Please note that JDLand is no longer being updated.
peek >>
Near Southeast DC Past News Items
In the Pipeline
25 M
Yards/Parcel I
Chiller Site Condos
Yards/Parcel A
1333 M St.
More Capper Apts.
Yards/DC Water site
New Marine Barracks
Nat'l Community Church
Factory 202/Yards
SC1100
Completed
Thompson Hotel ('20)
West Half ('19)
Novel South Capitol ('19)
Yards/Guild Apts. ('19)
Capper/The Harlow ('19)
New DC Water HQ ('19)
Yards/Bower Condos ('19)
Virginia Ave. Tunnel ('19)
99 M ('18)
Agora ('18)
1221 Van ('18)
District Winery ('17)
Insignia on M ('17)
F1rst/Residence Inn ('17)
One Hill South ('17)
Homewood Suites ('16)
ORE 82 ('16)
The Bixby ('16)
Dock 79 ('16)
Community Center ('16)
The Brig ('16)
Park Chelsea ('16)
Yards/Arris ('16)
Hampton Inn ('15)
Southeast Blvd. ('15)
11th St. Bridges ('15)
Parc Riverside ('14)
Twelve12/Yards ('14)
Lumber Shed ('13)
Boilermaker Shops ('13)
Camden South Cap. ('13)
Canal Park ('12)
Capitol Quarter ('12)
225 Virginia/200 I ('12)
Foundry Lofts ('12)
1015 Half Street ('10)
Yards Park ('10)
Velocity Condos ('09)
Teague Park ('09)
909 New Jersey Ave. ('09)
55 M ('09)
100 M ('08)
Onyx ('08)
70/100 I ('08)
Nationals Park ('08)
Seniors Bldg Demo ('07)
400 M ('07)
Douglass Bridge Fix ('07)
US DOT HQ ('07)
20 M ('07)
Capper Seniors 1 ('06)
Capitol Hill Tower ('06)
Courtyard/Marriott ('06)
Marine Barracks ('04)
 
Go to Full Blog Archive


2209 Blog Posts Since 2003
Go to Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ... 221
Search JDLand Blog Posts by Date or Category

A reminder that on Monday (Sept. 21) the Zoning Commission will be hearing a request from Forest City for a text amendment to the Southeast Federal Center Overlay that would "authorize a Trapeze School and Aerial Performing Arts Center in the SEFC/R-5-E Zone District at the Yards." This is the Trapeze School New York, which left Baltimore's Inner Harbor earlier this year and is currently flying through the air on the old DC Convention Center site at Ninth and H, NW. The school would take up residence on the lot on the southeast corner of Fourth and Tingey ("Parcel O"), which someday will be a residential building but is not expected to be developed anytime soon. It's also just north of the site of the Park at the Yards, which is scheduled to open next year.
Here's the report prepared by the Office of Planning in advance of Monday's hearing, in which they recommend approval of the four text amendments being sought. They're asking for the trapeze school to be allowed for five years (or longer, via a special expection), and to dispense with the off-street parking requirement, since there's already so much surface parking at the Yards. There's also some technical needs to actually create tax parcel lots on the site to allow for the issuance of building permits.
The hearing is at 6:30 pm at 441 4th St., NW (Suite 220 South), or you can watch the live feed or wait for the video on demand (it gives me a smile just to type that--I've waited for video on demand for zoning hearings for so long!)
 

Here's a bunch of small items that I've Tweeted over the past few days; I'm succumbing to abject laziness and only barely bothering to rewrite them (who needs all those extra words, anyway?):
* RT @TWTSports: #Nats will open the 2010 season at Nationals Park against the Phillies on April 5. [schedule link]
* RT @LPags03: #Nats host BOS for exhibition game on 4/3.
* The new Canal Park design is on the preliminary agenda for the Oct. 1 NCPC meeting. Hope it makes the final agenda: link
* Study of commuter ferry service to waterfront from Woodbridge pegs a $30M price tag just for needed improvements: link
* From @octolabs: DC Citywide Data Warehouse won coolest gov innovation award for DC Data Catalog/Data Feeds: link [and thanks for the shout-out!]
* RT @Cornercopia: Owner of blue civic with Maryland plates parked in front should probably move their car. 2 tickets already since Mon.
 

I think I mentioned this a few days back, but here it is again: On Saturday (Sept. 19) from 10 am to 2 pm, the BID is hosting a Canal Park Picnic and Home Tour: "Enjoy live music, food, drink, and lawn games at Canal Park! Tour selected rowhouses, condos, apartments and townhouses of residents in the new Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. See what it's like to live in the Front!" It's free and open to the public. Food will be provided by Cornercopia, "Smokin' Somethin'" (BBQ) and Sweetgreen (frozen yogurt). The two 45-minute neighborhood walking tours start at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm.
This also seems to be somewhat in place of a Capitol Riverfront WalkingTown DC tour, since there isn't one on WalkingTown's fall lineup this weekend. My bad--I didn't see the "FRONT" tour on the WalkingTownDC lineup.
 

After seeing the raze permit approval earlier this week for 156 L Street, the former Star Market (aka the "Little Red Building"), I contacted the building's owner for an update on his plans. Mr. Park (whose father used to own Bernstein's Liquors at Half and M SW) says that his plans are now to build just a liquor store; previous plans to include a second-floor deli have been set aside. He's hoping to get a building permit for a new structure within the next month or so, and expects construction to take about five months. So possibly the store could open next spring, though hopefully readers are becoming suitably cautious when hearing development timelines.
I know neighbors at CHT and the Marriott have been working on agreements with the store, but I haven't heard where they stand; anyone in the know please give everyone the scoop, in the comments. And keep an eye out for demolition of the old building, which should take about 10 minutes once it starts.
 

This morning there's another look by the Post at Near Southeast this time focusing on the people who have moved to the neighborhood despite the lack of amenities. No real surprises in the piece, other than its aura of a slight sense of bewilderment that people would want to live in an area without it being "finished": "That's left the 2,100 newcomers in freshly painted townhouses and high-concept buildings, with such names as Velocity and Axiom at Capitol Yards, to fend for themselves in what looks like an abandoned construction zone. [...] To outsiders, it seems crazy to pick up and move to a place where the only sit-down restaurants are Five Guys and Subway, the nearest grocery aisle is the refrigerated case at the CVS and happy-hour crowds shoehorn into the lobby bar of a Courtyard Marriott." But: "Yet for everything the Capitol Riverfront is not, it is this: jagged and textured, where so much of Washington is buttoned-down. A relative bargain in a city of pricey real estate. A convivial community happily captured inside its utopia, while more established neighborhoods can be anonymous, stuffy even."
Comments (0)
More posts:
 

There's a move afoot to create a dog park in a portion of Virginia Avenue Park, the little-known greenspace nestled between Ninth and 11th streets, SE, just south (and under!) the SE Freeway. (I'm as guilty as anyone for not swinging by there more often--I only have a few paltry photos posted, and hardly any recent ones.) "Capitol Canines" is proposing to use space on the 11th Street side of the park, and at Tuesday's ANC6B meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to support the proposal.
This idea is still very much in its early stages, and the group will be needing to raise money to get the improvements built. (Virginia Avenue Park itself is run and maintained by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, although property records say the land is owned by the feds.) Here's an early rendering of the vision for the park, with the dog park at right; at left is a new playground that a private developer/individual is interested in creating, and the existing community garden is at the bottom, along L Street. The three groups will need to coordinate together as the project moves forward.
If you're interested in being part of the project or in getting more information, you can join the Google Group they've set up; the petition they're circulating for support is also available online.
 

Pulling together smallish items from hither and yon:
* Last night saw the first arrival of a commercial water taxi at Diamond Teague Pier; WTOP covered the trip, which is a good thing, since I neither rode the boat nor stood on the dock to watch it sail in. I suck.
* A stroll through the city's building permits feed (which alas isn't as easy or useful as it used to be, since they pile every single permit into the feed over and over, rather than just posting new/updated ones) uncovered that back in August, a raze permit was issued for 156 L Street, home of the old Star Market and better known as the "Little Red Building"; the owner has spoken of plans to build a new two-story structure that would be a combination liquor store and deli. I haven't heard of any timeframe for the demolition, new construction, or store opening.
* From And Now, Anacostia, a heads up that today's Kojo Nnamdi show will include a segment called "Paris on the Anacostia: A Provocative Idea for DC's Waterfront," which will discuss the idea of *narrowing* the Anacostia River, "with the goal of bringing in new businesses, training new workers, and completely changing the relationship between folks East and West of the River." It'll be available online here.
* Tomorrow night (Thursday) is the second Outdoor Space Movie at Canal Park; this time it's Star Wars. The Force will be with you, starting at 7:30 pm.
* And Thursday night is also the deadline for pre-registration for ULI Washington's Urban Marketplace conference and expo on Sept. 15. Among lots of other sessions about urban development, it includes a panel discussion about the ballpark neighborhood, with Michael Darby of Monument Realty, Matthew Klein of Akridge, Michael Stevens of the BID, Harriet Tregoning of the Office of Planning, and me. It'll be a barn-burner!
* Saturday night is the second annual Opera in the Outfield at Nationals Park; the Washington Times previews it here. It's the Barber of Seville; but don't be alarmed when the first lines aren't "Welcome to my shop/let me cut your mop, let me shave your crop/Daintily, Daintily!"
* Forest City announced its second-quarter earnings, for those who know how to decipher these things. It does mention the Park at the Yards, still listing the completion date of the first phase as summer 2010. And their outlook? "While some see signs of a potential end of the recession, we are taking a conservative course based on what we can observe and are experiencing directly: continued weak fundamentals and little improvement in overall near-term conditions. As a result, we remain very cautious going forward. We expect the second half of the year to be challenging for our Company and for the entire industry, and we do not anticipate meaningful improvement in market conditions in the near or mid-term."
* I don't think I've officially linked to Cornercopia's Twitter feed, if you haven't seen it yet. (And there's my Twitter feed, too, of course.)
 

Tonight WBJ is reporting that Harris Teeter--which has long been rumored to be the grocery store planned for the southeast corner of Fourth and M at the Yards--has signed a letter of intent, though Teeter isn't confirming.
But don't start making your shopping list just yet--even before the Economic Difficulties, Forest City wasn't expecting to open a building on that parcel before 2011, and that date now looks tough to meet. But there are hints in the article that maybe Forest City is rethinking the plan to have an office building topping the grocery store: "We are currently evaluating the overall development program on that parcel, which may result in a revised mixed-use concept," is the quote from Forest City's Ramsey Meiser.
 

What follows are e-mails I've received from two readers in the past 24 hours. I'm posting them so that perhaps the Powers that Be might see them and also to give other readers a chance to weigh in.
First, a noise complaint (one that isn't restricted just to the south of the freeway, since I've heard it too):
* "Can you tell me about the parties going on under 395 near Garfield Park this summer? I used to live on the other side of the park, and I remember the 'Friends of Garfield Park' were very strict/vigilant about use and maintenance of the park. This summer, on the Fourth of July and today, there have been big parties with LOUD music that go on for hours. Then, typically, the park is trashed the next day. Is this a new trend that we've got to live with? I'm sitting here in my apartment on the 4th floor of CHT with the windows closed, and it's just too loud to relax. I've placed a call to 311, but to whom else can I complain?" [Note from JD: I'd get in touch with Tommy Wells's office.]
As for this next one, I post this as a cat owner who has, if you'll pardon the pun, absolutely no dog in this fight. So you all duke it out without me:
* "I am a dog owner and have found it more and more difficult to find place for my dog to use the bathroom. The reason behind this you may ask? Is there is a ton of ton of dog poop all over the place now. And it is getting progressively worse. I take the time to clean up after my pet making sure there is now traces of her reliving herself. I recycle my grocery bags ans invest in the special doggie poop bags. The reason I do this is that my mother would smack me for not doing it, it's polite and the right thing to do (nothing worse then stepping in dog poop!) It's made the neighborhood look and smell dirty. It attracts RATS! And DC police can write you a ticket it for it also. My old building put out this huge packet about cleaning up after your pet. [I]n all seriousness it takes 2 second to clean up after your pet. It is one of responsiblties of owning a pet, as is feeding them."
Comments (0)
More posts: What's the Deal?
 

WBJ's Breaking Ground blog reports tonight that the GlobeSt.com story I posted yesterday about Opus's 100 M office building being under contract to MayfieldGentry is "false information." They quote a "source close to the deal" as saying "The building is not under contract with anyone -- it's in bankruptcy court. There is no offer on it." Who will be right?
Comments (0)
More posts: 100 M, Square 743N
 

* GlobeSt.com says that the 100 M Street office building built by Opus East--and now owned by its bank after Opus went into Chapter 7 liquidation--is under contract to be sold for $80 million to Mayfield Gentry. Gentry has been pursuing the purchase since late last year. GlobeSt: "If events play out as expected, 100 M St., SE will fit nicely into the story line emerging for the District's real estate community: namely, that buildings in the city limits are still holding their value and attracting investor interest--so much so that the growing levels of distressed real estate are not likely to impact the District to any great degree."
And two quick links that I Tweeted on Friday but forgot to post here (oops):
* Want to rent out the ballpark or a portion thereof for a shindig? The NationalsEvents.com web site is now launched, with details on packages, rates, and more. (I needed this when I was trying to put together my high school reunion last year.)
* WBJ's Breaking Ground blog posted on the status of Monument's Half Street project, talking about "the hole" ("'The hole. Yes, the hole,' sighed Russell Hines") and the 55 M office building completed earlier this year which "is still empty but has experienced 'a distinct change in the level of activity' over the past two months, with a few seriously interested tenants." They're looking for ways to find financing to start construction on the residential and hotel portion on the south end of the block, but aren't finding any outlets yet; but because the site is owned outright between the equity partners (Monument, the shell of Lehman Brothers, and MacFarlane Partners), "no construction lender or mortgage holder is going to demand the keys" to the site.
 

The Capitol Riverfront BID has decided that everyone liked the summer outdoor movie series so much, they're launching a four-week fall outdoor movie series, held this time at Second and M, on the future Canal Park site. The lineup is: Star Wars on Sept. 10, Toy Story on Sept. 17, Spaceballs on Sept. 24, and Apollo 13 on Oct. 1. (And the press release on the movie series says that construction on Canal Park will begin in Spring 2010, which is pretty much the same start date that's been on tap for awhile now.)
 

Aug 31, 2009 12:42 PM
The final agenda is now out for Thursday's meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, and contained in it is a long document setting out the commission staff's recommendations for a vote on the design of the 11th Street Bridges.
For anyone interested in the bridges as a driver, bicyclist, pedestrian, water recreationist, neighbor, or construction enthusiast, it's a worthwhile read (even at 26 pages). To cut to the chase, the staff is recommending that the commission "comment favorably" on the designs for the bridges, even though the designs are still in the very early stages, and there's very little new in this document that we didn't see in the EIS or other releases. There's even mention of how the city's Comprehensive Plan envisions the eventual dismantling of the Southeast-Southwest Freeway, but that the new bridges are needed until the time comes that I-395 comes down (i.e., far past the date I shuffle off this mortal coil).
However, they are not at all happy with DDOT's decision to choose a streetcar system with overhead wires, and the document goes into detail on how this works against federal interests, as well as listing what non-overhead-wire streetcar options exist out there (none in the US so far). Their conclusions (page 22):
"Recommends that DDOT not include streetcar system components for overhead wires as part of the 11th Street Bridge project and that DDOT prepare an environmental impact statement for its proposed District wide streetcar system that examines potential impacts on the L'Enfant City and Georgetown and that includes an analysis of propulsion systems that do not require the use of overhead wires.
"Advises DDOT that the Commission does not support a streetcar system with overhead wires because it supports the unobstructed views to important landmarks along the city's streets and avenues that are integral to the District's unique character and result from the long-standing federal statutory prohibition against using overhead wires in Washington City (the L'Enfant City) and Georgetown.
"Encourages DDOT to pursue alternative propulsion technologies for the proposed streetcar system that do not require overhead wires in accordance with its January 24, 2008 commitment to include dual vehicle propulsion requirements in a solicitation package for the development and implementation of the broader streetcar system beyond the Anacostia and H Street/Benning Road corridors."
The commission meeting when this recommendation will be voted on is Thursday (Sept. 3) at 12:30 pm.
 

Aug 31, 2009 10:14 AM
A few people wrote in over the weekend about this, including one with actual video--apparently a beep of some sort has been emanating from the DPW/Trash Transfer building at New Jersey and K (or somewhere else close by) for at least a week now. I've passed the word to Tommy Wells's office (though I imagine I'm not the first).
 

Aug 28, 2009 11:38 AM
From WTOP: "Nationals fans will have a new way to get to the ballpark starting next month! That's when a water taxi will begin taking fans from the Alexandria waterfront to a dock right next to the the ballpark. It's about a 40 minute trip.
"The Potomac Riverboat Company will begin offering tickets for sale starting at noon today. 'I think it's a great price, $12 one way and $20 round trip. That includes tax,' company Vice President Charlotte Hall tells WTOP.
"Fans who live in Maryland can park at National Harbor, and take a separate water taxi across the river to catch the "baseball boat" in Alexandria. Those who want to do that will have to purchase a separate ticket for $8 one way or $16 round trip.
"Company vice president Charlotte Hall says they're offering water taxi rides to and from seven Nationals home games in September, beginning with a game against Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 8. You can also buy water taxi tickets to home games on September 9, 10, 25, 28, 29, and 30. Hall says they hope to expand service in time for next baseball season."
The dock is at Diamond Teague Park--if you missed my photos yesterday of the park and piers, here they are.
UPDATE: Potomac Riverboat's online ticketing ordering now has ballpark trips as an option.
 

Aug 27, 2009 4:30 PM
Thanks to the folks from the Gangplank, I was able to get a quick tour today of the piers and boardwalks at Diamond Teague Park, the new city-built spot on the Anacostia where water taxis and other vessels are now able to dock to bring folks to and from Nationals Park. Although construction and planting isn't quite finished, I think the batch of photos I took give a pretty good idea of the lay of the land. (I'll add them into my Teague page when I've got some more time.)
Comments (0)
More posts: Teague Park
 

Aug 26, 2009 1:56 PM
More than five years after the first demolitions at the old Capper/Carrollsburg public housing complex, city officials, developers, and residents gathered at Fourth and L today for a ribbon cutting at what is now known as Capitol Quarter, the mixed-income townhouse development that's been under construction since last year. (Residents actually started moving in this spring, but let's not spoil the party.)
As most readers know by now, the old 707-unit Capper complex is being replaced with what will eventually include 1,500 residential units (with a one-to-one replacement of all 700 public housing units), 700,000 square feet of office space, and 50,000 square feet of retail. Two apartment buildings with 300 units for low-income seniors and moderate income residents--Capper Seniors #1 and 400 M--opened in late 2006 and 2007; four more mixed-income buildings will eventually be built on lots by Canal Park.
My photos of the festivities are posted--and enjoy them, because there aren't many ribbon cuttings in Near Southeast's near future!
I also finally updated my photos along Fifth Street this morning, and at Fourth and I and Fourth and K yesterday and today, making for a pretty striking batch of before-and-afters, especially since these are the first photos I've taken since the framing really took off on the north side of K. Also, digging is now getting started on the final block of phase 1 (Square 797, between Third, Fourth, Virginia, and I), and framing should begin in October or November, with those final first phase homes expected to be finished next spring. When will phase 2 start sales and pre-construction? As soon as they get some money, and everyone knows how easy that is right now....
I will be adding some new mid-block photos to my Capitol Quarter Phase I page, and freshening it up a bit, later today.
Comments (0)
More posts: Capper, Capitol Quarter
 

Aug 25, 2009 1:16 PM
* A reminder that tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10 am the DC Housing Authority is holding an official ribbon cutting and grand opening at Capitol Quarter, Fourth and L, with the mayor expected to be in attendance. If the sun is out, I may use this as the motivation to finally get some updated photos of the construction, with the framing in block three (north of K between Fourth and Fifth) now well underway.
* The Post reports on how the many new apartment buildings in the area are aggressively competing for tenants, with the new buildings in Near Southeast apparently leading the way: "The ones around Nationals Park, for instance, collectively have offered the deepest concessions since Delta started tracking rents 18 years ago. Some of those projects gave away the equivalent of four months' rent in concessions, which helps explain why effective rents in the District plunged 7.8 percent in June compared with a year ago. Without the ballpark area, rents fell 4 percent."
* From the BID's newsletter last week: "Mark your calendars for September 19th for the FRONT Door Home Tour & Canal Park Picnic from 10 am - 2 pm. The FRONT Door Tour will feature a variety of unique residents' homes and highlight the Capitol Riverfront as a new residential neighborhood in DC. The event will include a community picnic at the future site of Canal Park (located at intersection of M St., SE and 2nd St., SE) with food, music, and lawn games. The FRONT Door Tour will be free and open to the public. More information to come soon."
And, two items about off-topic projects by Near Southeast developers:
* Monument Realty announced yesterday that its long-planned renovation of Potomac Place Tower on Fourth Street in SW is now going to move forward. From their press release: "Monument Realty acquired the Potomac Place project in 2001 and in 2005 completed construction of a new, 302-unit condominium adjacent to the existing Potomac Place Tower, which was built in 1959. In 2003, Potomac Place Tower was designated a historic landmark by the District of Columbia and in 2005 the residents of Potomac Place Tower elected to convert the property to a condominium. Monument Realty's longstanding history and commitment to the project gave the new lender the confidence to retain its services for the completion of Potomac Place Tower."
* Forest City Washington has been selected by the government of Puerto Rico as the program manager for the redevelopment of a 100-acre portion of San Juan's waterfront district. Residential, hotel, office, retail, public parks, and a marina--sound familiar? (I don't think I mentioned that a few weeks ago the District selected Forest City as an advisor for the redevelopment of Poplar Point.)
 

Aug 20, 2009 12:45 PM
With thanks to the deputy mayor's office and Gangplank Marina, I now have the list of the companies and vessels that are on the "Operator Master List" for docking at the new piers at Diamond Teague Park (right across the street from Nationals Park):
* Entertainment Cruises, which runs the well-known Odyssey and the Spirit of Washington cruises from the Southwest Waterfront, is signed up to allow their Seadog speedboat and Capital Elite yacht to dock at Teague;
* Potomac Riverboat Cruises is approved to run the Miss Mallory, the Matthew Hayes, and the Miss Christin, all of which are docked at Alexandria;
* Capitol River Cruises's two boats (the Nightingale and Nightingale II) are docked in Georgetown;
* Ft. Washington and Potomac River Cruises's the Pelican, docked at National Harbor;
* The Miss Ann, docked at the Southwest Waterfront;
* The Sequoia Presidential Yacht, docked at the Southwest Waterfront; and
* Capital Yacht Charters, which operates out of the Southwest Waterfront, can dock four ships: the Finished Business, Celebrity, Running Mate, and Margaritaville.
It looks like that for the rest of this year it will probably only be charter service docking at Teague, with scheduled water taxi service for games not starting up until next spring. But maybe some outfit will surprise. The Earth Conservation Corps will be working with Coastal Properties (aka the folks at the Gangplank) to manage the piers, and apparently there will be an official web site for the Teague park and piers up soon. They're also still working on the landscaping, which should be finished next month.
 

Aug 20, 2009 12:18 AM
Last week, neighborhood resident Jamie D. was the first to report that Cornercopia had opened for business, and so won the free sandwich I had been touting for months as a way to get JDLand readers to do my surveillance work for me. We've set up a time for this honor to be bestowed (and thanks to Albert at Cornercopia for indulging all of this), so if any folks are around and feel like stopping by Cornercopia to meet some fellow residents and point and make fun of Jamie while he eats his sandwich, come wander by the corner of Third and K, SE, on Friday (Aug. 21) at 6 pm. (This gives Nats fans enough time to sprint to the stadium to use their $1 tickets.) It'd be great to meet some of the commenters and correspondents who make this place so lively, especially since there's a number of new faces around here these days.
Though, please note that I'm only footing the bill for *one* sandwich. I don't have the funds to buy off everyone! (Dang advertising market collapse!)
Comments (0)
More posts: cornercopia
 
2209 Posts:
Go to Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ... 221
Search JDLand Blog Posts by Date or Category




                  © Copyright 2024 JD.