Friday's Washington Times has an update on some of the owners of the land taken via eminent domain in 2005 to make space for the new Nationals ballpark. Sixteen of them refused to take the city's offer and are still in court over what the payments should be--and it doesn't look like it's getting resolved anytime soon. The story tells how many of them have been unable to find new locations or are struggling with smaller lots than before.

This weekend has not lent itself to photography, but my schedule is going to be tight for the next couple of weeks and I couldn't bear to go a month between ballpark updates. So you can check out the latest updates to the Stadium Construction Gallery--I didn't update the entire set, because some of the shots on the southeastern side of the ballpark aren't changing as much now, so why replace pretty blue-sky shots with dreary overcast facsimiles? But I did also add some new "stitched-together" before and afters, to show panoramic shots of various intersections around the site. I'm not sure whether these will become a permanent fixture (the fish-eye distortion on some is a little disconcerting), but given what I had to work with weather-wise, at least it's something a little different. I also added more pictures to the Square 699N page, as demolition continues there. You can also of course browse the Photo Archive to see additional photos of intersections and vantage points you're interested in, or you can look at all photos I've posted from yesterday and then click on the intersection/angle to see the complete archive for that view. And let's hope the sun returns eventually. And we've also got Demolished Buildings #127 and #128.

Last night's Zoning Commission meeting had four Near Southeast items on the agenda; we can start with the easy one and say that Case 06-25, the latest batch of text amendments to the Capitol Gateway Zoning Overlay, was given final approval. Next, the expected final vote on Case 06-41, the new residential project at 1325 South Capitol Street, was delayed because of some procedural issues that went way above my head and that now require a special public meeting to sort out (which will probably be in the next six weeks). But the item of greatest interest is Case 07-08, the request for zoning changes that would allow temporary surface parking lots on certain blocks within range of the Nationals ballpark. It had been brought as an emergency request because of the time sensitivity of needing to get the lots built before the weather gets cold again (if it ever gets warm first!!!), meaning that the rule could have gone into effect immediately (with hearings to make it permanent within the next 120 days), but the commissioners balked at the idea, saying that too many emergency requests are coming down the pike these days that don't really deserve the special treatment. They did agree to an expedited hearing date (one that only needs to be advertised for 30 days), but there is clearly some concern amongst the commissioners about the whole idea, with one of them rightly asking to make sure that the rule prohibits any non-commercial use of the lots (like for trash truck parking or other industrial-type uses). So, be prepared to read plenty more about this in coming months, and read my previous post on the zoning request for more details, which includes links to the Office of Planning report on the request.

It should be noted that work has now begun on the parking garage on the northwestern edge of the Nationals ballpark site (between Half and South Capitol, south of N). Pile driving is underway (clang....clang....clang) and the site is being excavated. You can get a feel for it from the Stadium Construction Webcam #2 (lower right-center), or get a wonderful view of basically nothing (the piledriver is at center) in this shot I took today of the southwest corner of Half and N. (I also took there's-no-more-there-there shots of what used to be the Good and Plenty Carryout site on the northern side of this intersection as well--see today's vista compared to shots from the past few years, looking to the west, northwest, and north.)

On April 9, the DC Zoning Commission will be entertaining Case 07-08, an emergency request to allow for changes to the Capitol Gateway Zoning Overlay to allow for the construction of temporary surface parking lots--to last no more than five years--on certain squares within Near Southeast. There is also a companion case, 03-12E/03-13E, specifically requesting a minor modification to the Capper/Carrollsburg zoning orders to allow surface parking lots on four squares within Capper--the three blocks bounded by 2nd, I, M, and 3rd (next to Canal Park) and on Square 882, the current home of the old Capper Seniors building, which is expected to be demolished this summer.

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