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There was no way I could pass up the unbelievable weather on Saturday, so I wandered down to the stadium site to take a bunch of new pictures. Initial construction has gotten underway at 1st and O, and is now rounding the corner at 1st and P and heading west. This is just a one-story concrete structure at this point, and you can see from the other pillars driven into the ground that it's the horseshoe outline of the southern side of the park.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Eagle-eyed boots on the ground report seeing the appearance today of No Parking signs along M Street between New Jersey and 1st Street--in front of On Luck, Zohery Bus Tours, and the Metro entrance--marked as lasting from Aug. 12 to Aug. 30. Dovetailing with what I've heard elsewhere, this may well mean that demolition on that corner is about to start. (I would guess that it will happen the same time along the rest of that block of 1st Street, back to L Street.) This is to clear the way for the 100 M Street office building and the 1100 First Street residential tower, which will be built concurrently. Some folks have also mentioned the fence that has gone up today around the Sunoco station at 50 M--there's still been no word on the sale of that property, so I don't know if demolition is imminent there or not. UPDATE: I went and took a look myself, and there are also No Parking signs along the eastern side of 1st Street between L and M, marked as starting August 8 through December 8. Also, the Sunoco fences also have signs on them indicating that it is a Sunoco construction zone. Perhaps Sunoco is demolishing the station themselves--but to make way for what, we all want to know? Is it the rumored hotel? Will the hotel folks be buying the land, or is Sunoco keeping the land and handling the development themselves? We shall see....

 

The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation has posted a PDF of a presentation from Wednesday's board meeting, with bullet-point updates about their initiatives, including the Southwest Waterfront, Poplar Point, Hill East, and of course, the "South Capitol Street Waterfront". Nothing really new in it regarding the Ballpark District, though I was little surprised to see a map they had (page 29 of the PDF) of the area that they have some sort of weird layout of the southeastern corner of the stadium site, with a big plaza that easily crosses over to the riverfront, and even shows P Street running halfway through the stadium site. Unless there's been some huge reconfiguration of the stadium design that I haven't yet heard about, methinks they're being a tad blue sky and are trying a bit too hard to turn the stadium into a "waterfront" ballpark. They've also got a watercolor on page 27 that doesn't even depict the stadium in its correct layout. There's a map at the top of my Ballpark District page, released by the AWC in Dec. 2005, that is I believe a more realistic rendering of how the stadium interacts with the waterfront; and page 15 of the DCSEC renderings presented to the Zoning Commission shows the design of the southern side of the stadium (but don't get me started on that blue-grey "future development" monstrosity shown on that slide--I'm guessing the ZC wouldn't be interested in approving THAT). Hopefully the long-awaited (and very long overdue) Ballpark District Master Plan will be released before too much longer, where we can see concrete designs of what they're anticipating.
 

This is nothing more than PURE RUMOR at this point, I have no confirmation, but I'm floating it out there to see if anyone can back it up or shoot it down. A source informs me that one of the nightclubs on the block bounded by Half, 1st, K, and L that was purchased in 2005 by developer Ron Cohen, has been given until Sept. 12 to close. Hope to be able to tell you more soon. If you have any scuttlebutt (on this or any other Near Southeast news, for that matter), drop me a line. UPDATE: I haven't been able to get any further confirmation on the above, but I'll note that the Holiday/Aspen cab company, located on this same block (at the corner of 1st and K), has closed up shop within the past week.
 

A number of correspondents have written in to alert me to work being done on a multi-unit building at 10th and L (or is it 10th and Potomac?). The interior's been gutted, and they appear to be renovating the entire building. I have no information on this--the building hasn't sold recently, nor (ahem) is there any building permit filed with the city. So I know nothing, but I appreciate the alerts.
 

The hot-off-the-presses Aug. 10 Voice of the Hill (PDF) has a front-page report about the efforts to save the 106-year-old Anacostia Community Boathouse, under threat because of the pending changes to the 11th Street Bridges. The boathouse is one of the two red-brick buildings that are on the Anacostia River shore, right in between the two bridge spans (the second building, which is not in danger of being demolished, was recently the recipient of a $300,000 grant from DDOT to help its renovation). The 11th Street Bridges Environmental Impact Study, currently underway, has ID'ed four different build options for the bridges (to better link them to the Anacostia Freeway), and three of those options impact the boathouse. Public comment on the EIS is being accepted until Aug. 28. UPDATE: Oops, should have included this link to the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association "Save the Boathouse" page.
 

Donohoe Real Estate Services has posted a new and more detailed rendering of their planned 146,000 sq ft office building at 1111 New Jersey Avenue. It shows St. Matthew's Baptist Church at New Jersey and L still standing, and also shows the project not using the air rights above the entrance to the Navy Yard Metro station at New Jersey and M. I don't know whether this is their final design or not, but it was far enough advanced in comparison to the earlier one that I bit the bullet and created a new tab on my Square 743N page for this project, now joining the project pages for its neighbors-to-be at 100 M Street and 1100 First Street. The Donohoe web site says only "Delivery 2008" for a timeframe, so construction could start anywhere between late 2006 and mid-2007.
 

From an e-mail distribution: "SWNA and ANC6D cordially invite you to a CANDIDATES FORUM ARENA STAGE In the Kreeger Theater Monday, August 14, 2006 Starting at 7 pm. Candidates for Mayor and Ward 6 City Council will be asked questions dealing with Southwest. The questions will especially concern Waterside Mall, the upcoming AWC Waterfront Project, and the Baseball Stadium. Questions will be asked by a panel and the audience will be able to write their questions for the candidates."
More posts: ANC News, Nationals Park
 

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.
More posts: staddis, Nationals Park
 

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."

More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

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.)

More posts: Nationals Park
 

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.
More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

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.
More posts: parking, Nationals Park
 

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.)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

A message on the PSA 105 Yahoo Group, posted by Ofc. Marvin Williams of MPD, says that there will be a "Fightback" on August 11 at 10 am, staged at 900 First Street SE (which would be in front of the Nexus Gold Club). What's a Fightback? Quoting: "There will be several other DC agencies on hand checking abandoned buildings, cars, fire hazards, business licenses for the businesses that are left, etc......we will also issue out any fines for businesses not in compliance." For folks who don't know about the PSAs, they are "Police Service Areas", and PSA 105's boundaries include the western half of Near Southeast, from 6th Street to South Capitol and from the Freeway to the River. (PSA 105 also extends north of the Freeway as well.) The eastern part of Near Southeast is part of PSA 106.
More posts: mnorth
 

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."

 

From a press release hitting the business wires today about the condo project at 1100 First Street: "The Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund is making its first-ever investment in the Washington, D.C., market by partnering with Faison of Charlotte, North Carolina, on the development of a transit-oriented condominium project next to the Navy Yard Metro station in the Near Southeast submarket. [...] Plans call for 266 condominium units over a four-level underground parking garage with approximately 210 parking spaces and 65 storage spaces. The condominium community is part of a master planned development that will include a 13-story office building adjacent to the project, which will be separately developed by Opus. [...] Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, the development's major equity investor, is a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Johnson Development Corporation." The release also says that demolition is scheduled for the "third quarter of 2006," which means, uh, any minute now. And: "[P]roject completion is expected in the third quarter of 2008. The majority of units, designed to attract entry-level professionals, will range in price from the high $200,000's to the high $300,000's with an average unit size of 725 square feet. Residents of the full-service building will have amenities including a public courtyard, game room and pool. "
More posts: Onyx, Square 743N
 

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.
 

From GlobeSt.com: "Charlotte, NC-based Faison Enterprises has closed two separate land deals in the DC area over the last week worth almost $200 million. The first is for a condo project in southeast Washington near the baseball stadium at First and L Street, SE. Philip W. Norwood, president and CEO of Faison tells GlobeSt.com that this was a particularly complex transaction in that it involved land swaps and will entail some joint development work with a nearby office project on M Street. The approximate 260-unit condo development, which is expected to be delivered in 2008, is worth roughly $100 million, he says." The building permit for this project was filed in mid-June. UPDATE: Faison has generously passed along to me a rendering of 1100 First Street, which I have added to the project's page.
More posts: Onyx, Square 743N
 
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