The masonry work appears all but completed on the south end, where the gymnasium will be. If you compare these photos to the rendering, you'll see that most of the "holes" left in the construction are where glass or exterior flourishes are planned.

As for the picture at bottom right, it was my not-particularly successful attempt to show in a single shot the progress at the Community Center, the current state of the Lofts at Capitol Quarter a block away, and the boarded up windows signaling renovations at Van Ness Elementary.

Note that it is at 200 I St., SE, not at the school itself.

The Head of School, Cynthia Robinson-Rivers, will be there, as will the initial teachers. The interior and exterior renovation plans will also be on display, as will the new playground designs.

The school is opening with PK-3, PK-4, and kindergarten classes, with plans to add one grade each year until 5th grade is reached.

I inquired within (ignoring the bewildered look of the nice lady at the front desk when I explained that I was merely the "neighborhood blogger" requesting information), and apparently they are dubbing this a soft opening, so they are not offering the full slate of care just yet.

In the coming weeks--perhaps in late July--there will be an official Grand Opening.

Banfield will be open seven days a week, from 9 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday.

With the spaces at Twelve12 and the Boilermaker Shops all but filled, those desperately hungry for news of more retail at the Yards will probably start casting glances toward Forest City's next delivery, the 325-unit Arris apartment building and its 20,000 square feet of ground-floor space (though there's been no announcements as yet, and the building is still a number of months away from completion).

A tenant layout permit for a restaurant in 55 M has recently been applied for, referencing an occupancy of 233 seats/260 total, but my understanding is that no lease agreement had yet been signed with the owners of the 55 M Street office building where the space is located.

If this all does come to fruition*, retail space that has sat empty for five-plus years while millions of people trekked past may be finally getting a tenant.

* Exercising my normal amount of caution, given the lack of a signed lease or official announcement.

* Virginia Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets, SE, will close to traffic and parking "as soon as Monday, June 22."

* Virginia Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets, SE, will close to traffic and parking "as soon as Monday, June 29."

In both cases, fencing will be installed along the project site's perimeter, plus a temporary sidewalk will be installed between 2nd and 3rd.

Look for traffic to increase on the detour routes along I and/or K Streets in these blocks.

In addition, the recreation area under the Southeast Freeway/I-695 at 2nd Street will not be accessible from the south, which means no walking to and from Garfield Park in that spot until tunnel construction is cleared from that location. (The rec area will still be accessible, but only from the north/Garfield Park side.) There will also be fencing installed along the south side of Garfield Park by the rec area.

There will also be temporary closures of the left lane of Virginia Avenue between 5th and 7th Streets for a few weeks, starting perhaps as early as June 17.

This doesn't mean the start of actual digging or pile driving is nigh in these blocks--there are still apparently utility relocations and "other preparations" to complete before excavation work is to begin.

And when they say "as soon as," they really are doing a bit of ballparking. So if the blocks don't close on the above dates, don't assume that they've changed their minds.

For more about the project, check out my Virginia Avenue Tunnel page or the official web site.

UPDATE: I've said it so many times that I didn't think about mentioning it AGAIN, but I will mention AGAIN that the cross-streets in the zone of the project--3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th--will all remain open, allowing for continued vehicle and pedestrian traffic across Virginia and under the freeway. At some point there will be closures of a number of days to install the wooden planking on the intersections above the tunnel digging, but those streets are not scheduled to close for months and months. And neither is the exit ramp from the freeway to 6th Street, though all cars will have to turn left/north and go under the freeway.

(NO, NOT ON TOP OF THE HISTORIC MAIN PUMPING STATION.)

A PUD application has now been filed with the Zoning Commission for the project, to be design/built by Skanska with architect SmithGroupJJR as a "world-class headquarters that integrates efficient building systems with the [existing O Street Pumping Station] to create a dynamic workplace environment" that would be " a bold, innovative statement on the Anacostia River shoreline that reflects DC Water's mission to provide reliable and cost-effective water and wastewater services."

It would be designed as a LEED Platinum building, with stormwater retention, "heat recover and rejection systems" that will use the residual heat from the sewage that is pumped to Blue Plains, and low-impact development landscaping features by OvS "such as bio-swales, pervious pavements, and native vegetation."

The proposed DC Water HQ, as seen from the Anacostia (left), the west looking east (center), and from the Yards Park looking west (right). Renderings from zoning filings. Click to enlarge; and compare to the current view from the river.

The O Street station would keep right on pumping during and after construction, and the HQ design, which encapsulates the pumping station on the south and east and so removes it from view from the river, will include a four-story 190-foot-long east-west truss that will support the new HQ without bearing on the existing pumping station.

As for the PUD itself, it proposes to rezone the site from W-2 to CG/CR, and to only include 21 parking spaces instead of the mandated 69 (yay, nearby transit!).

It also requests flexibility from public space requirements because the building is "deemed essential to supporting the United States government," and so it must "therefore incorporate certain security measures and access restrictions, which impact operation and design of the new building and surrounding area." Here is DC Water's memo on this security topic.

This new headquarters will consolidate and relocate all of the agency's administrative personnel, and get non-essential types away from its currently overcapacity Blue Plains site.

The zoning filing says that this new building "will demonstrate that DC Water's mission is essential to every living organism," and will also "emphasize DC Water's historic role in serving the DC metropolitan area for over a century by providing scheduled educational programming inside the building."

Forest City's planned movie theater would be one block to the north of this site, with the two planned new residential buildings to its west, and a new "1 1/2 Street" would run just to its west (as seen in the left-most rendering of the group of three above).

This will come before ANC 6D for its support before getting to the Zoning Commission on some as-yet unannounced date in the future.

FRIDAY, JUNE 5:

Friday Night Concert Series - Scott's New Band, Yards Park, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Free.

Total 200 Bike Ride, Beginning/Ending at Canal Park. Register here, if you dare.

MONDAY, JUNE 8:

ANC 6D Monthly Meeting, 1100th 4th St., SW, 7 pm.

THURSDAY, JUNE 11:

54th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game, Nats Park, 7:05 pm. Tickets $10.

Thursday Night Outdoor Movies, "Selma," Canal Park, Sundown. Free.

FRIDAY, JUNE 12:

Truckeroo Food Truck Festival, Half Street Fairgrounds, 11 am - 11 pm. Free.

Friday Night Concert Series - DC Jazz Fest, Yards Park, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Free.

DC Jazz Fest at the Yards, 2 - 10 pm. Tickets $56.50.

CSX/Virginia Avenue Tunnel "Coffee with Chuck" Monthly Meeting, Courtyard by Marriott, 7:30 - 9 am. Free.

Thursday Night Outdoor Movies, "The Princess Bride," Canal Park, Sundown. Free.

Friday Night Fishing - catch and release fishing at Diamond Teague Park, 5 - 8 pm. Free.

Friday Night Concert Series - Texas Chainsaw Horns, Yards Park, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Free.

Oneness Yoga Festival, Yards Park, 11 am - 7 pm. Tickets $30, kids free.

Paddle Nights on the Anacostia, Ballpark Boathouse at Diamond Teague Park, 5 pm - 7:30 pm. Free, but registration required.

Thursday Night Outdoor Movies, "Rush Hour," Canal Park, Sundown. Free.

Friday Night Fishing - catch and release fishing at Diamond Teague Park, 5 - 8 pm. Free.

Friday Night Concert Series - Jah Works, Yards Park, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Free.

Waterfront Church Sunday Summer Funday, Courtyard by Marriott, 4 pm - 6 pm. Free.

There's also the lineup of Fitness in the Front offerings early in the morning or in the evening most days of the week, for those of you who partake in the mysterious activity known as "exercise."

I went into detail on the updated designs a few weeks ago, but the quickie summary is that there will be somewhere between 350 and 445 residential units (including condos!) in two buildings, and as much as 68,000 square feet of retail on two floors. (There could possibly be a small hotel as well, which would bring the residential count to the lower end of the proposed spectrum.) There would also be 231 parking spaces and bike parking in three underground levels, the hole for which, as we all know, has already conveniently been dug.

Both Jair Lynch and project architect Chris Harvey of Hord Coplan Macht talked about how the building is designed to bring the "indoors out, and the outdoors in," with huge windows for retail spaces and with the upper floors designed to take in views not of the surrounding skyline but of the street below, especially as the festive gameday atmosphere unfolds. "We believe it will define the ballpark entertainment district," Lynch said, calling it a "unique destination" for the three million people who visit the ballpark and the neighborhood every year.

The comments from the zoning commissioners were uniformly positive*, with the discussion going through especially zoning-y zoning issues, such as the design of the roof, the status of LEED certification (they're going for Silver, apparently), the lack of affordable housing (short version: this project is expensive!) and the location of a lobby entrance at the corner of Half and the new pedestrian-only Monument Place.

Much of the remaining discussion ended up centering around the streetscape plans, with commissioners agreeing that a curbless street being a wise decision with thousands of people walking through and not watching where they are going, but with DDOT needing to work with Lynch's group to decide exactly how to approach, since as of now DDOT really has no guidelines for such a design.

DDOT also appeared to be putting the kibosh on the idea of "catenary lights" across both ends of Half Street (which has been in the drawings for the site for many years), as well as wanting planned bollards ditched and wanting a different layout for sidewalk trees, since the lack of overhead wires on Half means that there could be a substantial tree canopy if the proper trees are used.

In response to a question from commissioner Robert Miller, who described the project as "very long-awaited and dynamic and exciting," Lynch said that the expectation is to break ground in 2016 and be finished in 2018 (presumably in time for a certain all-star event). Cushing Street would be used as the route for construction vehicles (though work would stop three hours before any Nats game), but Lynch also said that the fact that the excavation is mostly complete "should help tremendously."

With the Office of Planning and DDOT each supporting the plan as long as a few items are addressed, and with ANC 6D having voted to support it as well, there appears to only be the need for some mopping up submissions (renderings from street level for Cushing Street and Monument Place, better roof plans, the fixes for OP, yadda yadda), it sounds as if this project should be voted on favorably, perhaps at the June 29 commission meeting.

My page for this Half Street project gives additional details on the site, as do my previous posts.

And maybe before too much longer we'll see some details of JBG's plans for the other side of the street.

* Or, in the case of Peter May, not actually negative.

"CSX today started the major construction phase of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel Project. The support of excavation work now underway consists of drilling 42-inch holes for steel and concrete pilings that will support a temporary retaining wall necessary to construct the first new permanent tunnel elements. This work is taking place at the west end of the project site in public space near 2nd and H Streets, S.E."

It goes on to say that similar work will get underway at the eastern end of the tunnel near 11th & M SE "within the next few weeks."

As always, to get more information, check out my Virginia Avenue Tunnel page (which probably needs a bit of freshening) or the official VirginiaAvenueTunnel.com web site, where you can also sign up to be on the project mailing list.

And deep in the multitude of documents and words is the "11th Street Bridge Park Funding Limitations Act of 2015," which states that "no funds allocated for the Park may be awarded or disbursed for purposes of construction until at least 50 percent of the total projected construction costs of the project have been raised from private donors."

The act also "prohibits the use of District funds for the purpose of operations or maintenance" of the planned park.

The piers left from the now-demolished downstream 11th Street Bridge span would be used to build this park, running from just east of the Navy Yard over to Anacostia Park, has a $40 million price tag attached to it, according to published reports.

The District has previously committed to providing $14.5 million of the $25 million construction costs, and a fundraising campaign is underway to fund both the $10.5 million construction funding gap and the estimated $15 million in operations funding.

The council will be voting on its proposed budget tomorrow, Tuesday, May 27.

Today, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton released her comments on the study, saying that the private sites "should not be chosen because of the significant negative impacts on District residents, District business owners, and the District economy" and that the Marines "cannot now swoop in and take these prized sites in a city that has almost no land left for development for the benefit of its growing population and businesses."

In comparison, she says, the two sites on federal land "will protect private landowners and lessees in the District while at the same time providing the opportunity for increased economic development at the current Building 20 site" (at 8th and I).

The period for commenting on the EIS ends today, May 26. so if you are desperate to add your voice, I would hope you can submit via the web site until midnight.

My post on the draft EIS is far more detailed than this quickie update, so I suggest reading it for further background.

Quoting from the order: "The Committee contends that new information gleaned from the recently-produced administrative record demonstrates that the federal and local agencies involved in the environmental review of the reconstruction project unlawfully predetermined its outcome. The Court concludes, however, that the Committee’s new evidence does not satisfy its burden to demonstrate that the agencies failed objectively to consider the environmental impacts of the reconstruction. Accordingly, it will deny the motion."

The Committee of 100 had filed their appeal in May, saying that new access to the "full record in the case," all 130,000 pages of it, showed "persuasive evidence of improper predetermination that was not available to the District Court" at the time of the initial injunction denial. But Judge Cooper wrote that "the portions of the administrative record provided by the Committee do not support its position that DDOT unlawfully predetermined the NEPA outcome or that FHWA failed to independently consider the environmental effects of the tunnel reconstruction."

You can read the full opinion/order for more detail.

(And, whaddya know, C100 is still using my photo on their web site! UPDATE, 5/27: It took a bit of back-and-forth, but the photo is now taken down.)

There will be picnic seating for 200, with a rotating lineup of sandwiches ranging from their Chopped Beef, Pit Smoked Turkey and Hot Link Sausage sandwiches as well as a "daily Pitmaster special." Each sandwich will come with your choice of cucumber salad, baked beans, or pasta salad.

There won't be beer and wine offerings to start, but those libations should be part of the lineup eventually.

The Home Stand will be open two hours before and after the game on home game days.

The Post says that it could open this Friday, or "if not this Friday, then by the next homestand," according to a Hill Country rep.

This site is slated to become a 290-unit residential building with 26,000 square feet of retail, but it hasn't been expected that work would begin on that project until after baseball season at the earliest.

UPDATE, 5/24: "The Home Stand" started operating on Friday, and is now duly photographed, as you see above, and here.

Both the Virginia Ham and the Old Dominion Chicken biscuits were teased at the April ballpark tour (and received the JDLand Taste Bud seal of approval), and there will also be mac-and-cheese, a housemade version of Cracker Jack called "Virginia Crunch," and a "Blue Ridge Bourbon and Tea" made with Filibuster Bourbon, peach schnapps (sold!), iced tea, and mint.

Also debuting on Tuesday will be the new home for the main team store, now located inside the gates in the ground floor of the eastern parking garage and nearly double the size of the old outlet facing N Street. No announcement yet as to what will be going into the old space, though it was said back in 2014 that the plan is "to convert the old space into a restaurant that fans will be able to enjoy throughout the year."

The Yankees will be the visitors on Tuesday and Wednesday (May 19 and 20), followed by a weekend set with the Phillies, which also includes the second Pups in the Park on Saturday, May 23. There will also be tote bags for the first 25,000 fans on Tuesday, a 10th anniversary poster for the first 10,000 fans on Sunday, and a number of presentations and ceremonies honoring the military as part of this Memorial Day weekend series.

And as if that's not enough, the team and MLB are partnering with the American Academy of Dermatology on Friday, May 22 for the "Play Sun Smart" initiative that is promoting skin cancer awareness. (As a freckle-faced fair-skinned lass of Irish descent, I fully endorse this project.)

The entire lineup of activities, ceremonies, and giveaways is available here.

And, the Capitol Riverfront BID has put together this roundup of gameday restaurant specials outside the ballpark, in case you need additional sustenance before or after the game.

The one I know will be of most interest is above left, showing what the new skyline would look like just to the northeast of Nats Park as seen from home plate, where Lynch's planned residential project will be situated. (They seemed to have tried to go for some sort of tilt-shift look, so it's not your eyes or my image file that's blurry, it's the original.) At right is a sharper/snazzier view of the building as seen from ground-level at Half and N, with the glass-walled corner portion of the planned 60,000-plus square feet of retail space a definite focal point. The darker façade facing N Street delineates the planned condo portion of the project from the rental units (and possibly a hotel, or possibly not) around the corner on Half.

I wrote in detail about the plans for the site a few weeks ago, or you can check my Lynch Half project page for additional details.

Meanwhile, in other Ballpark District 2.0 news, I see an indication of forward progress on JBG's planned 290-unit residential project just north of the ballpark at 1244 South Capitol: an application was filed last week for a shoring/sheeting/excavation permit (got to dig down before you can build up!). The company has said they are looking to begin construction in late 2015 or early 2016.

It will be coming to the Boilermaker Shops, and will fill the last available retail space in that building, which opened in 2013. It will be the seventh Pacers location nationwide, and fifth in the DC area, and will join Unleashed, Hugh & Crye, GNC, and Wells Cleaners in the lineup of current non-food offerings in the rehabbed building.

* BIKE TO WORK DAY: The forecast looks swell for DC's annual Bike to Work Day, on Friday, May 15. Canal Park is one of the pit stops, from 7 to 9 am, at which there will be refreshments and food, plus you'll have a chance to win prizes if you have registered. (Looks like the free t-shirts are all already claimed, though.) Read about commuter convoys, ride buddies and more at the official web site.

* FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERTS: The Friday night Summer Concert Series at Yards Park kicks off this week, with the R&B stylings of Jimi Smooth. The concerts begin each week at 6:30 pm, and the Grassy Knoll fills up pretty quickly, so arrive early!

* OPERA IN THE OUTFIELD: Saturday is Cinderella Day at Nats Park, thanks to the the return of the annual Opera in the Outfield simulcast. Gates open at 5 pm, with a slew of pre-performance activities and entertainment, including a Royal Parade that will allow "kids of all ages" to arrive in costume and march around the lower concourse. The actual simulcast begins at 7 pm, and it's all Rain or Shine, and all free and open to the public. Note that sitting in the outfield now requires a wristband handed out on a first-come first-serve basis. More details here.

* GLUG GLUG GLUG: This most assuredly is not free, but Canal Park on Saturday will host "ABV," an afternoon of "outdoor imbibing" of the "finest craft beverages," put together by Greg Engert and friends. It will run from 3 to 8 pm, rain or shine, and tickets are $20 at the door or in special advance packages. The full list of beer, wine, and spirits to be available is here.

* FITNESS IN THE FRONT: Technically not a weekend event, but you may need to toss in a workout session or two after a big weekend--and just your luck, the lineup of outside summer fitness classes gets underway on Monday, May 19. Brought to you by VIDA Fitness and DC BFIT and located in Yards and Canal Parks, the classes range from Yoga to Zumba to "high energy" to Boot Camps to a once-a-month family fitness session. The schedule is here, and classes are free and open to the public.

* MARGARITA WARS: In case you didn't get your fill of drinking in a neighborhood park at ABV, City Paper's third annual Margarita Wars is slated for May 21 at 6:30 pm at the Yards Park. "You be the judge as the region's top mixologists compete for your vote in a winner take all battle for 'rita supremacy." Tickets are $25 and include unlimited margarita tastings. Also included: one of those extra-special tequila-fueled hangovers. (But you'll want to recover by May 30, when the Tour de Fat extravaganza returns to Yards Park.)

In addition, it was announced that "as soon as" today, "utility relocation work will start near the intersections of Virginia Avenue and 5th, 6th, 8th and 11th Streets, S.E." And indeed I spied work underway today at the corner of 8th and Virginia as well.

"Work will include surveying, pavement removal, trenching and other activities associated with utility relocations. Traffic lanes in these areas may be shifted and some parking spaces will be occupied. Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians should use caution when traveling through this area and be prepared to follow temporary traffic controls. This work is expected to continue through September."

Another item scheduled to happen Any Minute Now is the fencing of a significant portion of Virginia Avenue Park, on a line that will spare the community garden but will bring about the closure of the dog park. (I saw no evidence of any fence just now on the park's western end at 9th Street, but I can't confirm or deny any work elsewhere in the park at this moment.)

As stated in CSX's release on the matter: "Access to the portion of the park being fenced will be restricted through the duration of the tunnel project. CSX apologizes for any inconveniences that these restrictions may create. Access will be restored and enhancements will be made to the park at the completion of the tunnel-construction project. "

In other words, unless something happens with the lawsuit, this is the beginning of a many-months-long stretch of work just to the south of the freeway.

If you wish to pelt an official with questions about it all, you can join CSX assistant vice president Chuck Gullakson for "Coffee with Chuck" on May 20 from 7:30 to 9:30 am at the Courtyard by Marriott (RSVP here).

Allen will be highlighting "both the good and the bad" of Mayor Bowser's proposed FY16 budget, as well as talking through his own budget priorities. But beyond that, this event is being billed as an opportunity for residents "to ask your budget questions and share your own priorities" before the council starts voting on its possible changes to the mayor's budget.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 pm.

Sayeth the Post: "Last month, District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper ruled that rebuilding the 111-year-old tunnel is in the best interest of the public, and said that the Committee failed to establish grounds for a preliminary injunction."

The actual lawsuit, which "questions the legality and transparency of the project's federal environmental review process and says there were violations of federal and DC law," is still pending.

In the meantime, initial site work has supposedly now gotten underway at 2nd and 4th streets, though I have not witnessed this with my own eyes when I last looked on Monday evening. The official VirginiaAvenueTunnel.com web site is posting updates on items related to the project, should you wish more information.

And by the way, Committee of 100, I'm pretty sure that's a bad blow-up of one of my photos you are repeatedly using on your site, without permission or attribution. Your teams of lawyers should know better. (UPDATE, 5/7: I've received an apology from them, and they've taken down the photo, for which I thank them on both counts.)