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Thompson Hotel ('20)
West Half ('19)
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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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Trapeze School Coming in February
From the BID: "Beginning on February 15th, Trapeze School New York will open for classes at 4th and Tingey Street, SE! The concrete foundation has been laid and the large, heated tent is currently being erected at the site in preparations for next month's grand opening. The Trapeze School is dedicated to making flying trapeze available to anyone who seeks inspiration, challenge, fitness, or just a couple hours of unique recreation. Registration and more information is already available on their website here and open to people of all levels. Offerings include two-hour classes as well as intensive multi-session workshops for advanced flyers. Classes are also offered in trampoline, static trapeze, Lyra, and aerial silks. For larger groups and special occasions, they produce one-of-a-kind parties, corporate events and team-building workshops."
 

NatsFest at the Ballpark Jan. 31
From the Nationals: "The Washington Nationals today announced the schedule for their 2010 Winter Caravan when members of the Washington Nationals will tour the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area from January 27 to Saturday, January 30, and conclude with the second annual NatsFest at Nationals Park on Sunday, January 31. [...] Baseball fun returns to Nationals Park on January 31 for the second annual NatsFest, which will conclude the Caravan festivities. Fans will have the opportunity to receive autographs and take photos with Nationals players, participate in question-and-answer sessions with Stan Kasten, Mike Rizzo, Jim Riggleman and The Washington Post columnist and Nationals Season Ticket Holder George Will, and hit in the Nationals batting cages for a $1 donation to the Nationals Dream Foundation. A behind-the-scenes look at the Nationals clubhouse will be available and fans may enter to win Nationals prizes and memorabilia. Nationals Season Ticket Holders may receive up to four complimentary tickets per account for the event and will receive an e-mail on how to claim their tickets."
This is part of their "Winter Caravan," which features "meet-and-greets, autograph signings, community appearances and the second annual Hot Stove Luncheon," scheduled for Friday Jan. 29 at the ballpark, hosted by David Gregory. The caravan will also include appearances in Landover (where the team and its Dream Foundation "will make an announcement regarding plans to partner with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's Department of Parks and Recreation") and at Ft. Belvoir (to make care packages for servicemen and women stationed overseas). There will also be autograph shows at the Build-a-Bear workshop in McLean, at White Flint Mall, and at the Hard Times Cafe in Arlington, along with other appearances.
Watch the Nats web site for details. UPDATE: Here's the press release.
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More posts: Nationals Park
 

Justin's Cafe Gets 6D's ABC Committee Support
A very quick update from tonight's meeting of ANC 6D's alcohol/beverage committee, which voted 3-0 both to recommend support Justin's Cafe's application for a liquor license, and to recommend that a "stipulated license" be granted. This means that the restaurant could operate under a temporary license until its (still as yet unscheduled) hearing in front of the liquor board is completed. The full ANC will vote on these recommendations at their meeting on Monday (Jan. 11).
Owner Justin Ross said that the build out isn't quite complete yet and that there's still a few weeks of work to take care of, but he's hoping to open within four weeks or so.
 

Temporary Lane Closures for RFK Ramp Demolition
Just out from DDOT (link to come), official announcement of the upcoming road work that was initially "previewed" in the poorly written "Freeway to be Closed" flashing sign at the Sixth Street exit on the Southeast Freeway:
"The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is scheduled to temporarily close lanes on the eastbound side of the Southeast Freeway over the next two weekends for the demolition of two RFK access ramps. The ramps cross over the freeway.
"On the weekend of January 9 and 10, and again on January 16 and 17, the left lane and shoulder will be closed just prior to the I-295 South and Pennsylvania Avenue split. That means all traffic approaching the split will have to take the I-295 exit. There will be no access to RFK Stadium or Pennsylvania Avenue from the SE Freeway."
If you want to get to Pennsylvania Avenue from the freeway during those two weekends, the DDOT-approved detour is to go across the 11th Street Bridges, get off at MLK, turn left at Good Hope, then left at Minnesota, which will take you to Pennsylvania. But I wouldn't be surprised to see the traffic increase at the Sixth Street exit during these closures.
In a similar (though technically outside my boundaries) vein, starting tomorrow (Jan. 6), there will be lane closures on the east side of the 11th Street Bridges and on I-295 so that crews can place "construction access points, concrete barriers, attenuators and other traffic controls related to the start of 11th Street Bridge Project construction."
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More posts: 11th Street Bridges
 

Tinkering with the Home Page for 2010 (A New Map, Crime Reports Mashups, and Other Goodies)
I rang out 2009 with a sudden burst of creativity, and so am welcoming 2010 with another tweak of the JDLand home page design.
Featured ProjectsFirst and foremost, I've brought back a map to the main screen (a much smaller and less cluttered one), highlighting projects currently in progress. I was sick of the old one, but found I just couldn't live without *some* sort of map offering in this spot. Hopefully this one suffices.
Next, I added a box called "This Date in (Recent) Near Southeast History," which will dig into the archives every day and show links to blog entries and random photos since 2003. (The photos aren't marked with their location, so for the early ones it'll be a fun guessing game.)
There's also a peppier version of my "Rearview Mirror," with links to the Photo Archive, the Demolished Buildings gallery, historic photos and maps, and more.
And I've finally taken the plunge into Google Maps mashups, with two new offerings. On the home page, under the DC Government Data Feeds, there's a mini-map marking the location of neighborhood crime incidents over the past 30 days. Beneath that is a link to a new interactive map showing all crime incidents from 2005 to the present, with a table breaking out the different types of crimes so that you can filter the map by year or offense or both. (The incidents, which all come from the city's data feed, are then listed beneath the map if you prefer the old-school table format.)
And there's also some slight changes to the general design and color choices, plus some cleanup of the offerings in the "General Links" box at the bottom right of the page, and a box for "Recent Updates/Additions" which I added mainly to do *something* with all the white space around the ad beneath the first blog post.
So, Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope you like the updates.
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More posts: crime, JDLand stuff
 

Construction Underway on New 11th Street Bridges
On a chilly morning (with winds high enough to scuttle the planned boat tour), DDOT announced that work is officially underway on the new 11th Street Bridges, the $300 million four-year project to build three new spans across the Anacostia River to provide both expanded freeway access between I-295 and the SE/SW Freeway and a new local-traffic bridge connecting Anacostia and Near Southeast.
Pile driving in the river is expected to start within the next day or two (it was supposed to start today, but the winds scuttled that, too). Engineers said it should be at least 18 months before there are any changes to the traffic flow on either side of the river.
The biggest changes in the configuration of the bridges will be the new ramps allowing for access from southbound I-295 to the bridges and from the bridges to northbound DC295, meaning that much of the neighborhood cut-through traffic and bad flow on Pennsylvania Avenue should be mitigated, though residents who oppose the expansion of the bridges' capacity--such as the Capitol Hill Restoration Society--differ with DDOT on the benefits of the project.
The third span--a "local street that happens to cross a river," in the words of DDOT's Bart Clark--will be built with streetcar tracks included in the two curb lanes, and will also include wide pedestrian/cycling paths, bulb-out bridge overlooks (where you can stop and look at the view without impeding the flow), and even osprey nest perches down by the water. This span, allowing local traffic to cross the river without having to mix with high-speed freeway traffic as it currently does, will reach street level at O Street on the west side of the river, which will also make for an easy connection to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. And all new bridges will be built with shoulders, to help lessen backups when there are accidents.
One additional change in all of this is that the Anacostia Community Boathouse operations, which are currently nestled between the existing spans, will be permanently moved northeast, to the Anacostia marina, and the old red brick buildings will be demolished. (A temporary structure is being built to get their operations moved by spring.)
For the next few months, pile driving and some off-roadway clearing and minor lane shifts on DC-295 will be the extent of the construction, but by late spring or early summer there will begin to be work underway on both O Street and M Street
I've added new graphics to my 11th Street Bridges page that show the plans for the new bridges. It will be an interesting project to watch over the next few years.
In addition, demolition work on the existing ramps to and from RFK has perked back up again, and there will be lane closures on the portion of the freeway that connects to Pennsylvania Avenue within the next few weeks. (If you saw the variable message sign at the Sixth Street SE exit that said "Freeway to be closed on or about 1/9/2010," it was a bit of a verbiage boo-boo that was meant to alert drivers to the coming lane closures, and is being fixed.)
There was a decent amount of press at the briefing (both Dr. Gridlock and Bob Marbourg were in the house, so you know it was serious), and I'll be updating this entry as stories come online, most of which will no doubt give more focus to the changes coming to the east side of the river than I have here (though I have posted some enlarged graphics that show both sides of the river). Here's the DDOT press release, fact sheet, and FAQ.
UPDATE: Links to Dr. Gridlock, WTOP, and City Paper. And WUSA. (I won't bother with pieces written right off the press release.)
UPDATE II: A bike-centric look at the plans from WashCycle.
 

11th Street Bridge Construction to Begin (Updated)
A press release just out from DDOT (not yet posted online) alerts the city that construction is about to start on the new 11th Street Bridges:
"On or about Tuesday, December 29, 2009, contractors will begin 11th Street Bridge Project construction activities, which may be noticeable to area residents and businesses but ultimately result in a number of important benefits.
"Initial work will include pile driving in the Anacostia River to construct foundations for three new bridges - one for local and two for freeway traffic. Barrier placement, off-roadway clearing, and drainage work is also to begin adjacent to both directions of DC 295, later resulting in shoulder encroachments and minor lane shifts. Eventually, land-side pile driving on both sides of the river will be required to construct new connecting ramps and improve the highway. To minimize impacts, noise and vibration levels will be monitored at all times.
"The new bridges will be constructed between the existing bridges, which are projected to serve almost 180,000 vehicles per day by 2030, allowing contractors to maintain all existing travel movements and 12-foot travel lanes except during approved work in off-peak travel hours.
"In addition, contractors will practice good neighbor construction by establishing designated haul routes, having most materials delivered via the river or highway, controlling dust, and requiring that workers not park on neighborhood streets."
The project is scheduled for completion in mid-2013, and at last report would be costing $260 million (unless they've found more funding). In addition to more lanes for cars and improved vehicle flow, the bridges will have new wider paths for pedestrians and bicycles, as well as the rails for the new streetcars that will connect Anacostia and the west side of the river.
DDOT is having a press shindig on Tuesday to give more specifics about the project; you can see my 11th Street Bridges project page for additional information and graphics, and there's also this PDF from DDOT that gives an overview of what the new bridges and traffic flow will look like.
UPDATE: In wandering around, I found this document, a 69-page Final Environmental Impact Statement "Reevaluation" from July 2009, which details what the changes are in the design from the FEIS "preferred alternative" and what's going to actually be built (now called the "Phase 1 Alternative", and seen in the graphic referenced above):
* The bridges (three, rather than two) will be placed in between the existing bridges on new foundation/substructures, as mentioned above;
* Minor reconfigurations of the expressway interchanges on both sides of the river;
* Reconfiguration of the local access interchange on the east side of the river;
* Ending work on the Southeast Freeway east of the existing Seventh/Eighth Street bridges, without replacing these structures;
* Modifications to the pedestrian and bicycle connections.
The Reevaluation has plenty more details on the above bullet points if you're interested. It also explains that, for now, DDOT is only funding the "Phase 1 interim improvements," which "will include complete construction of the three new river crossings and completion of the interchange on the east side (Anacostia) of the river. On the west side of the river, the inbound movement will be completed from the river to the proposed connection to the Southeast Freeway at the existing bridge over 8th Street. Ramp[s] will also be constructed and the inbound Southeast Boulevard [the old below-grade connector to Pennsylvania Avenue] will be connected to 11th Street. 11th Street will be widened from the Southeast Freeway to O Street on the west side of the river, with widening to the ultimate width from M Street to O Street." It also says that, as additional funding is found, the "remaining elements of the project can move forward in the same design that was approved in the EIS."
 

Holiday Slowdown Now Underway
Just a quick post to say that I'm still here, but with the snow and the holidays converging, I'm not expecting much news over the next few weeks. I'll post big news if it happens, of course, but otherwise I'll be taking it easy here on the blog. I'll tweet little things as they come along (like the great Tommy Wells Snowpocalyse interview outside the Tune Inn with City Paper on Saturday night), so if you're not already following my Twitter feed, now would be a good time, either via Twitter itself or by becoming a fan of JDLand.com on Facebook (where my Twitter updates will then automatically appear in your Facebook news feed).
I will note that the crime reports show a bit of an uptick over the past few days--be sure not to leave stuff in your car....
Happy Holidays to everyone!
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Capitol Riverfront BID Annual Meeting Summary
The Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District held its annual meeting and luncheon on Thursday, on the ninth floor of 55 M Street. Stan Kasten of the Nationals opened the festivities with some brief but energetic remarks about how excited the Nationals are about the neighborhood's continuing development. He was followed by Tommy Wells, who is equally enthusastic about the neighborhood as a prime example of a "liveable, walkable community," saying that people are increasingly choosing "five-minute living." But, he added that if this area ends up looking like every other neighborhood, "then we've failed."
After making presentations and awards to the BID's Clean and Safe team members, BID executive director Michael Stevens presented his State of the Capitol Riverfront report, chock full of statistics, including my perennial favorite, the number of bags of trash collected during 2009 (7,526!). The BID estimates there are now about 2,500 residents in the area, with another 500 expected to arrive in 2010. He also spent some time comparing the size and scope of the plans for "the Front" to other waterfront redevelopment projects such as Battery Park City in New York and Mission Bay in San Francisco, and of course detailing the many ways the BID works to publicize and advocate for the neighborhood.
Stevens was followed by Christopher Leinberger of the Brookings Institution, who discussed "The Structural Shift in Building." This area and DC as a whole, he said, are the model for the sort of development that cities want to emulate going forward, as he described the pendulum swing from the suburban model of the second half of the 20th century to the new "walkable urbanism," being driven mainly by the Millennial generation, empty-nested retirees, and the growth in the percentage of child-free households.
Leinberger's presentation slides are definitely worth paging through, and folks who are big fans of public transportation will especially appreciate his feeling that the slogan going forward should be "The Green Line is the New Red Line," since the biggest opportunities for development around transportation hubs exist near those stations, and that the BID should actually consider expanding its consulting and other offerings to the smaller emerging neighborhoods along the Green Line that need those types of services. (Perhaps this is what Michael Stevens was alluding to in his report, where a Green Line Research Project was mentioned. And, by the way, next year will mark the 20-year anniversary of the opening of the Navy Yard metro station.)
Finally, BID chairman Eric Siegel announced that the BID is planning an environmental summit in May 2010 (perhaps at Nationals Park), to focus on the cleanup of the Anacostia River and other environmental issues with the many public and private stakeholders along the river.
 

Nats Ending RFK Free Parking/Nats Shuttle
Just out from the Nationals:
"The Nats Express and parking at RFK concluded after the 2009 season, however new and closer economy parking options are available for the 2010 season. Premium parking will remain the same, but fans choosing to drive to the ballpark may now park in Lot HH, located on South Capitol Street, SW for $5 per car, or Lot W, located on M Street between 6th and 7th Streets SE, for $10 per car. Each of these lots has been discounted from 2009 prices of $10 and $15 respectively. Complete information on Nationals parking plans and all the ways to get to Nationals Park may be found at nationals.com/waytogo.
"The Nationals recognize the fan experience begins the moment fans their leave homes to come to the ballpark and that there is a need for affordable parking options close to Nationals Park," said Nationals Team President Stan Kasten. "Over the past two seasons there has been a decrease in the use of RFK Parking Lots and the Nats Express. We feel our fans deserve economy parking near the ballpark, which will reduce travel time and enhance the overall fan experience at Nationals games. We believe it will be easier than ever to get to Nationals Park and that the new parking options will please those fans who prefer to drive." (see full press release)
You can see my Stadium Parking page for a map showing the 2009 parking options (I'll get it updated with this new info soon) and the location of the two "economy" parking lots).
The team is also reducing individual ticket prices on over 3,000 seats, and is designating 12 games during the 2010 season as "value games" (up from five in 2009). For more details, see the Nats web site.
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More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

Council Passes Bill for Capper Bond Sale
Mere moments ago, the city council passed on an emergency basis B18-475, the "Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg Public Revenue Bonds Amendment Act of 2009," which will allow the CFO's office to issue $32 million in city-backed bonds to help fund "phase 3" infrastructure improvements at Capper/Carrollsburg. This would be in addition to the $9.5 million in stimulus money that DCHA was awarded by HUD that will allow the phase 2 townhouses at Capitol Quarter to go forward, possibly by the third quarter of 2010 if current financing negotiations with EYA go smoothly. By passing it on an emergency basis, the city can go to the bond market perhaps before the end of this month or in January, which apparently is a prime time to go a'sellin.
For more about this funding, how it will work, and What It All Means, read my notes from the council hearing last month, including the prepared written testimony of a DCHA rep explaining the need for the bill.
 

This Week's Events, and a Few Other Quick Items
Rounding up the items on this week's agenda:
* Tonight is ANC 6D's monthly meeting. Alas, no agenda released yet, a common occurrence that should put them on Santa's "naughty" list.
* Tuesday through Friday is the BID's Holiday Market, running each day on Canal Park from noon to 6 pm, with live music from noon to 2. (If you're seeing activity at Second and M today, that's what it is.)
* Tuesday has the next Lower Eighth Street Visioning meetings, at 8:30 am and 7 pm at 535 8th St., SE. These sessions will "focus on best practice examples and build-out scenarios," and an agenda just mailed out by the BID (which is running the sessions) shows guest speakers Richard Lake of Roadside Development (the folks behind the redo of the O Street Market) and Wayne Dickson of Blake Real Estate. There's also an agenda item on "The Need for a Community Center."
* On Wednesday (Dec. 16) the BID is throwing a free Residents' Holiday Party at the Courtyard by Marriott, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. They'll also keep the Holiday Market open an extra hour (until 7 pm) for residents, and there'll be live music.
* The BID is having its annual meeting on Thursday, with speakers Tommy Wells, Stan Kasten of the Nationals, and Christopher Leinberger, a walkable urbanism expert from the Brookings Institution. In previewing the event on the Breaking Ground blog last week, WBJ's Melissa Castro listed a series of stats about the Capitol Riverfront provided by Jones Lang LaSalle, including that the total office vacancy rate for the area through the third quarter is at 19.2 percent (though it's listed as being at 14.7 percent at the end of October in this subsequent WBJ article). It would have been nice, though, if she'd given @capitolhilldc credit (rather than just "a Twitter user") for the tweet about being the 24th person in line at the DOT Starbucks Thursday morning, which also brought a few fun responses when I retweeted it.
* ANC 6D07 rep Bob Siegel mentioned this at last week's ABC committee meeting, and it's confirmed in the city's land records: there are now 12 units occupied at Velocity.
 

A Few Tidbits on Justin's Cafe
From last night's meeting of ANC 6D's ABC Committee, some bullet points on Justin's Cafe, the planned "fast casual" restaurant in the ground floor of Velocity on First Street between K and L (some of these are old, some are new, but for those just tuning in...):
* Justin Ross, the owner, is hoping to open the place by late January, although because of some issues with an ill partner, the liquor license has not yet been applied for, but he hopes that the paperwork will be filed with the city within the next week. (He won't open the restaurant until the liquor license has been granted, although he says the construction is now about 85 percent done.) He's applying for a Class C restaurant license, for beer, wine, and liquor.
* Expected hours are 11:30 am to 11 pm for food service (10 pm Sunday), with hopes that the bar can stay open later, perhaps until 2 am Friday/Saturday and 1 am other days.
* The space is not huge, about 1,400 square feet--it will have 24 seats for eating, and nine stools at the bar. There will be no outside tables. It will be an order-at-the-counter-and-sit set up (though he also expects a fair amount of takeout orders for nearby offices).
* No live entertainment, just TVs and music.
* The menu is salads and soup, sandwiches/paninis, and American-Neapolitan pizzas. Lots of veggies with the sandwiches and on the pizzas (he handed out a draft of it at the meeting). Sweet potato fries are on the menu, and bread choices are three-grain wheat, ciabatta, baguette, and spinach tortilla wrap (along with white/wheat crusts for the pizzas).
* JustinsCafe.com will be the web site, though it's not up yet.
Nats fans should note that this will become the closest *indoor* bar to the ballpark, as it's only two blocks north of the parking garages.
The ANC and Justin will be negotiating a voluntary agreement, which will probably go to the ANC for approval at its January meeting, but the subcommittee members and the 6D commissioners in attendance seem very pleased with the project.
 

Canal Park Update: Design Development Phase Nearing Completion, But....
At its November meeting, ANC 6D received an update on the progress of Canal Park, but I was out of town and missed the presentation, so I've gotten a quick status update from Chris Vanarsdale of the Canal Park Development Association. He passes along that the design development phase is nearing completion, and that hopefully in a few weeks they'll make available a revised plan view of the park--the middle block has apparently undergone some significant changes, with the addition of a much larger water feature and the reconfiguration of the pavilion in that block. You can see some renderings of the pavilions planned for the south end of the park (at M Street) on my Canal Park page, although there will probably be some revisions to the designs of these structures as well.
On the flip side, the anticipated start of construction is now being quoted as September 2010, about six months later than what's been on the boards for most of this year. It was reported back in October that the design approved by the National Capital Planning Commission would cost $18 million, $5.5 million more than the grant the CPDA has received to design and build the park; I don't know whether the park's design is being scaled back or whether they're still hoping to raise the extra funds (I've asked, but haven't received an answer).
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Next Week's Events (Justin's Cafe Liquor License, Boathouse Lighting, ANC6B)
A couple events on the calendar for the week of Dec. 7 to highlight:
* On Wednesday, Dec. 9, ANC 6D's ABC committee will be having its monthly meeting (in advance of the full ANC meeting on Dec. 14), and on the agenda is "presentation of plans by Justin Ross re Justin's Cafe planned for 1st & L Streets, SE." This is the first step in the (long) process for Velocity's restaurant to get its liquor license, although I haven't yet seen an announcement/posting for their official ABRA hearing (maybe it'll be in tomorrow's DC Register). The meeting is at 7 pm at King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N Street, S.W.
* The Anacostia Community Boathouse Association will be having its annual Boathouse Lighting and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 6:30 pm. This year's honorees include Tommy Wells, winner of the ACBA's "Champion" Award, who will get to flip the switch to turn on the holiday lights. The boathouse is at 1115 O Street, SE, nestled between the two spans of the 11th Street Bridges.
* ANC 6B (which is mostly Capitol Hill but includes the Eighth Street area south of the freeway in its boundaries) is having its monthly meeting on Dec. 8, and it includes a presentation by WASA on the Combined Sewer Overflow Project, and a resolution on the Ward 6 Residential Parking Protection Pilot Act of 2009, which has its city council hearing on Dec. 10. The meeting is at 7 pm at the Old Naval Hospital at 921 Pennsylvania Ave., SE.
 

Details on Plans for M Street Bike Lanes
With the launch a few weeks back of a bike lane on 15th Street NW, attention is beginning to focus on other locations in the city where there is a desire to place new dedicated bike lanes, and one of those spots is M Street SE/SW, running from Sixth Street, SW to 11th Street, SE, which is a route that Tommy Wells has been interested in for quite a while.
Back in early October, WashCycle reported that DDOT's Bicycle Advisory Facility Committee discussed the M Street concept, and in mid-November the members of the Capitol Riverfront BID were briefed on a feasibility analysis done by the Toole Design Group, with the assembled BIDders told that FY10 funds are available and that there's a desire by Wells and DDOT to get the lanes built before the start of the 2010 baseball season, which apparently caught a number of the briefing attendees by surprise.
In the analysis that was presented to the BID (which you can see here, although appendices A and B were left blank in the handouts), the main recommendations are:
* Configure the two curb lanes on M Street as "cycle tracks" with flexible posts, a temporary measure suggested because of the "unknowns" of any future streetcar implementations along M Street. There would also be a widening of the sidewalks between Half streets SE and SW, moving the cycle track onto the widened sidewalk, because this area is where the "most intense traffic on the corridor occurs."
* Eliminate all parking along M Street at all hours, though "after a period of evaluation it may be appropriate to allow parking adjacent to the cycle track if it is desired."
* Move all transit stops to the far sides of intersections, where buses and bikes can more easily cross and where buses can still pick up and drop off passengers at a curb rather than on street level.
* Reconfigure all traffic signals to allow bikes time to get through intersections before vehicle traffic gets a green light (the bikes and the pedestrian "walk" signals would go green first, followed then by the vehicular greens).
The "very preliminary" cost estimates for the options developed by the study come in around the $450,000 range according to the document, but it must be remembered that this is a study, and not the final plans, and the numbers could go up or down.
There apparently were some business owners at the BID meeting who were displeased with the plans, centering mainly around the traffic implications of the loss of one lane in each direction, which during rush hour and ballpark events are travel lanes and which are parking for customers/workers/residents/etc. the rest of the time.
This could especially be an issue during events at Nationals Park, a scenario which isn't mentioned at all in the feasibility study and which has the Nationals particularly concerned (as apparently voiced by the Nats' Gregory McCarthy at the briefing), since it's not out of the realm of possibility (my words, not theirs) that attendance at the ballpark could rise substantially if the team's fortunes improve, making the backups that are seen when the stadium is sold out--such as during the Red Sox series this summer--considerably worse.
There's been no meeting with ANC 6D commissioners yet about this, though reportedly one is coming soon. I've got a request in to Tommy Wells's office for more information (and what better time to ask a question like that than right around Thanksgiving), so no doubt there is much more to come.
 

CapQuarter Framing at Fourth and I; Final Velocity Pics
Though I'm about to disappear down the college football rabbit hole for the the rest of the day, I couldn't resist getting a few quick photos of the new framing that's going up on the last block of Capitol Quarter's first phase, on the northwest corner of Fourth and I.
I also wandered over to First Street to get "final" photos of Velocity building now that the building has opened, including a shot of the sign now up at Justin's Cafe (not that you can really see the sign, thanks to poor sun positioning. Might have to sneak back over there early in the morning).
Here's the complete batch of before-and-after photos for the shots I posted today.
And now, time to go bite my orange-and-blue nails for a few hours.
 

Dec. 10 Hearing on Ward 6 Parking Bill (and Others)
The council's Committee on Public Works and Transportation is having a hearing on Dec. 10 on four bills, including B18-277, the "Ward 6 Residential Parking Protection Pilot Act of 2009." This bill, which was introduced back in May, mainly serves to bring to all of Ward 6 some of the enhanced parking rules that came to Near Southeast, Southwest, and Barracks Row under the Performance Parking Pilot. A Tommy Wells blog post at the time spelled out the specifics of the bill; the one portion that seems to be new for Near Southeast residents is the change in the cost of Residential Parking Permits, which would remain $15 per year for the first permit in a household but would go up to $50 for the second permit and $100 for any additional permits. (This is of course for the residences in Near Southeast that actually qualify for RPP stickers; the multi-unit residential buildings do not, as the comments around here have made clear over the past few months.)
There was already a hearing in front of this committee back in May (on demand video here), but although Jim Graham seemed raring to go at the end of the hearing to get at least the Ward 1 bill passed as emergency legislation, the bills were never brought to a vote, so perhaps now there's been some changes to the bill from the original language.
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BID Holiday Market; Justin's Cafe Photos
News from the Capitol Riverfront BID:
* They've announced their second annual Holiday Market, running Dec. 15-18, from noon to 6 pm each day, at Second and M, on the Canal Park footprint.. "For four days, the Capitol Riverfront will present a festive holiday market with local artisans selling handcrafted jewelry, crafts, photography, holiday trees and greenery, and more. Enjoy a variety of festive foods and live music daily from noon - 2 pm."
* The BID has also posted a few photos of the construction work (and the sign) at the "soon-to-open" Justin's Cafe at Velocity on their Facebook page.
 

Yards Gets LEED Gold; Buzzard Point Planning; Other Links (Parking, DOT HQ, Lower 8th, Jeff Neal)
* The Yards has been designated a LEED Gold Certified Neighborhood Development Plan, based on the 42-acre project's stage two design plan, which "integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into the first national system for neighborhood design." Read Forest City's press release, or learn more about the LEED for Neighborhood Development program.
* Southwest...The Little Quadrant With the Really Long Blog Name (hey, we kid because we love) gives a full report on the meetings last week to create a plan for Buzzard Point. The American Planning Association has posted its press release summarizing the sessions, saying that "Buzzard Point is a distinct area and should build on its strong existing residential character" and that any future plans should "[a]void using a cookie-cutter approach to redeveloping the neighborhood; the type of redevelopment taking place east of South Capitol Street is not what should occur west of South Capitol Street." (Yikes, now there's going to be a rumble in the South Capitol Street median.)
* Michael Perkins is not the person you want to be unable to find a parking space. Speaking of which, here's the second part of GGW's report on last week's Ward 6 Performance Parking public meeting.
* The US Department of Transportation HQ on M Street has been named a winner of the Phoenix Award, which "honors excellence in brownfield redevelopment" and honors companies and individuals who have worked "to solve critical environmental and community challenges when transforming formerly used real estate into productive new uses."
* Voice of the Hill reports on the latest Lower 8th Street visioning sessions: "Barracks Row Main Street executive director James Dalpee suggested that a Columbia Heights-style model, with several big anchor stores, might be what's needed to spur retail in the area," though "while they are dreaming big dreams, planners also have to contend with a number of potential obstacles. They include CSX's plans to tear up Virginia Avenue from 2nd to 11th streets for up to three years to make room for a double-stack train tunnel; the Marine Barracks master plan, which is set to be unveiled soon; and the 11th Street Bridges expansion project."
* WBJ's Breaking Ground blog points to a video by the Huffington Post's investigative unit on "Commercial Real Estate: the Next Hole in the Economy," which "stars" Jeff Neal of Monument Realty talking about the buying "binge" his company went on to snap up lots around the ballpark site in 2004 and 2005. (Though I think it's funny to see WBJ getting a bit snippy about news organizations "discovering holes in the ground" after they did, since I'd be willing to wager that they weren't the first to report on those sites, anyway.) WBJ also says that Neal is developing a reality TV show. Also be sure to check out the comments on the YouTube video for the sort of level-headed, reasoned discourse that we've all become accustomed to on the interwebs.
 
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