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I know it's been pretty silent around here, and will probably be that way for a few more days. I'm just continuing to be knee-deep in the Post's move from its 15th Street location to the spiffy new digs at One Franklin Square.
If you spent any time on social media on Wednesday, you were probably hard pressed to avoid the avalanche of photos and videos and updates from the newsroom's "decommissioning" celebration (some of which I took/shared), but it really was a nicely done send-off that deserved the saturation coverage. (Be sure to watch the video here looking back at the old building and at how newspapers used to be produced, including lots of Watergate-related memories.)
Even as a relative newbie at the Post compared to some people (I've only been there 18 years, while the reigning longtime employee, Marty Weil, arrived in November 1965), there's certainly wistfulness about all of the memories, but there's no getting around the fact that that space had long outlived its ability to keep up with the times. And so we will now be in a state-of-the-art space, befitting the parallel change from being a newspaper to being a news/media company.
In the meantime, at least there doesn't appear to have been much news in the neighborhood, though I did at least take one photo lately, of the clearing progress at 1244 South Capitol. So I'm not completely useless.
Continue talking amongst yourselves, and hopefully normal output will return here before too much longer. (Except then there's that new Star Wars movie coming out, and then Christmas, and and and...)
Comments (22)
More posts: JDLand stuff
 

In a sneaky holiday-weekend move noticed by at least one eagle-eyed JDLand reader, WC Smith has posted floor plans and general price ranges for the 436 units soon to be available at the Park Chelsea, at 880 New Jersey Ave., SE. Studios start at $1,700, one-bedroom units at $1,900, and two-bedroom units at $2,900, and one three-bedroom penthouse unit at over $4,800/month for 1,786 square feet of space.
But those little tidbits aren't really the main headline: it's that this information is now found on TheCollectiveDC.com, a combined web site for the Park Chelsea, Agora (i.e., the building currently under construction that will have a Whole Foods on the ground floor), and the Garrett, the planned but until now unnamed third building that will round out the development of the block bounded by New Jersey Avenue and 2nd, H, and I Streets, SE.
It's a vast web site that I won't try to summarize here, except to tell you that there are long lists of amenities, as well as hints of a golf simulator, an indoor basketball court, a tennis court, "indoor green space," and the lap pool we already knew about.
The site says that the Park Chelsea--"at the intersection of elegance and opportunity," will offer "classic, New York-style architecture" when it opens in the first quarter of 2016. Agora, just up the street at the "intersection of style and possibility," will have "contemporary architecture" and "minimalist interior finishes" when it arrives in early 2017 (with the Whole Foods probably needing a few months longer for its build-out). The Garrett, just around the corner at the "intersection of activity and accessibility," will feature "industrial-chic design" when it opens, perhaps as early as 2019.
It's getting so you can't keep all of these projects straight without a scorecard. Let me help you with that.
 

This weekend Canal Park will be hosting the second annual Parcel Market, from 12 to 6 pm on both Saturday and Sunday, with its "interactive art installations, a cozy food pavilion warmed by fire pits, live & local music performances, and a chic festival tent showcasing a thoughtfully curated list of local designers, artists, chefs, and food artisans." *
Plus, the neighborhood is getting a Christmas tree for the first time, in the park's southern block between L and M, and the Capitol Riverfront BID is inviting all residents to help decorate the tree on Saturday morning, from 9 to 11 am. Bring an ornament for the tree and canned food to donate to the Capital Area Food Bank, and get a taste of coffee or hot chocolate from Philz, the new coffee shop that will be coming to Tingey Street in a few months.
The tree will then be illuminated at 6 pm on Saturday, Dec. 5, with Dupont Brass providing the seasonally appropriate music.
The market will feature all manner of items, including clothes, jewelry, accessories, pet toys and apparel, artwork, printmaking, and "home enhancements." Food will also be available for Dirty South Deli, Ben's Chili Bowl, Bluejacket Brewery, Ice Cream Jubilee, Agua 301, District Doughnut, and more.
If you want your visit to be a bit more hands-on, there will be workshops to make greeting cards, wreaths, and more. And of course the ice rink will be open.
(*Sorry to just quote a big chunk of text--today's my last day in the old building at the Post and I arrive with the first wave in the new building on Friday, so life continues to be just a wee bit hectic.)
Comments (6)
More posts: Canal Park, Events
 

You may have noticed that I only rarely have referred to Donohoe's under-construction apartment building at 1111 New Jersey by its announced name, "Gallery at Capitol Riverfront," because, well, if you can't say something nice....
And my hesitancy appears to have been rewarded, because as a reader noticed, the 1111 development is now "Insignia on M," and its marketing (and presumably management) is now being handled by Bozzuto.
The building, currently under construction right next to (but not truly on top of) the east entrance to the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station on the northwest corner of New Jersey and M Streets, SE, will have 324 units (a mix of studios and 1- and 2-BR units), and 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, along with the increasingly standard amenities found in new "luxury" buildings.
The building's progress up to now has not been lightning quick, with vertical construction only beginning to reach ground level nearly 15 months after site-clearing began. (Digging a big hole immediately next to a Metro station and tunnel is not undertaken lightly.)
At least with this change there's finally some new renderings available of the design by WDG Architecture. The one at the top of this post shows the view looking south along New Jersey Avenue from L Street, the same view as seen in this photo from a few days ago, standing near the small patio space at the Courtyard Marriott (though without that big white building in the distance).
Here's a few additional renderings that I purloined from the official web site, showing the roof view (left), and the ground-floor retail facing M Street (middle) and L Street (right, with the lovely pink of Ann's Beauty and Wigs clearly shown at right). You can see more renderings at the official web site and at Donohoe's site. And there's my project page, for more history and photos.
And this is not really the most major change this project has seen, because originally 1111 New Jersey was going to be a 250,000-square-foot office building, before the decision was made in 2013 to go residential.
This is the second renaming I've posted about this week, after the Lofts at Capitol Quarter appeared to get re-dubbed as The Bixby, though I think the Housing Authority maybe ain't all hep to that notion.
But that's not all! There's another residential project that has an official name previously unmentioned here, and it is...
 

So, we've got the Lofts at Capitol Quarter becoming the Bixby (perhaps), and 1111 New Jersey ditching "Gallery at Capitol Riverfront" for "Insignia on M." Time to fill out the lineup by finally getting around to mentioning that the 336-unit residential building currently under construction at 800 New Jersey is going to be named:
Agora.
This is the project better known as "The Whole Foods Building," on the north end of New Jersey Avenue just south of the Southeast Freeway and immediately to the north of the Park Chelsea. It's the second of three planned apartment buildings by WC Smith on the block bounded by New Jersey, 2nd, H (to come), and I (to come).
Construction started in June of 2014, and is now just coming out of the ground, while residents for many blocks in all directions tap their toes waiting only somewhat patiently for the 36,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market that is signed for the first floor.
I cannot in any way lay claim to being the fast out of the gate in mentioning this Agora news, since it was in a BID newsletter back in July. I meant to mention it sooner, but I also thought that at some point WC Smith would unveil it. Also, it was July. It was hot. I was tired.
As for what "Agora" means, Wikipedia says in its entry on the ancient Greek marketplace of that name that "the literal meaning of the word is 'gathering place' or 'assembly.' The agora was the center of athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life of the city." (There's a few other Agora entries as well, including a very early "email" browser.)
I doubt this is the end of the naming dance, either, since you have to figure there will be "real" names for 909 Half and 82 I/801 New Jersey and 1244 South Capitol.
I have, however, updated my maps and project pages with all these new names.
(I should also note that this Agora shouldn't be confused with this Agora.)
 

A mere eight years after shutting down, the BP Amoco station on the northeast corner of South Capitol and N Streets is 100 percent no more, with visual confirmation coming via Twitter of the tearing down of the canopy that had remained standing since 2007.
This can be considered the opening salvo in the construction of JBG's 290-unit apartment building at 1244 South Capitol Street, which I mentioned last week would be getting underway Any Minute Now.
For much of its post-gas station existence, this site immediately north of Nats Park was used as a parking lot during Nats games, but during the summer of 2015 it was home to Hill Country's game-day barbecue pop-up, "The Home Stand."
As for the canopy, it's enough of a demolition to memorialize it as entry number 173 in my Demolished Buildings Gallery. (If you haven't wandered through the gallery, it's quite a stroll down memory lane.) The photo above shows the gas station still operating, in August 2005.
The apartment project is expected to be finished in late 2017 or early 2018. And soon I'll have (yet) another hole to look into.
 

At a community meeting Tuesday night to discuss the DC Housing Authority's development plans for the block between 2nd, 3rd, I, and K known as Square 767, DCHA executive director Adrianne Todman confirmed that the agency is continuing to work on a two-building plan for the site: a 120-unit market-rate condo building that would be developed by EYA and partners, and a separate rental building that would be a mix of public housing and "affordable" units.
While the designs of the buildings and specific numbers as to the exact number of units and the income-requirement structure aren't yet available (and probably won't be until the Housing Authority submits its second-stage PUD filing to the Zoning Commission), a presentation slide referred to "48-67 affordable rental units." It was also said that the design of the buildings will be the same, with the same architect and materials for both buildings, and that the rental building will have ground-floor retail facing Canal Park.
And, because I'm a sucker for the deep official detail of zoning filings, I'm going to wait until that second-stage PUD hits the streets instead of delving into too much more into the details given at the meeting, especially given that it sounds like there is still some level of fluidity in the plans (Todman quickly mentioned at one point that she asked her team to "look at adding some market-rate [units] as well") and given that their zoning encyclopedia David Cortiella was not in attendance. But at the very least it seems to be a concrete decision to "integrate different incomes" in the rental building.
Todman did emphasize the Housing Authority is still in pursuit of its "prime directive" to rebuild the 707 units of public housing that were in Capper/Carrollsburg before it was demolished (398 available so far, 309 to go), and also getting as many of the original Capper families back to Near Southeast if they wish to return. And many of the questions from audience members centered around the issue of returning families, the use of vouchers in the new buildings, and the current lack of affordable ownership opportunities.
One other interesting theme that Todman mentioned a couple of times is how in comparison to other DCHA properties, the Capitol Quarter townhomes are "mixed income on steroids," with levels of diversity in both income and race that the Housing Authority just did not expect when planning Capper's redevelopment more than a decade ago."We have to work harder to make it a more seamless community," she said.
In other Capper-related tidbits passed along at the meeting: the opening date for the Community Center is now anticipated to be April 2016, and the financing deal for the 181-unit mixed-income apartment building planned for the south side of L Street SE between 2nd and 3rd (Square 769N) is expected to be completed in the spring as well.
It looks to be early 2016 before the Square 767 second-stage PUD will be filed, so until then, further specifics for this block may remain hard to come by. But I shall remain vigilant.
 

While it needs to be stressed that there is currently no evidence of this being a done deal, it should be passed along that city officials have apparently been considering renovating the old GSA warehouse at Half and L Streets, SE, into a shelter for homeless families.
This is the building that was the subject of a drive back in 2013 by residents who hoped that it could be transferred to city control and eventually become a "market and community space" called the Half Street Market. And it was a little over a year ago that the news came out that the federal government was indeed looking at swapping the building for construction services to be provided by DC at the St. Elizabeth's/Department of Homeland Security site.
My understanding is that Ward 6 council member Charles Allen, while acknowledging the need for such a shelter, is not in favor of using this particular building in its current one-story warehouse form for such a project, citing the loss of potential development above ground level on the site as well as retail in a space so close to both the Navy Yard Metro station and Nationals Park just down Half Street.
(And, it must be said, the optics of having the words "warehouse" and "homeless shelter" so closely tied together are a bit cringeworthy.)
The building is also getting a new neighbor on its southern end, as a Homewood Suites hotel is currently under construction at 50 M.
I sent a request on Monday to the mayor's press office for additional information, but haven't as yet heard back. If I do (because you know how top-level offices love responding to requests from low-profile bloggers), I'll update this post.
 

I am probably stepping on the toes of a big controlled PR unveiling, but my interest was piqued when I was followed on Twitter today by @TheBixbyDC.
A little bit of Googling brought me first to the address of 601 L St., SE, and then to this web site, all of which points to an official rebranding of what we've come to know as the Lofts at Capitol Quarter, the 195-unit mixed-income apartment building now under construction at 7th and L Streets, SE.
The content of the site at the moment is minimal, but you can see that they are (rightly) highlighting the building's location "between Capitol Hill and Navy Yard":
"At The Bixby, you'll find an inviting apartment that puts you in the middle of DC, just steps to Capitol Hill and the Capitol Riverfront, yet feels far away from it all when you want to relax. Explore the delights of Barracks Row and the Navy Yard, enjoy a quiet afternoon on your balcony or host an evening with friends on the rooftop."
Those of you with long memories may recognize 601 L St. SE as the address of the old Capper Seniors building, which was demolished eight years ago this month.
The Bixby web site allows you to register to receive more information, but there's no mention on the site yet as to when the building might start leasing.
Note that while Forest City's logo appears on the page, the development itself is a product of the DC Housing Authority, as part of the Capper/Carrollsburg redevelopment. Forest City is on board to manage the building, which will have 39 public housing units.
 

With the enticement of coupons for a free order of wings each week for 52 weeks for the first 100 people in line helping to bring a crowd at 10 am on a Monday, the city's first Buffalo Wild Wings opened this morning at 1220 Half St. SE, immediately to the south of the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro entrance and not too far from the main gates at Nationals Park.
Ward 6 council member Charles Allen was on hand to cut the ribbon for the restaurant, which is employing about 130 DC residents, including many whom live very close by in Southwest or Southeast.
It opens daily at 11 am, and stays open until 1 am Fridays and Saturdays and midnight the rest of the week.
Here's a few quick photos of the festivities, with the full batch in this gallery.
 

It's been a bit of a moving target, but it's been announced that the Canal Park Ice Rink is opening at noon tomorrow, Friday, Nov. 13.
The rink also now has a Twitter account at @SkateCanalPark as well as its Facebook page.
The hours of operation as currently listed on the web site are noon to 7 pm Mondays and Tuesdays, noon to 9 pm Wednesday through Friday, 11 am to 10 pm on Saturdays, and 11 am to 7 pm on Sundays. There are also special "Cartoon Skates" from 11 am to 1 pm on Saturdays, "Rock n Skate" from 7 to 9 pm on Fridays, "2 for 1 Tuesdays" from 4 to 6 pm Tuesdays, and "College Nights" on Thursday from 6 to 9 pm.
If you have never laced up and gotten on the ice, there are Learn to Skate lessons, starting November 21. (Or you can be like me and hold onto the wall for 45 minutes.)
There's also birthday party packages as well as private rentals ($1,000 for two hours of private ice time).
There will then be an official Grand Opening on Nov. 21. No details on those festivities as yet, but I imagine those will be announced before long.
Comments (3)
More posts: Canal Park, icerink
 

This week I've looked at the buildings that are far along in their construction, and I've looked at the newest topped-off project, and I've even mentioned the project that is just about to start digging, so what's left? A mere seven projects that are in their vertical construction phase, at various levels of out-of-the-ground.
We'll start with 801 New Jersey/82 I (above/left), now a smidge more than halfway toward its eventual 13-story height. This is the Graystar/RCP 227-unit apartment building that is expected to open in 2016.
Just up the block is 800 New Jersey, aka the Whole Foods building, which looks just barely out of the ground from New Jersey (below left), but if you venture up 2nd Street (below right) you can see evidence of the ramp for the grocery store parking that will be on the second and third floor. (Resident parking will be below ground, shared with its sibling the Park Chelsea and the eventual third residential building along the east side of the block.) This building will have about 336 rental units:

Two projects have at least some hint of their first floors built: the 380-unit building at 909 Half Street will be a lot larger than this small section of construction at Half and I makes it look like at the moment (below left), while the Homewood Suites at Half and M really does also have a portion of its first floor built, though the nasty late fall shadows make it hard to see.
Next up are three projects that are technically out of the ground, although it's just rebar breaking the plane at the moment, but concrete shouldn't be far behind. Behold terribly unexciting pictures of the status of the F1rst residential project and the Residence Inn immediately to its north, plus the Gallery at Capitol Riverfront/1111 New Jersey.
But if you like photos of holes being dug, you're still in luck. There's now clear evidence of the excavation work at Skanska's 99 M office building project, and while nothing will ever really arise from the cut-and-cover work on the new portion of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel (seen here looking west from 5th Street) it's still digging.
In the midst of all of these updates over the past few days, I did some redevelopment of my own, and finally created individual pages for the Square 701/Not-Ballpark-Square trio of projects, so now you can check out the progress on the Hampton Inn, F1rst/Residence Inn, and 99 M in a less jumbled format.
 

I've received word that work is about to get started on 1244 South Capitol, a 290-unit residential building on the northeast corner of South Capitol and N Streets. This is the site where Hill Country operated a game-day pop-up barbecue stand this summer, and many moons ago it was a BP/Amoco station. The land was originally purchased by Monument Realty during the 2005-06 Gold Rush era, then was bought by JBG in 2013.
It's expected to take about two years to complete, and when done it will be the first new building on the east side of South Capitol Street since Nats Park opened more than seven years ago. It will have 26,000 square feet of retail on two stories, giving the corner immediately north of Nats Parking Garage B the sort of "activation" that has been expected ever since it was announced the stadium was coming to South Capitol Street.
For those of you scoring at home, let's go through the lineup of projects currently under construction in the neighborhood east of South Capitol and south of the freeway. Not merely in the pipeline, actually under construction:
* Park Chelsea, 430 rental units, expected delivery early 2016;
* Arris, 326 rental units, expected delivery early 2016;
* Dock 79, 305 rental units, expected delivery summer 2016;
* Lofts at Capitol Quarter, 195 mixed-income rental units, expected delivery 2016;
* Gallery at Capitol Riverfront (1111 New Jersey), 324 rental units, expected delivery 2016;
* 801 New Jersey, 227 rental units, expected delivery late 2016;
* 800 New Jersey/Whole Foods, 336 rental units, expected delivery 2017;
* 909 Half Street, 380 rental units, expected delivery late 2016/early 2017;
* F1rst. 325 rental units, expected delivery 2017;
* Hampton Inn and Suites, 168 rooms, expected delivery Any Minute Now;
* Homewood Suites, 195 rooms, expected delivery late 2016/early 2017;
* Residence Inn, 170 rooms, expected delivery 2017;
* 99 M, 224,000-square-foot office building, expected delivery 2017;
* Capper Community Center, expected delivery early 2016.
If you don't feel like doing the math, that's more than 2,900 rental units being built right now, as well as about 530 hotel rooms.
No wonder I'm so tired.
 

With a BZA hearing in the offing later this month, Lerner Enterprises has submitted more filings on 1000 South Capitol, its proposed 330ish-unit residential building at South Capitol and K Streets, SE. And those filings contain the first spiffy renderings of the building, so of course must follow my fiduciary duty to pass them along. Shalom Baranes is the architect.
On Monday night, ANC 6D supported 5-0-1 the project's application for two zoning variances (side yard and loading berth) and a special exception (roof structure). In its motion, the ANC did mention that the loss of Nats Parking Lot K and the addition of more residents "will place further demands on an already difficult parking situation," and asks for the developer's commitment to "place information in all leases stating that tenants are not eligible for [residential parking permits.]" The ANC also mentioned concerns with potential use of the curb lane on South Capitol for loading, deliveries, and drop-offs, and suggested a small signed zone on K Street for such uses.
And, while the building does not have an affordable housing requirement, Lerner has committed to having two such units in the building, one with a household income of 50-80% area median income (AMI) and one of 80-120% AMI. Commissioner Rhonda Hamilton made a strong plea for the AMI to go as low as 30% AMI, noting that "it's not fair" that people who work at the stadium or nearby restaurants for low pay are being priced out of the ability to live near where they work.
Note the angled windows along South Capitol, alternating between south-facing and north-facing on each floor, to give residents views toward the Capitol and toward the ballpark.
I am not seeing any evidence in the filings of any ground-floor retail--this block is not covered by the Capitol Gateway Overlay District, so it does not have the same requirements for retail space that buildings along and south of M are bound by.
 

While the appearance of a canopy over a front entrance does not signal that an under-construction apartment building is ready to start welcoming residents next week, it's still an interesting progress point to see at both the Park Chelsea and Arris residential projects. There's also landscaping starting to go in along the Park Chelsea's sidewalks on both New Jersey and would-you-just-open-already I Street--plus the leasing countdown clock has remained set for January 2016 for a few months now. As for Arris, the latest word remains "early 2016" for when it will open--and 2016 just isn't as far away as it used to be.
To the east, the not-minor project to do the masonry work and the siding at the 195-unit mixed-income Lofts at Capitol Quarter at 7th Street continues--apologies for only showing the rear of the building when I take a wide shot, but with the trees and the narrowness of L Street it's basically impossible for me to get a good photograph of the front. (Plus the low sun angle from late October through early March makes southern-facing photos a pretty miserable experience with a pretty miserable outcome, anyway.)
At 5th and K, the Capper Community Center's exterior isn't changing too much at this stage, but I'd get the shakes if I tried to not photograph it.
At New Jersey and Tingey, the new trapeze school building's blue-and-white exterior is mostly finished, though I'm such a bad blogger that it didn't occur to me to walk up to the big opening and peek in--but TSNYDC has posted a photo of the inside.
As for the Brig, the beer garden-to-be at 8th and L, the building itself looks pretty well finished now, though the "garden" portion of the venture does not appear to have gotten underway yet. And with two pit bulls on guard (!), I wasn't about to poke my camera through the fence for a better view.
And while I had designs on pressing my camera up against the glass at Buffalo Wild Wings on Half Street, they were having a staff training session when I arrived, and so I chickened out (Bad Blogger Data Point #2). But the gentleman I spoke with there confirmed again the Nov. 16 opening date, saying that the doors will open that day at 10 am--and that they generally have people camping out over Sunday nights to be among the first 100 customers through the door, who are then winners of the free-wings-once-a-week-for-a-year prize. Hope y'all have warm sleeping bags!
Still to come, the skeletons-and-holes report.
 

UPDATE, NOV. 9: This meeting is now going to be on Nov. 17, still at 6:30 pm at 200 I St., SE. It was rescheduled from its original date that turned out to conflict with a public safety meeting
Original post:
There's not much detail at this point, but a public meeting has been scheduled on Oct. 27 at 6:30 pm at 200 I Street to discuss the DC Housing Authority's plans for the block known as Square 767, bounded by 2nd Place and 3rd, I, and K Streets SE.
This block, part of the Capper/Carrollsburg Hope VI redevelopment footprint, is the location where DCHA is looking to sell a portion of the land so that an as-yet unnamed developer can build a market-rate condo building. Such a plan would seem to mean that the necessary affordable rental units on that block would be confined to whatever non-condo project is also built on that block, a notion has had neighbors expressing much concern since it was first revealed nearly two years ago.
There's no agenda or materials yet released, so look for a more detailed post once DCHA makes those items available.
 

This is mainly an excuse for me to post photos I got by schlepping up onto the Douglass Bridge on Sunday, but it's worth noting that it was announced last week that vertical construction is now finished on Dock 79, the 305-unit residential building that is the first phase of the never-thought-it-would-finally-happen redevelopment of the Florida Rock site along the Anacostia River. And so let's take a moment to look back to what the site looked like in 2005, and what it looks like now:
One other item of note at the site--as seen below, beams have been placed connecting a portion of the main concrete walkway at Diamond Teague Park to what will be Dock 79's plaza and Anacostia Riverwalk footprint, and without realizing it I did a pretty good job of matching my photo of the beams to the rendering of the same location:
There will be over 15,000 square feet of retail in the building, and in a press release from developer MRP Realty last week, John Begert is quoted as saying the retail space is being "programmed" with "a dynamic mix of local authentic restaurant operators," though no retail tenants have been announced as yet.
Most of this retail space will be facing the "esplanade" and this plaza, which MRP's press release says is "inspired by the concept of the “ecotone,” an ecological term referring to the transitional zone between two ecosystems."
The plaza also is directly south of the "grand staircase" of Nationals Park, ensuring that (some) views of the river from those steps and the viewing platform on the upper concourse are not completely lost.
The building is expected to deliver in the summer of 2016, and will have a ground-floor club/game room, a health club, a rooftop swimming pool, WiFi, air-conditioned storage, bike storage, a business lounge, and a 24-hour front desk.
The subsequent phases of the six-acre project are currently envisioned as a second residential building with 282 units and 5,600 square feet of retail, followed by a 313,000-square-foot office building with 11,500 square feet of retail, and then a fourth building that could be a hotel or another residential or office building, with 260,000 square feet of space and 12,600 square feet of ground-floor retail. (The footprint of the final two phases is, however, right up against the western end of the existing Douglass Bridge, so it might be awhile before those come to pass.)
See my Dock 79/Florida Rock page for lots more photos and renderings.
 

A busy week ahead:
* SIDE YARDS: A reminder that the sideshow event comes back to the Yards Park on Saturday, Nov. 7.
* ANC 6D: The monthly Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting is on Monday, Nov. 9, and this month the party ventures thisaway across South Capitol Street to the meeting room at 200 I St., SE. Agenda items include a slew of items from Near Southeast, including construction updates for 909 Half and 82 I/801 New Jersey, pedestrian issues on I Street, the Virginia Ave. streetscape restoration plan, a DC Housing Authority presentation, and more. The meeting starts early, with presentations at 6:30 pm before the meeting "officially" gets underway at 7 pm.
* CSX OPEN HOUSE: The quarterly open house for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project is on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 5 to 7 pm at the Courtyard Marriott hotel at 140 L St., SE. There will be no formal presentations, but there will be representatives from the project team to answer questions and provide updates. (If you can't make this, the next Coffee with Chuck is on Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 8 am at the same location.)
* CULINARY CRAWL: The Barracks Row Main Street folks have organized a three-day Culinary Crawl Nov. 14-16, with cooking classes at various restaurants not only on 8th Street but also near Eastern Market and down south of the freeway in this neck of the woods, with Ice Cream Jubilee, Bluejacket, and Agua 301 all participation. Here's the schedule, where you can also sign up/buy tickets.
* ICE RINK: There were originally plans for a soft opening this weekend followed by a grand opening on Nov. 14, but the weather has played a bit of havoc with that schedule. I've just heard that the grand opening will now be on Saturday, Nov. 21, but on the 14th they are hosting a Cinderella-themed event from 11 am to 1 pm--dress as your favorite princess or prince for a chance to win tickets to the National Theater's production of Cinderella.
 

These deserve their own posts, but time is tight these days. (And given the forecast, I'm guessing there will be a couple hundred new photos for me to wrangle this weekend as well.)
* WILD WINGS DATE CONFIRMED: A mailing and also a source In the Know have confirmed that Buffalo Wild Wings will be opening at 1220 Half St. SE on November 16, with a ribbon cutting as well as free wings for a year* for the first 100** guests. (*Meaning 52 coupons to use once a week on a snack-sized wings offering.) (**Probably only 99 of you have a shot, because one JDLand reader is already staking a claim.)
* VIRGINIA AVE. STREETSCAPE: The final concept plan for sprucing up Virginia Avenue after CSX is done with tunnel construction has been posted by ANC commissioner Meredit Fascett. One big change: the new planned cul-de-sac on I Street east of 4th that sounded like it was going to disappear is in fact going to be part of the final plan. Public comments are being accepted by DDOT through tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 6), and the DDOT Public Space Committee will evaluate the plans at a Nov. 12 meeting.
* PRESERVATION GRANTS: Speaking of the tunnel, there is a Preservation Initiatives Fund that will be distributing funds near the tunnel project to "preserve, restore, research, identify, evaluate, interpret, or otherwise benefit historic resources within the project area." The money is coming from CSX and is being administered by the DC Preservation League as part of the project's mitigation offerings. The deadline to apply for a grant is Dec. 4. More in this flyer, including which blocks are part of the "area of potential effects" (including quite a few north of the freeway).
 

Perhaps the third time will be the charm for the long-empty lot at 801 Virginia, as in recent weeks the bureaucratic wheels have been turning on a new plan to put 22 condos and 3,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in a four-story building on the southeast corner of 8th and Virginia.
Both Urban Turf and Capitol Hill Corner have reported on the plans by Northfield Development, which include 16 one-bedroom units, three studios, and three two-bedroom units, along with 11 ground-floor parking spaces tucked in behind the ground floor. Both the parking entrance and the resident entrance will be on L Street.
Developers apparently told a supportive ANC 6B that they anticipate breaking ground in March 2016, making it a busy time for that stretch of Virginia, which is currently closed for the Virginia Avenue Tunnel reconstruction.
In late October the Historic Preservation Review Board found the plans to be "generally compatible" with the Capitol Hill Historic District, though the developers are being asked to "refine the design so that it has more of the character of Capitol Hill, including a weightier base, an attention to details and materials, [...] and more substantial corners."
If one takes a long stroll through the JDLand archives, one can read about how the land was bought in the summer of 2005 (not a typo) for $2.5 million with plans for a mixed residential/office/retail building advertised in 2007 as "The Admiral." The former gas station seen here that stood on the site was demolished in early 2006 (#34 in the Demolished Buildings gallery), but the lot remained unbuilt. Then in the fall of 2008 it reappeared as a planned office building, which actually got BZA approval before also not moving forward. Then the land was purchased by Northfield in July, for what property records say is $1.825 million.
While for a few years the tunnel construction will be yet another hurdle (literally) to getting visitors at the main section of Barracks Row to cross under the freeway, the opening of Ziaafat Grill as well as the arrivals Any Minute Now of Las Placitas and the Brig at 8th and L plus potential plans by the National Community Church for the Blue Castle could perhaps be the first tugs southward that Lower Barracks Row has been looking for. We Shall See.
As for the condo lineup in the neighborhood, the list of potential projects is finally starting to grow, with PN Hoffman's 140-unit building at 4th and Tingey (Yards "Parcel O") looking to be the first out of the gate with construction expected to start next year. The Jair Lynch Companies have said that a portion of his project to fill in the Half Street Hole will be condos, and of course there's the possibility of a condo building on Square 767 in the Capper redevelopment footprint. And 10 Van Street is being "contemplated" as condos, as is the MRP building slated for the Navy Yard Metro station Chiller Plant site at Half and L. It will be interesting to see what comes to fruition.... (If you are keeping track at home, the last [well, only] condo building to be built in the neighborhood was Velocity, which opened in 2009. The co-ops at Capitol Hill Tower opened in 2006.)
 
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