Boy, it's been a quiet week on the Near Southeast front. (Almost too quiet...!) But this week's DC Register provides some very small stadium-related tibits. First, raze permits for the stadium fooprint have been filed with DCRA. Second, the city council has scheduled a hearing for March 17 on Bill 16-628, "Closing of Public Alleys In Square 702, 703, 704, 705, and 706 Act Of 2006." Of course, tomorrow (Feb. 24) is the date for an expected ruling on whether the city can now force landowners out of their properties.

You'd have to dig to find it on washingtonpost.com, but the front page of Monday's Business section has a huge graph showing the trend in commercial real estate sales in Near Southeast (and Buzzards Point) from 2000 through 2005. (Full disclosure: I did the research for it.) From 2000 through September 2004 (when DC got the Expos and the city announced that a new stadium would be built in southeast, there were 32 sales of undeveloped commercial property, totaling just under $40 million. In the 15 months after this, there were 37 sales--for nearly $219 million. It also compares two properties, right next to each other, that sold five years apart--the 45,000-sq-ft lot at 80 M Street sold for $5.5 million in 2000 (and construction began on the office building there soon afterward), while the 82,500-sq-ft block just to its north was purchased by Ron Cohen in 2005 for $51.6 million. A slight spike in prices, one might say. There's an accompanying article by Dana Hedgpeth, "Contesting a Stadium's Power," with quotes from developers, real estate professionals, and city officials as to whether the land boom in Near Southeast can really be attributed to the stadium, or whether the development would have happened anyway (albeit more slowly).

The Washington City Paper has a big article about the eminent domain proceedings for the land in the stadium footprint: "Wild Pitch."

I hope I didn't jinx things, but on the off chance that construction on the new baseball stadium could actually begin in March (wouldn't that be a hoot?!?), I went for a nice long walk today in the beautiful weather and took what I presume are my final "before" pictures of the stadium neighborhood. The first pictures are of the perimeter of the site, which we'll be able to watch as it transforms from gritty industrial zone to demolished construction site to a stadium. The photos at the bottom of the page are of some of the businesses and buildings that have been the residents of these blocks off South Capitol Street but which will be soon replaced with bleachers, bases, bullpens, and uselessly exorbitant skyboxes. (You've got to take the good with the bad, I guess.) Anyway, enjoy the new photos. UPDATE: Oh, and by the way, I almost got arrested while taking them, as a DC policeman got all tense that I might possibly be photographing the Southeast Federal Center (which I wasn't). Because, you know, it's a government installation, and if I take pictures of it, the terrorists win. It's going to be so much fun having power-mad officers with nightsticks whacking baseball fans for daring to look at the east side of 1st Street. He asked to see my photos, but when I said, "Sure, fine, whatever, I've taken 70 already, do you want us to just stand here and look at the screen?" he got flustered and I took the opportunity to saunter off. (I'll admit I'm really just miffed that I didn't get mistaken for a prostitute, like a co-worker did when walking in the same neighborhood a few weeks back.)

The Washington Times has "Mayor Confident of Lease Approval": "Mayor Anthony A. Williams yesterday said he believes Major League Baseball eventually will sign off on a new lease for the Washington Nationals' new ballpark and that legislation calling for a cap on city spending for the project will not be sent back to the D.C. Council. He said negotiations involving the league and more than a half-dozen city leaders are ongoing but could be wrapped up by week's end." And, once again, it's all about the parking garage: "Private developers are expected to play a key role in covering the cost of the underground parking garage because its construction will allow for retail or office space to be built at street level. By gaining developer commitments to pay for the parking, city officials hope to lessen any fears from MLB that the league will be responsible for cost overruns. [...] The underground parking is estimated to cost $55 million, but only $21 million for parking -- enough for an above-ground garage -- is in the ballpark budget. 'I think the development community will pony up, or we just won't build [underground parking],' said council member Jack Evans."

More posts: parking, Nationals Park