From a short piece in Thursday's WashTimes: "D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday the city is still committed to partnering with developer Herb Miller on a parking and commercial complex north of the Washington Nationals new ballpark despite a tight deadline and lack of clarity on how the project will be financed. Williams said the Miller plan remains the best option to satisfy the city's requirement for parking at the stadium site while also promoting economic development in the area." They are still negotiating with Miller to figure out how to finance the project while dealing with the budget squeeze faced on the parking.

The Post's Tom Boswell doesn't like the plan for Garages Wrapped With Development Goodness. He REALLY doesn't like the plan for Garages Wrapped With Development Goodness. "What you absolutely positively must not do is build a $281 million condo and hotel theme park behind left and center field. Washington can have a beautiful home for the Nats. And the District can have its urban development renaissance. They're compatible. However, the worst imaginable first step toward both goals would be to dwarf the new stadium with a couple of cityscape-shielding 13-story towers, which we'd glare and cuss at for decades, just to settle a fuss over 925 parking spaces."

An article from Sunday's Post, "The Nats' New Home: A Field of Green" (available today either via time travel or their web site) reports that environmental groups "such as the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council say the city is failing to ensure the ballpark near South Capitol Street and the Navy Yard is consistent with their long-standing efforts to cleanup the polluted river." The DCSEC says it is compling with the requirements set for by the city council by filtering run-off water to purge it of field fertilizer and cleaning chemicals, incorporating recycled materials, and shutting it down to minimum operating standards in the off-season to save energy. But the groups are demanding many improvements, including "green roofs with vegetation designed to conserve energy and capture storm water runoff; a water treatment procedure that would remove organics such as food before discharging overflow into the river; and permeable pavement that absorbs more water." Taking legal action has not been ruled out. (This stadium project may turn out to be quite a driver of employment for lawyers.)

Because you just can't ever get through a day without hearing about the stadium's parking issues, here's Friday's WashTimes with "City Feeling Crunch on Stadium Parking," which reports that it's now going to cost $18 million to build the 300 other parking spaces on the stadium site (on the south side, beneath the plaza), and with only $21 million budgeted to provide all 1,225 spaces, well, there's a problem. Yes, the city is negotiating with Herb Miller to build the Garages Wrapped With Development Goodness, but as the article notes, Miller "would pay about $39 million for the land, and the commission would pay for the garages." So, what's to be done? Quoting: "The commission could ask Miller to pay for the garages in exchange for a lower purchase price on the land, or work out some other financial arrangement that will not require more city money. It is possible, however, that the commission would ask the D.C. Council to approve more funds for the project and is eyeing a possible council meeting Aug. 15. A spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams, however, said yesterday the mayor will not ask the council to approve more funds." With the garages construction needing to get started by Labor Day in order to guarantee on-time completion in March, 2008, the clock is a'ticking.

A lot of new stadium stuff today for those who are interested. I've posted a bunch of additional renderings of various parts of the stadium project (and the Garages Wrapped with Development Goodness, too) on my new baseball stadium page (follow the icon, of course). These renderings were gleaned from the DCSEC's packet of materials submitted to the DC Zoning Commission in advance of the June 26 hearing; I've also now posted portions of that zoning filing, including additional renderings and other supplemental materials.

The Post's David Nakamura recently traveled to Japan, and files a story about how the city of Hiroshima is having its own problems trying to get approval for a new state-of-the-art baseball stadium ("In Hiroshima, New Ballpark Proves a Tough Pitch"). The current ballpark, built in 1957-58, is a symbol to many Hiroshimians of the rebirth of their city after the atomic bombing in 1945, and most would prefer to have a new stadium built on the current site (across the street from the Peace Park and a building still left standing from the bombing), rather than being built a few miles away as an attempt to revitalize a neglected area. Who will win, the fans or the mayor? (At least in DC, for the most part, the fans and the mayor have been on the same side.)

From today's WashTimes, we hear that the Herb Miller presented his Garages Wrapped With Development Goodness plan to the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission on Wednesday. There was no vote (as we heard about yesterday), so the article deson't really contain much news, just reiterating that Mayor Tony's for it, the Lerners are against it, and CEO Gandhi is warning that it's a big mistake. One new item: "[Miller] also must show, in writing, that the city will not be held liable if he fails to complete the project on time." Miller says that he is ready to start construction, although he has yet to line up all of his financing. If the DCSEC rejects the plan, they could "recommend that the city find at least $44 million in additional funds to cover the cost of underground garages. Underground garages could be completed on time and would allow for commercial development to be built a street level at a later date. But any additional spending on the stadium would require approval from the D.C. Council, which earlier this year passed a $611 cap on stadium expenditures."

Updated pictures--and the debut of new goofy construction slide shows for these projects--on both the 20 M and Capper Seniors #2 pages. (20 M has begun work on it's 10th and final floor.) And I also added a few shots to the Stadium Construction Gallery, as work at the southeast corner of the site continues to proceed (concrete pillars have been poured, and there even appears to be actual construction of platform at 1st and O). I haven't updated my overhead shots in a while, I must admit--walking along the path on the Frederick Douglass Bridge is taxing normally, but in this weather, I'm not sure I'd make it :-). Will try to get there soon. But of course Clark/Hunt/Smoot's construction web cam can give you the up-to-the-minute overhead view better than I ever could....

A small Post blurb says that the planned vote by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission on the Garages Wrapped with Development Goodness next to the new ballpark has been delayed: "The city attorney general's office has raised questions about the legality of Miller's plans that mayoral aides have sought to answer," and so Miller and mayoral aides didn't supply the necessary paperwork to the DCSEC in time to allow for a vote today. A spokesman says the mayor still expects the plan to be approved by the commission.

Voice of the Hill has posted it's summary of the July 10 ANC 6D Meeting. It's a bit of water under the bridge at this point, but it's still worth noting here that the ANC did vote to oppose the Garages Wrapped With Development Goodness, which were then approved the next day by the city council. Also on the agenda had been William C. Smith's request for alley closings and street openings in preparation for its development project at 800 New Jersey Ave. The proposal was referred to the ANC's development subcommittee, with there again being debate about what "community benefits" the project would be providing. According to VOTH, the "William C. Smith representative pointed to amenities his company has already promised, including an affordable housing component and funding for a public park." The public park being Canal Park, which William C. Smith is helping to fund. (Note that the alley closing/street opening request is on the Aug. 3 NCPC agenda.)