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If I hadn't been at the ANC6D meeting last week, I wouldn't have known about this (because I can't find evidence of it anywhere else), but there is to be a Community Update Meeting about the ballpark on April 19 at 6:30 pm at the Friendship Baptist Church, 900 Delaware Ave., SW. It is being run by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, and apparently they plan on making these meetings a regular occurrence to keep the neighborhood updated. (But it'd sure be nice if they'd announce it on their web site!)

More posts: ANC News, Nationals Park
 

I know, it's a strange strange thing, but I'm continuing to track the gas prices as displayed at the Sunoco Station at Half and M. (I started this last year when I realized that I had many pictures from the last three years of the Sunoco's prices at the edges of shots focusing on 20 M or other locations.) See the latest numbers, although those of you who drive a lot are already well aware of the spike over the last two months....

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Yesterday I led a tour of the stadium site for the Nationals Fan Club, which was a good bit of fun. We did find out that there's now fences surrounding the southern two-thirds of the stadium site, from 1st to South Capitol to Potomac to O. (Those streets are all still open, but Half is now closed from O to Potomac.) The official start of construction is supposed to be May 1 or thereabouts, but at last week's ANC 6D meeting a representative of Clark/Hunt/Smoot did say that they are already doing some work on the southern portion of the site.
More posts: ANC News, Nationals Park
 

The National Capital Planning Commission has posted the agenda for its May 4 meeting, which includes an informational presentation on the proposed new South Capitol Street Bridge; the meeting will be at 401 9th Street, NW at 12:30 pm. Note that later that same day is the DDOT South Capitol Street Community Update Meeting, at 6 pm at Van Ness Elementary (1150 5th Street SE).
 

WTOP is reporting that, in order to have the new baseball stadium meet "environmentally friendly" design standards, an additional $5-$10 million will have to be spent. The December 2004 law passed by the city council requires the stadium to be "green", says Phil Mendelson, but the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission has written a letter to the Mayor and the council that appears to disagree--and the council has written a letter disagreeing with that disagreement. Since this additional money is above and beyond the $611 million spending cap, it's not known where the money would be coming from.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

In today's Post (well, in some of them, depending on which Extra you receive) is "For Commuters, A New Way to Travel Through the District," a good overview piece about the plans for a new South Capitol Street/Frederick Douglass Bridge. The article doesn't have anything new, but it brings together all the bits and pieces that have come out over the past months about the new bridge. It mentions the public meeting scheduled for May 4, and also confirms that sometime this summer two blocks of the "elevated" South Capitol Street (from O Street to Potomac Avenue) will be dismantled, allowing South Capitol Street to be "at-grade" alongside the stadium site. And it also says, as we've heard previously, that construction would not begin before 2011; the final design of the bridge will be chosen this summer, after the Environmental Impact Study is completed. Cost estimates range from $285 million to $392 million, based on the design. Make sure to go to the poll to vote for your favorite design!
 

The Post does the now-ubiquitous story on how the land rush in Near Southeast is forcing out long-time neighborhood nightclubs ("Forced Out by Baseball, Whither the Strip Club?")--this time, the focus is on the Nexus Gold Club, whose landlord sold the property last year to make way for one of JPI's residential projects. The story recounts that the Nexus appears to be having just as much trouble as the now-closed O Street gay clubs in finding a place to move to, even with all the good deeds that the owner has done for the neighborhood over the years. The story says that the club must be out by December 2006, but given the speed with which JPI is moving, and also given some rumors I've heard, I would not be surprised if it's more like early fall.
 

Demolition appears to have begun on the site of JPI's 70/100 I Street residential development. (Although, when it comes to a rundown former trash transfer lot, it's kind of hard to tell that demolition has begun.) I'll get pictures soon. With two building permit applications on file (70 I, 100 I), they appear to be on target for starting construction later this year.
UPDATE, 4/11: I've added a couple of pictures to my JPI Projects page--I'll post more as the demolition becomes more obvious, it's still in the pretty early stages. And I heard today that the property to the north and east of 70/100 I--owned by CSX Rail--is going to get a bit of a cleanup at the same time the 70/100 property is prepped for construction. Which is a good thing, because I'm not sure how much of a marketing draw it is to have a dumping ground of trash and abandoned tires surrounding a new high-rise residential project.
More posts: 70/100 I, jpi
 

The April issue of The Southwester has an article (on page 5 of the PDF) about Capper Seniors #1, reporting that it is expected to be completed in October 2006, with the beginning of the application process starting no later than July. A quote about who can apply for housing there:
Senior residents currently living in the old Arthur Capper Senior building will move directly into the new building, if they meet criteria related to credit history, criminal background checks and can demonstrate an ability to maintain a clean and sanitary living space (or have support to enable him/her to meet the standards).Seniors in other public housing, or in the surrounding neighborhoods and the Washington Metro area are also eligible to apply, in that order, if their income does not exceed 60% of the Area Median Income.Senior applicants for non-public housing rental units can apply for a rental if they can pay the posted monthly rent and expected utility expenses, which should not exceed 30%-40% of the applicant's household income.
The South Washington Collaborative is working as an advocate for seniors looking to move into Capper Seniors #1. There apparently will be workshops at the old Arthur Capper Seniors building in the near future.
 

At tonight's ANC 6D meeting (you all owe me!), there was a presentation on the new baseball stadium, by a group including the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, Clark/Hunt/Smoot, and Marshall Purnell of Devrouax and Purnell, the local architects working with HOK Sport on the stadium design. Much of the time was spent going over the renderings (which of course you've already looked at a billion times here on my site!), but there were some items of interest, including a construction timeline of sorts (this is from my notes, apologies if I get any construction-speak wrong):
· Official "construction" is scheduled to begin May 1. (Or within 5-6 days on either side.) Construction will begin at 1st and O, and will work clockwise around the stadium footprint. (The dates below are for when a phase is expected to begin at 1st and O, and then move clockwise around the site.)
· 300,000 cubic yards of soil will need to be removed.
· Pile driving is expected to begin in late May, with concrete work then following, expected to take 9 months in all.
· Structural steel work is expected to begin in early October, and the steel has already been purchased and ordered.
· Structural precast mumblemumblemumble (I'm a rotten secretary) is expected to begin in December, after which seats can begin to be installed, probably in January/February 2007.
· The structure would "top out" somewhere around June or July 2007.
· Construction cranes are to be out of the infield by August 2007, to have time to build the irrigation system and start growing the grass.
Other fun tidbits about the construction: there is a "jog" in the center field fence to echo a similar irregularity in the old Griffith Stadium (where the Senators played). And yes, they are going to try to make some of the lower-level seats "shakeable" like the bleachers at RFK (with perhaps some safety measures actually built in this time). As for concerns about the stadium's lighting, there are only two light towers (in the outfield); the rest of the lights are all on the underside of the stadium's canopy and so are not visible from outside the stadium. As for the current occupants of the site, the asphalt plant at 1st and O Street is being dismantled piece by piece so that it can be rebuilt at whatever location it eventually moves to. Also, they haven't yet managed to get WMATA to move its buses off the parking lot at 1st and O. There is to be a community meeting on April 19 at Friendship Baptist Church in Southwest to discuss the creation of an advisory committee; I'll post more about this when I get it.
 

Also at the ANC meeting, I found out a bit more about some of the new projects in the Near Southeast pipeline: the JPI residential project at 901 New Jersey (which was called "Jefferson at New Jersey and K" on the display boards) will have 237ish units, a pool, fitness room, conference center, etc. The Preston Partnership is the architect (fun web site, guys!). This project was before the ANC to ask for support in advance of its BZA hearing on May 16; however, its requests for a special exception for roof requirements and also a lessening of the residential recreation space were referred to the ANC's development subcommittee, and the ANC voiced its concern about the lack of an affordable housing component within the project, which will probably be something that developers coming to Near Southeast will need to address. As for the Square 743N Faison/Opus East projects along 1st Street, the alley closings brouhaha over the past few months has been settled (the city council approved the bill on its final reading April 4), the developers were back again, now asking for the ANC's support in its hearing before the Zoning Commission on May 25 for approval of the plans for the office building portion of the project, at 100 M Street. The commission voted 4-0-1 to give its support. Finally, a request for closing a portion of an alley on Square 0697 as part of Lerner Enterprises's 1000 South Capitol Street project came before the commission, and after the requisite squabbling over payments to the community for the loss of "public space", this too was referred to the development subcommittee.
 

Also at the ANC meeting tonight, there was a discussion about the DC Public Schools' upcoming plan to close/repurpose as much as 3 million square feet of school space over the next two years. Van Ness Elementary at 5th and M is unofficially considered to be very high on the list--although it had 400 students a few years ago, with the closing of Capper/Carrollsburg it now services just 30 Headstart Pre-K students and 48 Special Ed students from around the city. However, as school board member Tommy Wells explained, the city won't be selling school properties, and the feeling is very strong that an elementary school must remain in Near Southeast. Given that Van Ness's M Street location could be enticing to developers, it's possible that the city would agree to a swap, to have a new Van Ness built somewhere else in the neighborhood in exchange for a developer getting rights to the 5th and M lot. A plan to identify 1 million square feet of DCPS space that could be closed/repurposed is due to the school board on May 17, after which there will be a 30-day period of public input meetings (there are also public forums on April 18 and 22). For more information, see the DC Board of Education web site, in particular the rightsizing criteria and calendar.
 

DDOT will be holding a public meeting on May 4 at 6 pm to update the public on the latest South Capitol Street Corridor news, and also to allow public review and comment on the latest plans for the street and also the South Capitol Street Bridge. The South Capitol Street EIS and South Capitol Street Bridge Study web sites have more information about what's on tap.

 

In today's Washington Times, "Nats, City Officials Long For Owner" discusses how the lack of a new owner for the Nationals is impacting not only the team, but construction of the new baseball stadium:
City officials are particularly anxious for an owner to be named because of several upcoming decisions related to the new ballpark, to be located along the Anacostia Waterfront. Construction of the stadium could begin this month, and officials would prefer owner input about aspects of the ballpark design, including the location of an adjacent parking garage.
In addition, architects and the construction team would like to consult the owner about changes to the design of the ballpark and the materials used to build it. The sports commission has required the construction team to build the ballpark for no more than $320 million, and efforts to stay under that cap have forced some more expensive materials and design aspects to be removed.
In other words, get a new owner, and maybe there might be limestone instead of concrete made to look like limestone...
More posts: Nationals Park
 

It's not posted yet, but I've gotten a peek at the agenda for the April ANC 6D meeting, this Monday the 10th, and it's chock full of Near Southeast goodness. There will be a presentation by the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission on the immediate plans for the baseball stadium; then there are presentations on three projects in the pipeline: the Opus East 250,000-sq-ft office building at 100 M Street (the fractious debate at previous meetings over a request to close two alleys on the block for this project has really been jaw-dropping); the JPI project at New Jersey and I; and another request for alley closings (have fun with that, fellas!) for 1000 South Capitol Street. This project is a 320,000-sq-ft office building that Lerner Enterprises has had on the boards for a number of years, and so they appear to now be beginning to move forward with it. It's on the same block--and backs up to--Nation, where Potomac Investment Properties is also now moving on its long-planned 250,000-sq-ft office building at 1015 Half Street. UPDATE: The agenda is now posted.
 

Hank Steuver of the Washington Post describes the scene on Saturday night as the gay bars that have operated on O Street SE for the past 30 years closed down, to make way for the new baseball stadium. And whether or not drag queens ain't your thing, honey child, it's worth a read.
More posts: Nationals Park
 

With some demolition now underway (veeeeery slooooowly), I've freshened up my Capper/Carrollsburg page with some new photos. I've also updated the construction photos for the two Capper Seniors projects, and for good measure tossed in a couple of new shots on the Capitol Hill Tower page, to celebrate the opening of the Courtyard by Marriott, the first Near Southeast project I've tracked from its beginning to end....
 

I had heard rumblings that this would be the case, but a reader has now confirmed that the Courtyard by Marriott at New Jersey and L has opened today. For folks who work nearby, the Marriott will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner to the public as well as guests, and the bar will be open to all, too. As for the residential side of Capitol Hill Tower, folks who have already bought units are being given late April/early May move-in dates....
 

Now THIS is interesting, someone has posted a For Sale ad on Craigslist for the Star Market, the little red building that stood its ground while Capitol Hill Tower grew up around it. A mere $950k, after being bought less than a year ago for $580k. (Thanks for the link to my site, guys.)
 

With a court order now in place requiring the six gay clubs to leave their stadium-footprint properties by April 4, this will be their last weekend of operation on O Street, says The Washington Blade. The article also chronicles the continuing difficulties for the clubs in finding new homes, and also gives some history of their 30-year run in Near Southeast.
More posts: Nationals Park
 
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