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News Flash: CEO Andy Altman resigns from the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, to take a private-sector job in New York. Details at the Washington Business Journal (reg. req.). UPDATE: The Post weighs in with "SE Development in Limbo as Official Plans to Resign" (a headline that sounds a bit more dire than the story itself): "Local developers said yesterday that the unexpected resignation of the District official who oversees development along the Anacostia River could slow down the multibillion-dollar initiative and hinder the planning of what should be built around the new baseball stadium in Southeast. [...]  The Anacostia group has a strong board of directors, including Eric W. Price, the city's former deputy mayor for economic development, and Mitchell N. Schear, a Crystal City-based developer, local developers said. And Stephen Goldsmith, chairman of the corporation's board of directors, said the organization will move quickly to replace Altman. 'We're going to keep our commitments. We're actually going to accelerate our commitments,' Goldsmith said. 'We've got a whole slew of really important things going on. It can't wait.' While Altman said the corporation is in good condition to weather change, developers said finding the right replacement, promptly, will be critical to progress on Anacostia development." UPDATE II: And one more WaPo piece on Altman's departure, from Monday's biz section.
 

This week's Washington City Paper's cover story is "Rich Fan, Poor Fan," all about how rotten the new DC baseball stadium is going to be for the average fan. One small nit: since the stadium design hasn't been made public yet, I'm not altogether sure what they're working off of (it appears to be a mix of HOK's original submittal when vying for the job, plus some of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission's requests, plus tidbits from the AWC's Ballpark District ideas, and a June 30 sketch, but they make no mention of seeing what the current state of the design is...). But if you're looking for lots of bitching about the new stadium, and don't want to wait for it to be unveiled let alone constructed, this is a good place to start.
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The Post reports in Thursday's paper that Major League Baseball won't choose a new owner for the Nationals until negotiations over the lease of the new stadium are complete, but it appears that the lease negotiations don't have much of a chance of being finished until lead MLB negotiator Jerry Reinsdorf's Chicago White Sox are eliminated from the playoffs.

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DC is ready to begin using eminent domain by the end of this month to acquire parcels of land at the site of the new baseball stadium, according to today's Washington Times. City officials said they expect to file court documents to take over at least some of the 21-acre site in the coming weeks, and also say that the 24-month timetable for having the stadium construction begin in March 2006 and finish by March 2008 remains realistic. Also in the article, details of a squabble between the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation and the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission over where parking for the stadium should be located (AWC wants it underground, DCSEC doesn't).

 

Dear DC Government: I totally dig your web site, which makes so much information available to Interested Members of the Public. But maybe someday I could hope for an RSS feed of all of your news releases? Or at the very least a mailing list I could subscribe to? Because, not to put too fine a point on it, I'M GOING INSANE having to visit page after page after page after page after page after page after page each day checking for news!  I've actually built a workaround to preserve my sanity, but I bet I'm not the only one who'd want this.  Love, JD.
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A reminder that public scoping meetings for the 11th Street Bridges Environmental Impact Study are being held tonight (Oct. 5) and tomorrow night (Oct. 6) (see schedules and locations). The meeting presentation materials, as well as the Draft Purpose and Need Statement, have been posted on the study's web site.
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In the Department of RFPs, the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission has posted a Request for Proposals for Program Management Services for the new ballpark (due Oct. 25). I didn't slog through all 77 pages, but I did note in the Project Schedule on page 4 that "schematic designs" are due Oct. 28. Does that mean that at the end of this month we'll finally see what the new stadium is supposed to look like (tick, tick, tick....)? And in the Department of RFP's Better-Late-Than-Never subdivision, I'll note that proposals are due today for the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation's RFP for a Transportation and Parking Study. Lastly, I'll mention that it appears that the stadium's utility relocation project is already underway, judging by the amount of digging going on at Potomac Avenue at Half Street....
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It's been a busy busy weekend here at the Near Southeast page. To reflect the true boundaries of the area I'm tracking, the map at right has been expanded, to 11th Street to the east and to South Capitol and S Streets in the south. I've also added two new pages to the site: the New South Capitol Street Bridge page, and the Near Southeast East End page, both of which have lots and lots of photos, and links to information about what's happening in those spots. I've also finally made my Navy Yard page more than an afterthought, adding many more pictures (although not so many from inside the Navy Yard walls, I don't want a visit from the Homeland Security folks). I know this makes the map smaller and a bit harder to read, but I also needed to leave some space for when more projects get underway. And, in the midst of all that, I added new photos to many of the existing pages: check out the DOT HQ, Washington Canal Park, Capitol Hill TowerFlorida Rock, and WASA pages to see them. (You'll also find a few new pictures on some other pages, but it'd be embarassing to mention them here when there's only one new photo on a page.)

 

Some Capper/Carrollsburg items: I hear tell that the construction contract for Capper Seniors #2 will be awarded soon (once the money aspect of the project gets settled, also "soon"). Also, word is that the Capper Community Center is to be demolished, Any Minute Now (we have a lot of those type of items, don't we?). In zoning news, the October Voice of the Hill gives details on the Sept. 15 zoning commission Capper / Carrollsburg agenda items--in addition to a second-stage approval being sought for a three-acre section of the project (presumably the "ribbon" between 5th, 4th, I, and M, which was demolished nearly a year ago), the developers are submitting a new application with modifications to several aspects of the original plans: they are seeking to increase the residential density to 2.34 from 2.21, and at the same time are proposing to reduce the parking spaces per unit to 1.38 from 2.1--these changes are the result of efforts to preserve some of the existing private houses that had been slated for redevelopment, according to a DC Office of Planning staffer. No date is yet announced for the public hearing on this.
 

Folks who have enjoyed the free ride when parking along Virginia Avenue in Near Southeast might want to prepare themselves--within the past few days, electronic ticket-type parking kiosks have appeared at 2nd and Virginia and 3rd and Virginia. No signs yet instructing parkers to use them, but I'm guessing these little green boxes haven't been put there for their asthetically pleasing look....
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More than half of the owners of land within the stadium footprint are planning to fight the price offers they've received from the DC government, according to the Post's "Battle Brewing for Stadium Tracts." Two examples of owners going to court because the offers they've received are too low: land assessed at $241,000 given a purchase offer of $1.2 million, and land assessed at $654,000 given an offer of $1.8 million. The article also mentions the problems some of the owners are having trying to find new locations for their businesses. UPDATE: The print version of this article (in the 9/25 Post) was accompanied by a map showing all of the parcels, their 2005 tax assessments, and what the city has offered; however, this graphic hasn't been posted on the web site. UPDATE II: I've created a list showing all the stadium parcels along with their 2005 assessments and the city's purchase offer. The city has offered $97 million to the 33 landowners, for land that was assessed in March of 2005 at not quite $39 million. (entry bumped up because this is an interesting list)

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I've been away for more than a week, so I apologize if my news items have been slow--I'm still catching up on some things, hope to get back up to speed soon. In the meantime, I'll pass along that the DC Zoning Commission approved the Capper Seniors #2 building, approved for setdown the Capper/Carrollsburg 2nd stage PUD (which I believe means that basically they've agreed that they should have a hearing at a later date), and deferred the final vote on the stadium text amendment to the Capitol Gateway overlay, presumably until their October meeting. I'd be able to give you more details on all this, but I mistakenly believed the DCOZ web site when it said that Zoning Commission meetings are streamed live, and, well, this one most assuredly wasn't. Waaah!

 

The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation has posted the draft summary of its Ballpark District Urban Development Strategy (PDF). This is an important document that should be read by anyone interested in the development plans around the stadium. It defines the Ballpark District as 60 acres surrounding the baseball stadium site, including the two blocks north of the stadium site, the western portion of the Southeast Federal Center, a few acres of the WASA site, the Florida Rock site, and additional land at the foot of South Capitol Street (currently owned by Douglas Jemal). The document describes its vision for a "vibrant mixed-use waterfront district":

· Shops, and restaurants and entertainment venues along Half Street, First Street and the Anacostia River;
· An engaging pedestrian environment with strong linkages to and along the waterfront;
· Major public gathering spaces along Half Street, at the ballpark, and at the foot of First Street at the river;
· A grand promenade along the Anacostia River and Potomac Avenue;
· Upper-level offices, hotel rooms and housing that create a diverse population of residents, workers and visitors; and
· A state-of-the-art ballpark that contributes to the life and identity of the neighborhood.

In all, the AWC envisions 465,000-785,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant uses, 350,000-1.6 million sq ft of office space; 1,900,000 to 3,600,000 sq ft (1570 to 2980 units) of housing; and 7,000 to 8,000 parking spaces. (We also find out that the traffic circle being planned as the terminus for the new South Capitol Street Bridge will be called "Potomac Circle.")  Vision documents are wonderful things, I look forward to living long enough to see what the reality actually ends up being :-).

 

Anyone who's lived in DC for any amount of time will be stunned to read today's Post story, "As Stadium Clock Ticks, DC Officials Bicker," detailing the difficulties of getting a design for the new baseball stadium agreed upon. Much of the trouble revolves around the desire (pushed most vehemently by Jack Evans) to have views of the Capitol Dome from as many seats at the stadium as possible. More from the story: "Evans argued that a view beyond center field of one of the city's signature buildings would give fans a sense of place and provide grand shots for national television cameras. At Evans's urging, city planners recently stopped work by Lerner Enterprises on construction of a 130-foot office building on M Street SE, one block north of the stadium. People familiar with the matter said the move angered the company, founded and run by Theodore N. Lerner, who is among those bidding to buy the Nationals. City officials said late last week that they will allow the company to resume work because it has abided by city building regulations. Company officials declined to comment. Evans also has discussed limiting the heights of buildings being planned by Monument Realty, which owns land on N Street SE that abuts the stadium site. City planners worried that such a move would inadvertently harm the creation of an entertainment and shopping district around the ballpark, which has been promised by another powerful player, the Anacostia Waterfront Corp." The article also says that groups are bickering over who has final say on the design. The stadium is supposed to begin construction in March, 2006.

 

The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation has released a Request for Expressions of Interest, looking to partner with one or more developers to build retail and other entertainment offerings on the 25 acres surrounding the new stadium site. Plans would have to mesh with the AWC's Ballpark District Master Plan, which is supposed to be unveiled no later than Sept. 23, according to the Washington Business Journal, which also says: "The master plan is expected to call for the creation of First Street SE as the principal retail street for the area. Half Street SE would act as the "gateway" for the ballpark and offer retail and other entertainment uses." The RFEI also mentions the desire for "a distinctive waterfront destination at the river's edge at First Street, SE and Potomac Avenue with density and programmable public open spaces to assure the neighborhood's success on game days and non-game days." Responses are due by Oct. 21.

 

The DC Office of Zoning has posted its agenda for the Sept. 15 meeting, and it includes the stadium text amendment for the Capitol Gateway overlay, as I expected. But they're taking up other Near Southeast items as well, both having to do with Capper/Carrollsburg. I'm not 100% versed in zoning minutiae (I might have made it to the 30% mark by now), so I'll just parrot what the site says, that the Capper/Carrollsburg 2nd Stage Planned Unit Development (PUD) and Modification is on the agenda. I believe that a second-stage PUD means a specific, fully engineered, plan for the site is being submitted for approval. So I hope that's something we can get a look at pretty soon. I would also think that this submittal means that the project may be kicking into a higher gear soon, as also evidenced by 15 building permit requests submitted at the end of August for addresses within the Capper/Carrollsburg boundaries.

There's also an additional agenda item for "Capper/Carrollsburg Venture LLC -- Senior Building," which I believe is a revision of the design of Capper Seniors #2, because the design submitted in 2003 included a blank wall along M Street, which is a zoning no-no in this area. The need for this vote was discussed at the Jan. 12, 2004 meeting, and is probably why the project's building permit application has the zoning section marked "Hold for Correction." (Yes, my head hurts, too.)

Speaking of second-stage PUDs, while wandering around on the web trying to educate myself on this topic, I found this 1999 National Capital Planning Commission document, showing the detailed plans for Florida Rock. However, that was then and this is now, and in December the Zoning Commission will be again taking up Florida Rock's second-stage PUD. So we'll have to wait and see what changes have been brought by six years (and a baseball stadium next door).

 

I will admit that I have tended to focus on news west of 7th Street, SE, ignoring the small additional sliver of Near Southeast south of the freeway between 7th and the 11th Street Bridge. (Some would argue that the land east of the 11th Street Bridge, including Maritime Plaza, is also part of Near Southeast, but I'm putting my foot down and deeming that Hill East.) But I promise now to add those few blocks to their rightful place on this site (if not on the map at right, at least not yet!). So, with that, a few items:
· The land at 801 Virginia Avenue (the southeast corner of the 8th and Virginia intersection, currently occupied by an auto repair shop and a gas station), was bought in early August for $2.5 million. According to August's Voice of the Hill (see page 5) (along with a correction on page 3 in its September issue), the developer is planning a four-story building with 15 residential units, with retail spaces along 8th Street. ANC 6B has approved the project along to the Historic Preservation Review board. More as I get it.
· The DC Department of Transportation has scheduled two public meetings on the East Washington Traffic Relief Program, a six-year, $263-million project to build four ramps on the east side of the 11th Street Bridge, two of which will provide direct connections between the 11th Street Bridge and the Anacostia Freeway. The meetings, Oct. 5 and Oct. 6, are both "scoping" meetings to begin preparing an Environmental Impact Statement for the project (the Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS was published in the Sept. 13 Federal Register).  See the EIS project web site (which was just launched sometime in the last 12 hours, it was "coming soon" when I first looked this morning!) for more information. This March 26, 2005 press release from the mayor's office gives more details on the project, as does the Middle Anacostia River Crossings Transportation Study site.
 

Speaking of bridges and environmental impact statements, I've only now stumbled across both the South Capitol Street Bridge Study web site and SouthCapitolEIS.com,  two efforts that ran concurrently over the last six months as part of the project to replace the Frederick Douglass Bridge. (I've only been checking the DDOT Public Meetings page on a daily basis for weeks now, sure would have been nice if one of their announcements had ever mentioned these URLs!) Both sites have lots of links and information, and should be required bookmarks for anyone interested in the replacement (and most likely realignment) of the South Capitol Street Bridge. Materials from the summer meetings of these projects are available, as is a mammoth, crash-your-computer PDF showing two of the proposed alternate alignments. I believe these two stages are pretty much over, so I'll try to keep you posted on the next phases.

 

A couple of items so small I can't actually believe I'm posting them, but here they are anyway:
· It's not on the schedule for this Thursday's meeting, but it's quite possible that the DC Zoning Commission will vote on final zoning approval for the stadium text amendment to the Capitol Gateway Overlay. UPDATE:  Okay, now it's on the schedule.
· A "notice of environmental cleanup" sign in front of the property acquired by JPI on I Street says that the project will be two 13-story buildings with 700 residences and 600 parking spaces. Also, despite the fact that signs on the lot say 70 I Street, and that the tax parcel information is for 70 I Street, and that the lot is west of 1st Street, and that there's not one but two other lots on I with the "100" address, JPI is insisting on calling this 100 I Street. So I give up. Uncle. I'll call it 100 I Street. Under protest.
· Fences have gone up around the remaining abandoned Capper/Carrollsburg buildings, between 4th and 2nd Streets. No sign of impending demolition.
· A reader reports that pre-construction sales at Capitol Quarter (i.e., Capper/Carrollsburg) are now being delayed until Summer, 2006.
· The demolition a few weeks ago of the retaining walls behind the Carroll Apartments was not the beginning of construction of Capper Seniors #2 (the "wraparound" addition to the Carroll Apartments)--DCHA is still looking for a contractor for the project, so this is not likely to begin before the end of the year.
· For those of you wanting to know about any progress on Washington Canal Park, I've checked and there's officially No Progress.
 

The Post reports that have purchase offers have gone out to the 33 owners of the properties that the DC government needs to acquire for the new Nationals stadium. Owners have 30 days to sell, or the city will begin eminent domain proceedings, at which point a judge will determine the fair market value to pay the owner, and the property will be acquired. The article mentions that "some owners" are saying that the offers are too low, although the only example given is an owner of a car-repair shop, whose land was assessed at $507,000 this year, who was offered $1.74 million for his 9,500-sq-ft property. As the article notes: "Real estate experts say that the city's offers are expected to be well below what property owners just beyond the ballpark site are getting from private developers who are speculating that the area will be a hot spot once the stadium is completed. Under eminent domain laws, the District is not required to make offers that take into account the financial impact of the proposed stadium." (If you're one of these property owners, and you want to whisper in my ear what the city is offering you, I'll listen!)

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