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The draft agenda for the March 12 ANC 6D meeting has been sent out (although not posted on their web site as yet, alas), and there are a few Near Southeast items of interest: discussion and vote on an construction agreement (presumably between the developers and the neighborhood/ANC) for 1325 South Capitol Street (the 276-unit residential project across from the ballpark); a presentation on modifications being requested in front of the Zoning Commission to the plans for the office building at 100 M Street (I don't know any details, will post when I find out); and a presentation on streetscapes at the The Yards/Southeast Federal Center (ooooh, more hints of moving forward!). There's also a meeting on the planned Monument Realty project on the Randall School site at Half and I Streets SW (blissfully outside of my purview). The meeting is at St. Augustine's Church at 6th and M Streets, SW at 7 pm.
UPDATE: The 100 M Street change is quite minor, according to Opus East, a result of actual construction drawings evolving from the original design drawings. I also hear tell that First Street is going to be widened at some point by DDOT, which means that 100 M and Onyx on First won't have a wide/deep sidewalk along as originally thought. (I don't have any details on the First Street work.)
UPDATE II: The ANC 6D report in the new issue of the Hill Rag has more details on the 1325 South Cap construction agreement as discussed at the February meeting, though I don't know whether it's changed or not going into tonight's meeting. It also says the project has 276 units, not 244 as I've been reporting.
 

(Yes, I'm running a bit behind. Will be back to normal next week.) On Wednesday the Economic Development subcommittee of the city council held an oversight hearing that included testimony about the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation and the National Capital Revitalization Corporation. From the Washington Times piece on the hearing: "Council member Kwame R. Brown, at-large Democrat, said he was not trying to stop progress by the organizations, but that he would be 'holding them accountable' for questionable expenses and delays in completing deals. A hearing on whether to dissolve them is scheduled for March 13." And, from the Washington Business Journal: "Wednesday's hearing was focused more on the agencies' interaction and cooperation with neighborhood groups, says Kwame Brown, D-at Large, chairman of the council's economic development committee. The March 13 hearing will look at the actual performance of both agencies and how they've progressed with their development efforts."

 

The Washington Blade updates the continuing saga of the nightclubs that left Near Southeast because of the Development Gold Rush and the legal roadblocks that continue to thwart their attempts to find new homes within the DC city limits. Not something I'm following closely, just passing along the link for those who might be interested.

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A new item popped up on this coming Monday's (March 12) Zoning Commission agenda, and apparently it is a request by the developers of Capper/Carrollsburg to revise one of the conditions in the original PUD to allow units in the new Capper Seniors #2 building to be made available as workforce housing (30%-60% annual median income) in addition to the already approved low-income senior units. This will probably be something that the ZC will have to have hearings on, but we'll find out on Monday.
And, let's think for a moment.... Income-limited units, in a building that will be ready this spring, close to Barracks Row and the Navy Yard Metro and the stadium.... Could this be the mysterious Ballpark Apartments? It would explain why they're using a portion of one of the Capper drawings in their ads (with no apparent fear of being sued), and there are indeed water and monument views from various angles in that new building (at least for now). It's a cirumstantial case, but a pretty strong one, methinks. Let's see what shakes out.
 

I get asked a lot (and I mean, a LOT) about what new development and projects might be coming to areas east of the Anacostia River, in wards 7 and 8. Today's Washington Times has an overview of what's in the pipeline for these areas of the city that haven't seen the economic boom that has so transformed many other parts of DC. I won't be tracking these projects, but I did want to alert folks to this article, and also to put out the call that East of the River could certainly use a Redevelopment Blogger....
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From DDOT: "As part of ongoing improvements to the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (sometimes referred to as the South Capitol Street Bridge), the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will continue bridge repairs this weekend, starting Friday, March 9. Following the morning rush hour this Friday, DDOT will temporarily close the northbound (inbound) lanes on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Inbound bridge drivers will be directed to follow signed detours on Interstate 295 North to the 11th Street Bridge--providing direct access into the District. The northbound (inbound) lanes will be closed beginning on Friday, March 9 at 10 am until as late as Monday, March 12 at 4 am. All lanes will be reopened in time for the Monday morning rush hour." This work is part of the preparations for the planned demolition of the raised portion of South Capitol Street (north of Potomac Ave.) this summer.
 

NBC 4 reports: "The District's new baseball stadium is beginning to take shape along the Anacostia River in Southeast. Construction on the site began last May, but the ballpark is already changing the city's skyline, News4's Tom Sherwood reported Monday." To which readers of JDLand say, "Tell us something we don't already know." (hee hee)
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Sunday's Post has a short update on the battle between former landowners at the Nationals ballpark site and the city over the value of the land that was taken via eminent domain. What's new? Mainly that nothing's new, it's all still wound up in court. But one interesting item I hadn't heard before: "Aside from the price of the land, also being contested is how much money the government is seeking to recoup from the business owners to pay for environmental rehabilitation. Although they were forced to vacate, the business owners are still legally responsible for paying for the work, legal analysts have said." With the latest DCSEC report saying that more than $12 million has been spent on environmental remediation at the site so far, this could be a big hit on the pockets of the old property owners if this actually pans out.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Today's Washington Business Journal has a cover story ("Agencies at Risk", available online) on the hazy future of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation and the National Capital Revitalization Corporation, which have come under fire by members of the city council for being "barriers" to getting things done in the city. The AWC's coverage area includes all of Near Southeast, so what becomes of it will have an impact on much of what I'm tracking here, including the Nationals ballpark, Canal Park, Diamond Teague Park, and the Anacostia Riverwalk. There are two city council hearings on the fate of these two quasi-government corporations, the first on March 7 at 10 am, when the Committee on Economic Development holds Agency Oversight Hearings on FY06-07 Budgets, covering not only AWC and NCRC but also the Office of Planning and the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission (so it's quite the Near Southeast Oversight Bonanza). Then, on March 13 at 10 am, the same subcommittee will be holding the first hearings on the "NCRC and AWC Reorganization Act of 2007"; I imagine both of these will be available via streaming video and on DC Cable 13. As an aside, the Examiner reports that Mayor Fenty's office has said that an anticipated report on the AWC and NCRC was in fact not supposed to be ready in 60 days, but 100 days (oops).
 

The latest citywide real property tax assessments are now available in the city's database, and I've culled out the Near Southeast properties and posted them in my Assessments Archive, where you can also access previous years' numbers back to 2003. I'm not going to do a comparison of all individual properties year-to-year (you don't pay me enough!), but I will give you a quick glimpse at how the total assessed value Hood-wide has looked over the past five years:
2007: $2.05 billion
2006: $1.78 billion
2005: $894 million
2004: $772 million
2003: $640 million
If that doesn't do it for you, here's a lovely chart:
The highest assessed property? That would be the office building at 1100 New Jersey Ave., assessed at $128 million; the highest value for a single unimproved lot is (as always) the Consolidated Rail (CSX) land north of I Street, south of the Freeway (and under it, too): the 463,000 sq ft lot is assessed at just under $86 million (although keep in mind that some locations where development is pending--like, say, the stadium--are still seen in land records as many small lots rather than a single large one).
UPDATE: Should have just done this when originally writing this post--the combined assessed value of the 63 individual lots that make up the stadium site is (deep breath) $180 million, compared to $32.8 million in 2004. (And an additional update, the overall Hood numbers above were tweaked slightly--I guess I missed a couple lots when I first ran this, but the ratios and overall feel is still the same.)
More posts: 1100nj
 

I've just added to my Calendar of Events the March schedule of lectures, concerts, and other events at the Navy Yard's Naval Historical Center. The schedule for their monthly Naval History Seminar has been released through June, as well. If any of these events interest you, be sure to contact the museum at least 24 hours in advance so that your entry into Fortress: Navy Yard can be assured.

More posts: Navy Yard
 

Councilmember David Catania's office has posted the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission's January report on the new Nationals ballpark; it's a pretty detailed and wide-ranging document on where all aspects of the stadium project stand, I definitely recommend taking a peek. I have been so very remiss in not pointing to these in the past, but Catania's office has done a good job of archiving these reports and other ballpark-related documents, and I promise to keep up with them in the future. Bottom line? On time and on budget. (Though it's possible Mr. Catania may draw a different conclusion.)

More posts: Nationals Park
 

The latest weekly permit report from the DC Historic Preservation Office shows that a raze permit application has been filed for 601 L Street, SE, which is the address of the old Capper Seniors apartment building. This is not a huge surprise, I've been hearing that the plans are for this building to be demolished by the end of this year (mainly so that the lot can be cleared in time for Opening Day 2008 so that it can be used for baseball parking). Some of its residents have already been moved to the newly opened Capper Seniors #1, and the rest should be moved by the end of spring into Capper Seniors #2. It will be quite something to watch that building come down.

 

Just a reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday) there is an Anacostia Waterfront Corporation Public Board Meeting; its agenda includes a presentation and public comments on the new AWC Draft Environmental Standards and "Workforce Intermediary Services plans; it will be at St. Matthew's Baptist Church (1105 New Jersey Ave.) at 5:30 pm.
Additionally, there was supposed to be a status hearing tomorrow on the liquor license application by the owners of the old Star Market (the "little red building") at 156 L Street; but I'm told by the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration that an agreement has been reached by the applicants and ANC 6D (which was protesting the application), so the status hearing was removed from the calendar. (Attempts to get additional information from the property's owner and from ANC Commissioner Bob Siegel have been unsuccessful at this point.) Perhaps this means we'll be seeing a resolution on this project soon.
 

An ad began appearing late last week (h/t Richard Layman) for "Ballpark Apartments", trumpeting income-limited units with "Views of the water and monuments/shopping and dining at Barracks Row/Metro Access at Navy Yard Station/Catch a Game at the New Ballpark." The web site gives no clue as to where they're located, and the contact phone number is just a recording. I have heard nothing about any project like this up to now, and all attempts to figure out who is behind it have come up short. But some of the hints within the ads--coming this spring, income-limited--seem to point toward the conversion/ renovation of an existing property rather than new construction. I suppose It could be remotely possible that this is an ad for one of the rumored Southeast Federal Center projects or new Capper/Carrollsburg apartment buildings planned for 2nd Street (the ad is using a portion of one of the Capper images, but perhaps the Ballpark Apts. folks just assumed no one would figure that out), but those certainly aren't coming this spring, and they wouldn't be only income-limited units. And within the actual borders of Near Southeast (between South Capitol, the freeway, and the river), there's maybe three properties I can think of that could possibly be this project, but none of them have "water views" (maybe one of them could conceivably be marketed as having "monument views")--heck, "water and monument views" could also mean Southwest, or even Anacostia. I've put out some feelers to see if I can dig up more, but it would not surprise me at this point if the marketers are perhaps playing a bit loose with the description of the project (after all, if it were really close to the ballpark, wouldn't you want to say exactly where it is?). If anyone has any scoop, drop me a line.
 

In addition to the latest stadium photos that I posted on Saturday, there's also a smattering of new photos on the 20 M Street and Capper Seniors #2 pages, and even the Monument Half Street page (showing the hole in the ground starting to be dug as part of the Navy Yard Metro station upgrade). I also tossed in a few updated photos of the 4th and K and 4th and L intersections into the Photo Archive as well.

 

Another gorgeous Saturday, so I've posted an updated batch of photos in the Nats Ballpark Construction Gallery, including shots of the new roof canopy now starting to be installed.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

Last night was the public hearing and Capitol Gateway Overlay Review for 1325 South Capitol Street, a 244-unit residential building planned by Camden Development for the northwest corner of South Capitol and O streets, right across the street from the new baseball stadium. First, I will admit right off that I am only grudgingly following this project (I still optimally want my coverage area to end in the South Capitol Street median), but I'm not sure that excuses the sordid truth that, while watching the webcast of the hearing, I kind of, well, um, nodded off. Multiple times. So apologies that what follows does not rise to the normal level of JDLand OCD Detail.
In general, the ZC commissioners were favorable toward the project and were also cognizant that 1325 is a bit of a test case in terms of being the first structure going up on South Capitol Street under all the new rules; they were also quite happy to see a residential project on South Capitol, seemingly expecting that the street would only be drawing in office developments. There was some concern that the ground floor level of 1325 is not completely retail--there will be a two-story retail component on the O Street corner, but the rest of the first floor will include a gym and other areas for residents; but these areas will have the same sort of glassed-in look to make it appear "active." There was also discussion of the west side of the building, which abuts a number of townhouses and will be easily seen when looking eastward from the neighborhood, that because of this layout it can't really be considered the "back of the building", and so the commissioners want more "articulation" on that side. Also, the project will not being applying for LEED certification, but the commissioners want to hear more about what "green" steps the project will be taking. There was also some discussion about the Inclusionary Zoning (i.e., affordable housing) components, and whether the project can restrict those units to the lower floors.
If all requested additional submissions are made in time, a ZC Special Public Meeting will be scheduled for March 20 for an initial vote. (Perhaps I won't be as sleepy on that night.) It is expected that construction would begin sometime this summer, with delivery in summer 2009.
 

I've received word that all permits have at last been secured for 801 Virginia Avenue, the 40,000-sq-ft residential/retail/office project on the southeast corner of 8th and Virginia. It will have 17 residential units (condos), plus about 8,000 sq ft of office and retail space. The developers expect to begin construction within the next 90 days, with completion expected in summer 2008. More information is available on the this web site (geared toward selling the office/retail space)--marketing of the condos should begin "soon", I'm told.
More posts: 801va, 8th Street
 

Thanks to reader Scott for snagging this press release off the wires [links mine]: "Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, Florida Rock Properties, Inc. ("FRP"), continues to pursue its efforts to obtain approval of a final planned unit development application for its Washington, D.C. property located on the banks of the Anacostia River across Potomac Avenue from the new baseball stadium being constructed for the Washington Nationals. In response to comments recently received from members of the District of Columbia Zoning Commission, FRP is seeking to refocus the proposed project to respond to the concerns raised. FRP believes that its proposed project, which had previously received preliminary approval, will complement the new stadium and will contribute to the overall redevelopment of the baseball stadium district. At this time, Patriot is uncertain when the Zoning Commission will act finally on the FRP application or what action the Commission may take." If you read on, you'll even get a nice little explanation as to how Florida Rock Properties, Florida Rock Industries, Patriot, and Vulcan Materials are connected (or not connected). It's like they wrote it just for me! For background, read these previous posts.
More posts: Florida Rock, zoning
 
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