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Photos from Diamond Teague Park and Piers
Thanks to the folks from the Gangplank, I was able to get a quick tour today of the piers and boardwalks at Diamond Teague Park, the new city-built spot on the Anacostia where water taxis and other vessels are now able to dock to bring folks to and from Nationals Park. Although construction and planting isn't quite finished, I think the batch of photos I took give a pretty good idea of the lay of the land. (I'll add them into my Teague page when I've got some more time.)
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More posts: Teague Park
 

Photos from Today's Ribbon Cutting at Capitol Quarter; Updated Before-and-Afters
More than five years after the first demolitions at the old Capper/Carrollsburg public housing complex, city officials, developers, and residents gathered at Fourth and L today for a ribbon cutting at what is now known as Capitol Quarter, the mixed-income townhouse development that's been under construction since last year. (Residents actually started moving in this spring, but let's not spoil the party.)
As most readers know by now, the old 707-unit Capper complex is being replaced with what will eventually include 1,500 residential units (with a one-to-one replacement of all 700 public housing units), 700,000 square feet of office space, and 50,000 square feet of retail. Two apartment buildings with 300 units for low-income seniors and moderate income residents--Capper Seniors #1 and 400 M--opened in late 2006 and 2007; four more mixed-income buildings will eventually be built on lots by Canal Park.
My photos of the festivities are posted--and enjoy them, because there aren't many ribbon cuttings in Near Southeast's near future!
I also finally updated my photos along Fifth Street this morning, and at Fourth and I and Fourth and K yesterday and today, making for a pretty striking batch of before-and-afters, especially since these are the first photos I've taken since the framing really took off on the north side of K. Also, digging is now getting started on the final block of phase 1 (Square 797, between Third, Fourth, Virginia, and I), and framing should begin in October or November, with those final first phase homes expected to be finished next spring. When will phase 2 start sales and pre-construction? As soon as they get some money, and everyone knows how easy that is right now....
I will be adding some new mid-block photos to my Capitol Quarter Phase I page, and freshening it up a bit, later today.
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More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

Capitol Quarter Ribbon Cutting Tomorrow; A Few Late-Summer Not-Really-News Links
* A reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10 am the DC Housing Authority is holding an official ribbon cutting and grand opening at Capitol Quarter, Fourth and L, with the mayor expected to be in attendance. If the sun is out, I may use this as the motivation to finally get some updated photos of the construction, with the framing in block three (north of K between Fourth and Fifth) now well underway.
* The Post reports on how the many new apartment buildings in the area are aggressively competing for tenants, with the new buildings in Near Southeast apparently leading the way: "The ones around Nationals Park, for instance, collectively have offered the deepest concessions since Delta started tracking rents 18 years ago. Some of those projects gave away the equivalent of four months' rent in concessions, which helps explain why effective rents in the District plunged 7.8 percent in June compared with a year ago. Without the ballpark area, rents fell 4 percent."
* From the BID's newsletter last week: "Mark your calendars for September 19th for the FRONT Door Home Tour & Canal Park Picnic from 10 am - 2 pm. The FRONT Door Tour will feature a variety of unique residents' homes and highlight the Capitol Riverfront as a new residential neighborhood in DC. The event will include a community picnic at the future site of Canal Park (located at intersection of M St., SE and 2nd St., SE) with food, music, and lawn games. The FRONT Door Tour will be free and open to the public. More information to come soon."
And, two items about off-topic projects by Near Southeast developers:
* Monument Realty announced yesterday that its long-planned renovation of Potomac Place Tower on Fourth Street in SW is now going to move forward. From their press release: "Monument Realty acquired the Potomac Place project in 2001 and in 2005 completed construction of a new, 302-unit condominium adjacent to the existing Potomac Place Tower, which was built in 1959. In 2003, Potomac Place Tower was designated a historic landmark by the District of Columbia and in 2005 the residents of Potomac Place Tower elected to convert the property to a condominium. Monument Realty's longstanding history and commitment to the project gave the new lender the confidence to retain its services for the completion of Potomac Place Tower."
* Forest City Washington has been selected by the government of Puerto Rico as the program manager for the redevelopment of a 100-acre portion of San Juan's waterfront district. Residential, hotel, office, retail, public parks, and a marina--sound familiar? (I don't think I mentioned that a few weeks ago the District selected Forest City as an advisor for the redevelopment of Poplar Point.)
 

List of Operators Serving Diamond Teague Piers
With thanks to the deputy mayor's office and Gangplank Marina, I now have the list of the companies and vessels that are on the "Operator Master List" for docking at the new piers at Diamond Teague Park (right across the street from Nationals Park):
* Entertainment Cruises, which runs the well-known Odyssey and the Spirit of Washington cruises from the Southwest Waterfront, is signed up to allow their Seadog speedboat and Capital Elite yacht to dock at Teague;
* Potomac Riverboat Cruises is approved to run the Miss Mallory, the Matthew Hayes, and the Miss Christin, all of which are docked at Alexandria;
* Capitol River Cruises's two boats (the Nightingale and Nightingale II) are docked in Georgetown;
* Ft. Washington and Potomac River Cruises's the Pelican, docked at National Harbor;
* The Miss Ann, docked at the Southwest Waterfront;
* The Sequoia Presidential Yacht, docked at the Southwest Waterfront; and
* Capital Yacht Charters, which operates out of the Southwest Waterfront, can dock four ships: the Finished Business, Celebrity, Running Mate, and Margaritaville.
It looks like that for the rest of this year it will probably only be charter service docking at Teague, with scheduled water taxi service for games not starting up until next spring. But maybe some outfit will surprise. The Earth Conservation Corps will be working with Coastal Properties (aka the folks at the Gangplank) to manage the piers, and apparently there will be an official web site for the Teague park and piers up soon. They're also still working on the landscaping, which should be finished next month.
 

Free Sandwich Getting Presented Friday
Last week, neighborhood resident Jamie D. was the first to report that Cornercopia had opened for business, and so won the free sandwich I had been touting for months as a way to get JDLand readers to do my surveillance work for me. We've set up a time for this honor to be bestowed (and thanks to Albert at Cornercopia for indulging all of this), so if any folks are around and feel like stopping by Cornercopia to meet some fellow residents and point and make fun of Jamie while he eats his sandwich, come wander by the corner of Third and K, SE, on Friday (Aug. 21) at 6 pm. (This gives Nats fans enough time to sprint to the stadium to use their $1 tickets.) It'd be great to meet some of the commenters and correspondents who make this place so lively, especially since there's a number of new faces around here these days.
Though, please note that I'm only footing the bill for *one* sandwich. I don't have the funds to buy off everyone! (Dang advertising market collapse!)
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More posts: cornercopia
 

Water Taxi Service 'Now Available' (But...)
Late this afternoon the mayor's office sent out this press release, which confirms these posts from last week: "Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Wednesday announced water taxi service is now available to Nationals Park by way of a District-built public pier at the new $8 million Diamond Teague Park on the Anacostia River. [...] Six local charter companies will operate about a dozen different vessels to the pier from locations including Maryland's National Harbor and Old Town, Alexandria. Service will be available for home games at the park and other special events. The boat operators will use a new 250-foot commercial pier built for boats carrying up to 149 passengers."
Alas, the release doesn't name the six companies or give any details on their services, though WTOP reported last week that the "Potomac Riverboat Company plans to begin operations as soon as next month, for at least some remaining home games." I just checked their web site, and there's nothing on it about service to the ballpark as of right now.
 

Upcoming Events (11th Street Bridges, Last Movie, Capitol Quarter Ribbon Cutting)
A slew of upcoming events to pass along:
* On Wednesday (Aug. 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.
* Thursday (Aug. 20) is the last night of the BID's 80's Outdoor Movies series, with "Ghostbusters" on the bill (rescheduled from a rainout earlier this year). Apparently the BID is planning a four-week fall movie series starting in September; I'll pass more along on that when I get it.
* Next Wednesday (Aug. 26) the DC Housing Authority is holding an official ribbon cutting and grand opening at Capitol Quarter, from 10 am to noon at Fourth and L, with the mayor expected to be in attendance. This is just a little over two years after the ceremonial groundbreaking, held on a sweltering day in June 2007.
* If you're desperate for something to do Wednesday morning but a ribbon cutting isn't your thing, the U.S. Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard will host "Pirate or Privateer? War of 1812 Day," a series of demonstrations and lectures on the War of 1812. The program, which runs from 10 am to 2 pm, includes Gun Drills in the replica of the USS Constitution and Sea Chanteys. The event is free and open to the public, though note that there's no parking available inside the gates for visitors.
* The National Capital Planning Commission again has the design of the 11th Street Bridges on their tentative agenda, for their Sept. 3 meeting. It had also been on the tentative agenda for the July meeting, but didn't make the final cut; hopefully that won't happen again, because NCPC always puts together such great reports on the projects it votes on (and posts them on their web site), so it's a good place to get details that have been hard to find elsewhere.
* This is still a few weeks away, but residents might want to mark their calendars that the next ANC 6D meeting, on Sept. 14 will be held in Southeast, at the Courtyard by Marriott at New Jersey and L. I've been attending ANC meetings off and on for six years, and this is the first one I remember that will be crossing South Capitol Street.
* The next day, Sept. 15, Urban Land Institute Washington is holding its third Urban Marketplace Conference and Expo, which brings together "the private, nonprofit, and public sectors to explore redevelopment opportunities and best practices in emerging neighborhoods and corridors across the Washington metropolitan region." One of the day's discussions, from 3 pm to 4 pm will focus on the ballpark district (and I'm one of the panelists).
All of these are of course on my Upcoming Events Calendar.
 

Sticky Rice Sushi at Cornercopia
The folks at Cornercopia have started up a Twitter account, and a Tweet just came down the pike that will excite a lot of people: "Sticky Rice Sushi expected to be available tomorrow for lunch starting at 10:30am. Supplies are limited each day so get here early." If you're unfamiliar with Stick Rice, here's their web site.
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More posts: cornercopia
 

Opera at the Ballpark Again
From the Post: "The Washington National Opera announced Monday that for the second straight year, the company's opening-night performance -- this year, "The Barber of Seville" on Sept. 12 -- will be simulcast live at Nationals Park, free of charge." There were about 15,000 people at last year's simulcast of "La Traviata." It will begin at 7 pm, with the gates opening at 5:30; no reservations are required except for the VIP seating areas. (And it should go without saying that the simulcast will be projected on the ballpark's high-definition scoreboard.) For more information, go to wnosimulcast.org.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Bureau of Land Management Leases Space at 20 M
I've just received word from Lerner Enterprises that they've signed a 10-year agreement with GSA to lease about 95,000 square feet of space at 20 M Street to the Bureau of Land Management. The space will be on floors two through six of the building, and BLM is expected to begin moving in in early 2010. (Here's the full press release.)
This is the first office tenant in the building, which was completed in spring 2007 and sits on the northwest corner of Half and M streets, across from the west entrance of the Navy Yard Metro station (one block north of Nationals Park); Wachovia Bank occupies one of the ground-floor retail spaces.
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More posts: 20 M
 

MSG Looking for Entertainment Venue Space
From WBJ, a few days ago: "Madison Square Garden LP, owner of the famed New York City arena that bears its name, is looking to open a major entertainment venue in the District. The sports, entertainment and media company began contacting the office of Valerie Santos, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, and major landowners in early summer[...] According to sources close to the company, MSG would open a venue of a 6,000 seats or more, requiring up to 100,000 square feet near shopping and public transit." The head of the Washington DC Economic Partnership apparently made presentations to MSG "on sites near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and in the area around Nationals Park."
In this Breaking Ground blog post today, Jonathan O'Connell tries to guess where MSG might be looking, and includes the Yards and Half Street (either the Monument or Akridge sides) as possibilities. And this NewsChannel 8 report interviews Michael Stevens from the BID about it all.
 

Cornercopia Open; We Have a Sandwich Winner
After weeks of watchful waiting, the reports are coming in that Cornercopia, the little market and sandwich stop at the corner of Third and K streets, SE, has opened for business today, and reader Jamie has his receipt time-stamped at 12:07 pm to not only prove that it was open, but to win the free sandwich I promised to the first reader to report that the store was operating. In the comments on another thread, Carey says that right now they're only accepting cash until they get some credit-card-transaction kinks worked out; they're also giving away "green" reuseable Cornercopia bags.
To make this new arrival in the neighborhood even more of a neighborhood event, I'd like to invite anyone who has a few minutes of free time to join Jamie and me for the ceremonial Purchasing of the Sandwich. Check back soon for the date and time (haven't been able to get it coordinated just yet, but didn't want to delay this post any longer...)
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More posts: cornercopia
 

Water Taxis for Nats Games Maybe Starting Soon?
From WTOP, news that water taxi service to Diamond Teague Park may be underway fairly soon: "The Potomac Riverboat Company plans to begin operations as soon as next month, for at least some remaining home games. 'We would offer service on the game nights only,' says company Vice President Charlotte Hall, 'from Alexandria, Va., National Harbor and Gaylord National Hotel.'" And: "Prices for the Nationals Park water taxi service have not been set yet, but the company currently charges $8 one way, or $16 round trip for its water taxi connecting Alexandria Harbor, National Harbor and Gaylord National. Hall says all of its existing service will stay the same, and no schedules or routes will be cut to accommodate added trips to Nationals Park."
 

Aug 8, 2009 12:46 AM
Cornercopia Liquor License Change Application
Quick post: here's notice, on page 14 (and I'm told this was posted on the building today) of Cornercopia's application for a "substantial change" to the existing liquor license from the old Third & K Market--the new owners are looking to be open (and selling alcohol) on Sundays from 9 am to 6 pm (the old market was closed Sundays), and they're also looking to extend the weekday hours to 7 am to 10 pm (with alcohol sales starting at 9 am). A hearing date for anyone objecting to the change in the license has been set for October 5.
Readers are flooding me with mistaken "they're open!" messages as well as "they told me they'll be open on [x] day!" messages, so, just to be fair--if you're gunning for the free sandwich as the first reader to report that Cornercopia is open, I'll be asking to see your receipt to verify that the market was indeed doing business. (You can send a picture of it from your cellphone!) This is to prevent the I-drove-by-and-it-looked-open messages....
 

Aug 7, 2009 10:00 AM
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.
 

Aug 6, 2009 6:50 PM
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....
 

Aug 3, 2009 11:57 AM
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
 

Jul 31, 2009 1:02 PM
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.)
 

Jul 29, 2009 10:04 PM
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.
 

Jul 29, 2009 7:49 PM
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."
 
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