.
 
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