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Near Southeast DC Past News Items: 1015 Half
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99 M ('18)
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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)
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Southeast Blvd. ('15)
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Camden South Cap. ('13)
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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)
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83 Blog Posts Since 2003
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Let's run down some retail news that doesn't have to do with restaurants!
According to a sign I saw in the window on Saturday, the cleaners known as Dryy was to be opening today (Feb. 3), in the ground floor of the 55 M office building, on top of the Half Street entrance to the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station. According to its web site, the store offers free pickup and delivery valet service, custom tailoring, and "Dryy drop lockers."
Meanwhile, just a few steps to the east, the Wells Fargo Express Center is now open, next to Bluestone Lane in the ground floor of 99 M. And a bit to the northwest, next to BonChon, signage has sprouted for Hill Spirits Unlimited, coming soon to 1015 Half Street SE, for all of your fine wine, spirits, and cee-gar needs. (A peek in the window leads me to believe that Hill Spirits is probably still a couple of weeks away from its debut.)
I also wandered over to 8th Street for the first time in a very long time (oops), and feel the need to officially document Ovation Eye Institute and Navy Nails and Spa, even though they've been open a while (I think the nails place actually was briefly in the space that Ovation is now in). And I admit to knowing nothing about Ti Coffee--no evidence of it anywhere on the Barracks Row or Capitol Riverfront web sites, or Google, for that matter. And I don't know about the barbershop, either--another competitor for Wrenn's and Fuller's?
Finally, in the interest of fulfilling my fiduciary duty, here are photos of Congressional Cleaners 2.0, in its spot in the ground floor of the Park Chelsea on I Street west of 2nd (no signage yet), and because I can't believe I never got a photo of it, here's Steadfast Supply in its not-really-new-anymore location in the ground floor of the Foundry Lofts on Water Street, across from Ice Cream Jubilee. And, along those lines, I'm sneaking in one food-related photo, to officially add the signage of Taco City on 8th Street to my repository.
 

Some items of note:
* PEET'S COMING VERY SOON: I took this photo yesterday evening, intending to post it today and say "it looks like Peet's Coffee is getting close," but a Twitter follower has now scooped that with a picture of this sign on the door today, which announces the grand opening as Monday, Aug. 13, at 5 am, with a "family and friends" event on Saturday, Aug. 11 from 11 am to 2 pm. For those who haven't been waiting for the opening of the neighborhood's 250th coffee shop, Peet's is located just north of the New Jersey and M entrance to the Navy Yard-Ballpark subway station, in the ground floor of Insignia on M.

* BIKE PATH COMING SORT OF SOON: Work continues to bring Virginia Avenue back to life as the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project wraps up, and the photo at right shows the progress of the new bike path that will run *alongside the pedestrian path.* I would assume that the deep crushed gravel is not the final surface, but it's going to be a very nice alternative to getting between 2nd Street SE and Virginia Avenue Park/points east. I don't have a date for when the paths will be completed, but the entire project is supposed to be finishing in October.

* ALSO COMING SORT OF SOON: Also of note is the arrival of the signage for Barre 3 on 1st Street, though the interior does not look like we have reached Any Minute Now territory. And a peek behind the Bluestone Lane window coverings at 99 M would seem to indicate that the arrival of the neighborhood's 251st coffee shop is not imminent.
* BOOZE COMING AT SOME POINT: As tidbitted last week, there is a hearing sign posted in the ground floor of 1015 Half Street next to Bonchon for a liquor license for a new Retail Class A store that would sell beer, wine, and spirits. (The one that seemed to be coming to New Jersey and L has disappeared, FWIW.)
* CAPITAL ONE CLOSING SOON: Was mentioned by a commenter recently, but here's official notification that the Capital One branch in the ground floor of 1111 New Jersey is closing in September.
And a few other items that don't fit into the pattern:
* Truckeroo returns on Friday, Aug. 10.
* Nationals Park is having its first-ever Farmers Market on Sunday, Aug. 12, from 10 am to 2 pm.
Other than that, it's August. It's hot.
 

The clear skies were just perfect this weekend, and so I ended up walking a whole lot of miles and taking a whole lot of photos on both Saturday and Sunday--including a new "official" JDLand Nats Park portrait, as you see, where I also inadvertently caught the former centerfield plaza statues in their new home.
* ALL-STAR GAME: The rumors keep flying that Nationals Park will be the site of the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but when Tom Boswell says he is "virtually certain" he will be happy with the 2018 announcement when it is made, well, one does take notice. Official word could come on April 6, when new commissioner Rob Manfred comes to Nationals Park to throw out the Opening Day first pitch.
* NLRB MOVE DELAYED: There's been some wondering about when the National Labor Relations Board will arrive at 1015 Half Street, and WBJ has the story of the "costly planning snafu" that delayed the move by six months (it looks like late June may now be the date).
* 11TH STREET BRIDGES VERSION 1.0: DDOT's latest dive into its photo archives includes a shot of the construction of the highway version of the 11th Street Bridges, back in 1964, before there was a highway to connect them to. It also shows the original "local" bridge.
* 503 ERRORS: I know that the site is throwing "503 Service Unavailable" errors with some frequency these days. I'm begging the hosting company to get them fixed, but in the meantime, at least the errors generally never last more than a few seconds. Count to 10 and hit refresh, and your requested page should appear (though then sometimes it takes a little longer for images and formatting to return). UPDATE: And then the site took a breather for an hour early this afternoon, which seemed to finally get the attention of the hosting folks, though I think there are still all manner of configuration issues that they need to fix. Why this has to happen in March and not December, I don't know....
Comments (1)
More posts: 1015 Half, 11th Street Bridges, Nationals Park
 

Because I wouldn't want anyone to go without Korean fried chicken for a second longer than necessary, I will pass along for those who haven't been keeping up that DC's first Bonchon restaurant and bar is indeed opening today, March 30, at 11:30 am, on the southwest corner of Half and K streets, SE, two blocks north of the Navy Yard-Ballpark station's west entrance and three blocks north of Nats Park.
It will be open every day at 11:30 am, staying open until 9:30 pm Sunday-Wednesday and 11 pm Thursday-Saturday, except on Nats game days, when 11 pm will be closing time Sundays through Wednesdays. with midnight the post-Nats closing time Thursdays through Saturdays.
The menu is here, and note the $9 lunch special from 11:30 am to 2 pm Monday through Friday, with a choice of wings, drums, strips, or a combo, plus one side.
If you go, feel free to post your review in the comments.
Comments (14)
More posts: 1015 Half, bonchon, Restaurants/Nightlife
 

The second week in March started off pretty notably in Near Southeast:
First, the one that's probably of most interest, the arrival of Bonchon's signage, now hung outside of its space on the southwest corner of Half and K, inside 1015 Half Street.
I peeked in the door, and it appears to still be a few good weeks from opening, which would seem to jibe with the "early April" target date that the restaurant posted on its Facebook page back in February. So everyone will just have to look at these signs and dream for a little while longer.
One block to the south, fences and equipment arrived at the parking lot on the northeast corner of Half and M, and this morning ground was being broken (for real, not ceremonially!) for what will become a 195-room Homewood Suites.
This will be another addition to the neighborhood's burgeoning lineup of hotels, with the long-established Courtyard by Marriott at New Jersey and L about to be joined by the under-construction 168-room Hampton Inn at 1st and N, plus eventually also the as-yet-unnamed brand in the as-yet-unnamed Ballpark Square project.
Speaking of which.... Fences went up Monday afternoon around the sidewalk on the west side of 1st Street south of M, generally along the boundary of the residential and hotel portion of the Grosvenor/McCaffery project currently referred to as Ballpark Square. No heavy equipment has arrived, and as I mentioned recently there's plans for a ceremonial groundbreaking in coming weeks, but fencing off the public sidewalk would seem to be a bit of a "tell."
This project will have a 285-unit apartment building alongside the 180-room hotel, and 45,000 square feet of retail that will stretch across these two buildings, the Skanska 99 M office building at the corner of 1st and M that is also expected to get started Any Minute Now, and a separate two-story retail building at 1st and N.
And, just to emphasize how many new projects have gotten underway in the past few weeks, here's official documentation (finally) of the work underway at residential projects 909 Half (left) and 82 I (right), which together will add another 615ish units to the neighborhood inventory when they open.
Having a hard time keeping all of this straight? Check out my refreshed-for-2015 What's New in the Neighborhood Since Last Season page, with handy maps of the restaurants that have opened or are coming soon, the new lineup of project plans just north of Nats Park, and the 10 (TEN!) residential projects currently under construction or starting momentarily. Be prepared for a lot of blocked sidewalks and a lot of construction vehicles on your way to the ballpark this year....
 

Next up on the Near Southeast Cavalcade of Eateries appears to be Bonchon, the Korean fried chicken outlet that is opening its first DC location on the southwest corner of Half and K streets SE, inside the 1015 Half Street building a couple of blocks north of Nats Park.
I sent my unpaid stringer out in the dismal weather today to grab a photo or two of the work on the 5,300-square-foot space, which sources say has been progressing rapidly, perhaps with an eye toward opening before, well, Opening Day (Monday, April 6).
Eater DC shared some renderings and details about the interior, though reading that the architects are "designing the restaurant to include a sports bar" -- I've never heard of a "sports bar" as an object within a restaurant rather than just an appellation for a restaurant, but maybe I don't move in the right circles. Nevertheless, Eater says that there will be seating for 200, and that the full bar will have "both Asian and American craft beers."
Anyone wishing to thank my stringer for his work can probably arrange a meeting at 100 Montaditos.
(A small update on another restaurant in the pipeline: the planned Scarlet Oak at 909 New Jersey still does not have its necessary building permits, but they are at least in process.)
Comments (14)
More posts: 1015 Half, bonchon, Restaurants/Nightlife
 

I fear I am going to be run ragged by the scope of construction 'round these parts over the next few years. Fitbit tells me I took about 15,000 steps across two outings to snag this slew of photos, and I still didn't quite get everything I wanted. But let's see what's going on. (As always, click on any image to enlarge it, and then page through the slideshow of all of them).
At 1015 Half Street, the new CBS Radio space along L Street is moving along, with a ticker now hung on the building (below left) and the ground-floor studio space being built out (below right).
There's four holes in the ground in various stages of construction, though alas I missed getting pictures of the Arris apartment building at the Yards, which has reached ground level and so should be starting the showy part of its progress within the next few weeks. The Lofts at Capitol Quarter are about at ground level on the east end of their not-at-all-level footprint at 7th and L (left), while digging down down down continues at 800 New Jersey/Whole Foods (right). (The third one, the new 1111 New Jersey apartment project, isn't all that much of a hole just yet.)
(Speaking of 800 New Jersey, I noticed that the rebuilt-but-not-open H Street has had its asphalt laid and is now a good nine inches or more higher than where it meets 2nd Street. Preparation for that intersection and Virginia Avenue to be bumped up with the construction of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel?)
Getting close to topping out is the Hampton Inn at 1st and N (left). And, apropos of nothing (but needed here for layout purposes), a photo of the signage for the Subway Café at 20 M Street, which sounds to not be too long from opening.
And wrapping up the tour, here are the two buildings nearest to completion, the Parc Riverside at 1st and K (left) and the Park Chelsea on New Jersey Avenue (right), seen from one block to the south because it's So Freaking Big.
Now, everyone chime in and tell me what I missed.
If you want more photos of these projects (and who wouldn't?), just follow the links to the project pages.
 

Washingtonian is reporting that Korean fried-chicken chain Bonchon is coming to the neighborhood next year, in a 200-seat space that ANC Commissioner David Garber says is going to be in the 1015 Half Street building two blocks north of Nationals Park.
Quoting: "The menu will mostly mirror Arlington’s (here’s a sample), with a focus on spicy and soy-garlic fried chicken, plus Korean specialties like pork buns and bulgogi. ... [Y]ou'll find a spacious bar for pre-and-post game gatherings. A list of 16 craft beers, both domestic and Asian, are in the works, plus a specialty cocktail menu. Takeout, delivery, and catering services are also planned, as well as reservations for large parties."
Washingtonian says that the space is being designed by GrizForm, which also worked on Bluejacket and Agua301. There are also plans are an outdoor patio. (UPDATE: The restaurant will apparently occupy ground-floor space on the L Street side of the building.)
The building housing the new venture is the one that stood empty for many moons before the announcements earlier this year that the National Labor Relations Board will be moving there, as will CBS Radio. That a restaurant is going into the building at all is a bit of a surprise, since the retail spaces were always a somewhat wishy-washy subject.
Comments (10)
More posts: 1015 Half, bonchon, Restaurants/Nightlife
 

* LESS NGA: While demolition of Spooky Building 213 at 1st and M has technically been underway for a few weeks, the showy portion got started this week. But my camera hasn't gotten down there yet--look for photos this weekend, if you don't already have a front-row seat for the festivities.
* MORE CBS RADIO: WBJ provides more information on CBS Radio's move to 1015 Half Street, which was officially announced on site by the mayor and other poobahs on Monday. A CBS Radio exec is quoted as saying that the street-level studio and performance area "will allow an unfettered look into how we operate and provide fans of our stations with the chance to meet some of the top names in the music business and our own beloved personalities.” Another quote says that CBS Radio "wanted a ‘Today Show’ type street-level studio and the only place they could get that was in the city.” Construction on the space is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
* MORE XAVIER: Not exactly sure why the Wall Street Journal is so all-over the Barracks Row Entertainment bankruptcy, but here they are again with more details: "Lawyers for eight restaurants including Hawk ‘n’ Dove, Molly Malone’s and Boxcar Tavern [and Park Tavern and Willie's] said in new court papers that Xavier Cervera, who became a consultant for the restaurants in August after selling the restaurants in late 2012, intentionally hindered their performance," so that the new owners would struggle to make payments and then Xavier and his partners could retake the properties. There's a battle over a scooter, too.
* MORE RIVERWALK: DDOT announced this week that work is about to begin on the four-mile-long stretch of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail from Benning Road through the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens to the DC/Maryland line.
* MORE FAT: Mark your calendars, the Tour de Fat returns to Yards Park on May 31. (Yes, the link includes the beer list.)
* LESS INCENTIVE: In the latest step to make all my work completely unnecessary, you can now go back in time on Google Street View. (But it's only to 2007, so at least my 2003-2007 photos aren't totally useless.)
 

If it weren't pouring rain at my undisclosed vacation location, I'd be leaving these until Monday, but boredom is overtaking me.
* MORE NEW NEIGHBORS: The move of CBS Radio to 1015 Half Street, rumored in February, is now confirmed, both in my inbox and now in WBJ. Mayor Gray is holding a press conference with various officials at the building Monday mornng. The radio folks are taking about 33,000 square feet on the second floor, and WBJ says they "will also lease about 3,000 square feet on the building's ground floor for use as a performance studio to host talent planning to play other venues during tour stops in D.C." (Maybe passersby will get to press their noses up to the glass to see who's there!) CBS Radio will be joining the National Labor Relations Board at 1015 Half, which announced its lease of 143,000 square feet in January.
* MORE BEVERAGES: Today's DC Register has two notices of alcoholic beverage license applications of note, both at the Yards. One is for 100 Montaditos, the Spanish small sandwiches restaurant coming to the Boilermaker Shops, and TaKorean, which will be bringing its Korean-style tacos to Twelve12. The apps say that Montaditos will have 74 seats, and TaKorean will have 60 seats, along with a 14-seat sidewalk cafe.
Now I shall return to watching the rain.

 
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