Near Southeast DC: Past News Items
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Anacostia Waterfront Initiative Turns 10, Celebrates with a Series of Riverside Events Next Week
Sep 3, 201011:57 AM
 The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, the wide-ranging approach via city and federal investments to revitalize the Anacostia River and its environs, is celebrating its 10th birthday, with a series of events next week tied to the riverfront. Some of them you're already aware of, like the dedication ceremony at the Yards Park on Sept. 7 followed by the " grand opening weekend" of events Sept. 10-12. But there's also some other happenings, including an "Anacostia Conservation Service Event" at Diamond Teague Park at 9 am on Sept. 8, a " transportation open house and tour" at the 11th Street Bridges project office on Sept. 9 from 10 am to 2 pm, along with other events at Kingman Island, Marvin Gaye Park, and the Southwest Waterfront. [And, should my feelings be hurt that the postcard advertising the celebration that came to our house was addressed to my husband and not me? What, I haven't demonstrated enough interest in the river? :-) ] UPDATE: Just received a flyer about the Sept. 9 Transportation Day--it will start with a kick-off at 10 am with DDOT director Gabe Klein, then the open house until 2 pm, which includes bus tours of AWI transportation projects. Parking is limited at the open house site (over at 13th and M, SE), so they'll be running Circulator buses to there from the New Jersey Avenue Navy Yard Metro station entrance.
Water Taxi Company Moving Toward Launch
Jul 13, 201010:11 AM
Via SWill's Twitter feed, it appears that American River Taxi may be closer to launching its initial service between Georgetown, the Southwest Waterfront, and Diamond Teague Park (next to Nationals Park). Their newly redesigned web site lists hours of operation (seven days a week), and a map shows the three initial stops along with future stops at National Airport, Alexandria, and National Harbor. No announcement as to when service will start, or what prices will be.
Upcoming Events (ANCs and Business Summit)
May 9, 20109:00 PM
On your agenda for the near future, should you choose to accept the mission: * ANC 6D (Southwest and most of Near Southeast) meets Monday night at 7 pm at St. Augustine's Church at Sixth and M streets, SW. (When are they moving to their new meeting space, dangit?) The agenda is posted--no big Near Southeast items, except for perhaps an update from the Nationals, a brief update on Traffic/Parking issues from a member of Tommy Wells's staff, and request for support for a liquor license for the new Patriot II river cruise ship operating out of Diamond Teague Park. One other item that might be of interest is an update on the 14th Street Bridge Environmental Impact Statement, which has been quiet for a while. * ANC 6B (south side of Capitol Hill and Near Southeast south of the freeway east of Seventh [excluding the Navy Yard]) meets the next night, Tuesday, at 7 pm at its new meeting place, the People's Church at 535 Eighth Street, SE. Here's the agenda, which is chock full of liquor license renewals and home remodeling projects.
Ribbon Cutting Officially Opens Diamond Teague Park
Apr 27, 20109:00 PM
  This morning Mayor Fenty officially opened Diamond Teague Park, cutting the ribbon alongside the parents of the park's namesake, the Earth Conservation Corps volunteer who was murdered in October 2003. The piers at the park, located just across the street from the baseball stadium, have been operating sporadically since last September, and now host both a water taxi service to and from Alexandria for baseball games and a river cruise company that began service earlier this month. Another outfit is hoping to launch a separate water taxi service this summer. The park includes two piers, a 250-foot commercial pier and a 200-foot pier for non-motorized vessels, like kayaks and canoes, as well as sustainable elements like floating wetlands and shoreline plantings. A portion of the $8 million cost of the park ($800,000) was paid by Florida Rock next door as part of its zoning agreements for its new development, and funding has also come from the USDOT HQ Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) fund. (Someday the area next to Teague on the Florida Rock site will be a large public plaza that will in effect expand the size of the park considerably. And eventually there is supposed to be a floating bridge connecting Teague's boardwalk with the Park at the Yards, though there's no timeline on that.)
Tuesday Events, And a Slight Change in Approach
Apr 26, 201011:44 PM
First, two event notices/reminders for Tuesday (April 27): *At 10:45 am, Mayor Fenty and others will be participating in a ribbon-cutting at Diamond Teague Park and Piers. I won't be able to be there, so go see for yourself if you're interested! * At 6:30 pm is the ANC 6D meeting on the ballpark Traffic Operations and Parking Plan, at Westminster Church at Fourth and I streets, SW. Now, on another subject. I admit it--I've become very lazy when it comes to blogging about stories/links/events that might be of interest but that don't really have any *news,* especially as the volume of them has increased along with the interest in Near Southeast. Twitter is the perfect outlet for those sorts of items--it's easy to post them immediately (since I'm all about the speed), and I'm only responsible for 100 or so characters, then the URL, then I'm done. (Or, even better, I get to just retweet stuff from other Twitterers.) Plus it allows me to save my time and energy for more fascinating {ahem} material, like the Marine Barracks site search or the latest CSX Virginia Avenue Tunnel stuff. But, if you're only reading my posts by RSS feed or e-mail subscription, then you're missing out. How to get this additional material? If you don't have a Twitter account, you can come to the JDLand home page and check out the Twitter box at upper right every so often. Or you can visit my Twitter page on your rounds, or you can "like" JDLand on Facebook and have the Tweets show up in your news feed. Or you can subscribe to my Tweet RSS feed if immediacy isn't of paramount importance. I've actually posted similar mea culpas to this one before (the last one not even a month ago--oops!), but let's consider this time the official notification of the change in my approach. Of course the blog will always have big news, new photos, and whatnot. But as I try to find ways to keep going after more than seven years, I'm going to stop feeling quite so guilty about using only Twitter for these FYI links, even if it makes the blog itself less of the all-encompassing repository it's been up to now. Thank you, drive through.
Photos from a Boat Cruise Along the Waterfront
Apr 14, 20109:25 AM
 On Saturday, the BID took a couple hundred of the neighborhood's residents (and one interloping blogger--thanks for inviting me!) on a "cherry blossom boat cruise" along the Southeast and Southwest waterfronts. (They ran three chartered trips, and still had a waiting list.) As might be expected, I brought along my camera, and took a few photos. Of course, none of the many people who were actually on the boat rides probably need to see these, but maybe there's one or two others who might still be interested. And maybe someday I can find a trip *up* the Anacostia, instead of just down! And now I think I'll take a bit of a respite for the next few days. It's been a busy month....
ANC 6D Agenda Posted
Apr 11, 20106:14 PM
The agenda for Monday's ANC 6D meeting is now available, with a few items of Near Southeast interest. There will be an update on the CSX Virginia Avenue Tunnel project, a presentation by the owner of American River Taxi (the company working toward water taxi service between Georgetown, the SW Waterfront, Diamond Teague Park, and other spots), and a liquor license application for the Patriot II, which is the boat run by the new DC Harbor Cruises outfit that just began running river tours from Teague. There's also the usual gamut of road races and other items, along with I'm sure the latest on the opening this week of the new SW Safeway. The meeting is at 7 pm at St. Augustine's Church, Sixth and M streets, SW. (This *might* be the last time the ANC meets at this location, with its new space at the Waterfront building at Fourth and M being close to its debut.) If you're interested in the CSX stuff and can't make the Monday meeting, remember that there's also an update being given the next night at ANC 6B's meeting.
New Boat Cruise Company Operating from Teague
Apr 6, 201012:11 PM
 During yesterday's opener, I noticed a boat named the Patriot II docked at Diamond Teague Park, alongside the Potomac Riverboat Company's Miss Christin that runs from Alexandria for baseball games. A little research has uncovered that the Patriot II belongs to DC Harbor Cruises, which on April 1 began running sightseeing boat trips and private charters out of Teague. They are operating " Cherry Blossom Harbor Cruises" through April 11, as well as trips before and after Nationals' games and apparently plans for all sorts of specialty cruise options. For some additional detail, you can see this report from last Friday by Fox5's Holly Morris on the company (and the BID and the Earth Conservation Corps). No prices are listed anywhere on the site yet, but you can call for reservations and apparently tickets can also be purchased at the dock as well as at Union Station and eventually online.
New Company Working on Water Taxi Service
Mar 30, 20101:12 AM
Since Diamond Teague Park and Piers opened last summer across the street from Nationals Park, the focus has been on water taxi service tied to baseball games, and the Potomac Riverboat Company has been first out of the gate with gameday trips from its Alexandria pier, starting in September of last year and continuing this year, beginning on Opening Day (April 5). But there could also be another company on the horizon. American River Taxi is working on plans to offer what it says will be "regular runs" of "eco-friendly" water taxis between Teague, the Gangplank Marina on the Southwest Waterfront, Washington Harbor in Georgetown, and Alexandria, with shuttle connections to the Foggy Bottom and L'Enfant Plaza Metro stations from Georgetown and Southwest. (Their map also shows possible future service to National Harbor, Poplar Point and National Airport.) The company's owner, Shaun Guevarra, says that there are plans to eventually offer discounted service to residents of Southeast and Southwest, along with rechargeable account cards and mobile payment options. There will be two boats initially, according to the company's web site, and they are being built by Watermarque Marine. The schedules and prices are to be posted soon, Guevarra says, and his company will be in attendance at the Southwest Waterfront this Saturday evening (April 3) as part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival's Prelude to Fireworks. New ventures don't always have the easiest path to launch, of course, so it will be interesting to see how this pans out, with exactly how many runs per day between the locations, the price, etc. etc. The service is targeted to start in the second quarter of this year. Will post more as I get it.
ANC 6D Doings (Short Version: Three Thumbs Up)
Oct 19, 20098:56 PM
While my dinner is in the oven, here's the speediest of reports from tonight's ANC 6D meeting: * The ANC voted 7-0 on a resolution supporting the city council's proposed marriage equality act. * They voted 5-2 to support Florida Rock Properties' pending request in front of the Zoning Commission to extend the deadline for the first building permit application at RiverFront two years, to June, 2012, which would push the deadline for the start of first-phase construction to 2013. ( Read this entry for more details, and see my project page for specifics on the development itself.) It's expected that this will be taken up at the November 9th ZC public meeting. David Briggs of Holland and Knight, representing FRP, said that while the developer has worked "assiduously and tenaciously" since last year to find either equity or construction funding, the notion of starting the first-phase office building within the current zoning timeline is "just not viable." FRP does say, though, that they will be continuing to search for funding if they receive the extension. In the meantime, FRP made its required $800,000 payment to the city last fall to help defray the costs of Diamond Teague Park next door; I asked if there were any possibility that perhaps the land on the very east end of the Florida Rock site, which will eventually be a public plaza that abuts Teague Park, might be cleared and opened as public space before the construction begins on the office building--they're "looking at options." * The commissioners also voted 7-0 to support the zoning special exception request by the operator of the six-unit " Casa degli Angeli" at Third and L, which is currently operating as a month-to-month room rental and which is looking for a zoning change to become a full-fledged bed and breakfast. The Board of Zoning Adjustment hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.
GreenSpace May Move into Retail Space at Some Ballpark in Southwest, WBJ Says
Oct 16, 200910:04 AM
I am so close to just not linking to this story at all, because I can't believe that after all this time the Washington Business Journal can't figure out that Nationals Park is in Southeast and not Southwest. But here you go. In an article entitled " GreenSpace may get housed in lonely Southwest D.C." (subscribers only), WBJ tells us: "If negotiations turn into reality, the Washington Nationals' stadium may score an unlikely tenant in one of its empty retail spots by the end of this year: nonprofit purveyors of green affordable housing. If a deal is struck for 16,000 square feet of arched space at Nationals Park, the nonprofit, GreenHome, will branch beyond its original mission of environmentally aligned, price-conscious residential buildings and set up its new GreenSpace concept: a classroom, conference center and vendor showroom for green development." Apparently they are negotiating to have either the city or the Lerners cover their rent in the space.
Photos from a Breezy Fall Evening Along the River
Sep 29, 20099:23 PM
  There's nothing like the light you get from late afternoon through twilight on a clear crisp day in September, and I was lucky enough to be able to wander around for a few hours and take some photos. They're mostly of Diamond Teague Park, the ballpark, and various views along the Anacostia (including the arrival of the water taxi from Alexandria). Not much rhyme or reason to them, but they are photos I've been meaning to take for a long time, and maybe you might enjoy them, too. (I need a little more time to get them onto my Teague page.)
Snippets, Reminders, and Whatnot
Sep 9, 200910:47 AM
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."
Potomac Riverboat Company Offering Water Taxi Service for Nats Games, Starting Sept. 8
Aug 28, 200911:38 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."
Photos from Diamond Teague Park and Piers
Aug 27, 20094:30 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.)
List of Operators Serving Diamond Teague Piers
Aug 20, 200912:45 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.
Water Taxi Service 'Now Available' (But...)
Aug 19, 20097:47 PM
Late this afternoon the mayor's office sent out this press release, which confirms these posts from last week: "Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Wednesday announced water taxi service is now available to Nationals Park by way of a District-built public pier at the new $8 million Diamond Teague Park on the Anacostia River. [...] Six local charter companies will operate about a dozen different vessels to the pier from locations including Maryland's National Harbor and Old Town, Alexandria. Service will be available for home games at the park and other special events. The boat operators will use a new 250-foot commercial pier built for boats carrying up to 149 passengers." Alas, the release doesn't name the six companies or give any details on their services, though WTOP reported last week that the " Potomac Riverboat Company plans to begin operations as soon as next month, for at least some remaining home games." I just checked their web site, and there's nothing on it about service to the ballpark as of right now.
Water Taxis for Nats Games Maybe Starting Soon?
Aug 8, 20098:08 PM
From WTOP, news that water taxi service to Diamond Teague Park may be underway fairly soon: "The Potomac Riverboat Company plans to begin operations as soon as next month, for at least some remaining home games. 'We would offer service on the game nights only,' says company Vice President Charlotte Hall, 'from Alexandria, Va., National Harbor and Gaylord National Hotel.'" And: "Prices for the Nationals Park water taxi service have not been set yet, but the company currently charges $8 one way, or $16 round trip for its water taxi connecting Alexandria Harbor, National Harbor and Gaylord National. Hall says all of its existing service will stay the same, and no schedules or routes will be cut to accommodate added trips to Nationals Park."
Piers at Diamond Teague Open (Basically)
Aug 6, 20096:50 PM
It was commenter Charlie in the last thread who really broke this news on Tuesday, but now here's official word, via the BID's newsletter. Since I'm still technically on hiatus, I'm just going to copy and paste: "The grand opening of the Diamond [Teague] Park piers behind Nationals Ballpark was marked by the Sequoia docking at the 250 ft. commercial pier on Tuesday, August 4th. Water taxis will dock at the commercial pier, providing a gateway to the Front and a unique entrance to Nationals Ballpark. Gangplank Marina is managing the 250 ft. commercial pier that will be serviced by a number of operators. Gangplank Marina is launching a website in the next few days listing the suggested ferry/charter boat operators with contact information for booking river cruises. There are plans for hourly service for games and special events next year. A second environmental pier for kayaks and canoes will open in the next few weeks." That's all I know at this point....
Florida Rock Seeking Equity Partner
Jul 21, 200912:54 PM
(I Tweeted this a week ago, then forgot to ever post it here.) From the WashBizJournal: "Florida Rock Properties Inc. is on the market for a joint venture partner to help develop its much-anticipated 1.1-million square foot project, which will put retail, office space and a waterfront plaza on the land across from Nationals Park." My RiverFront page has scads of renderings, showing the designs and planned phases; the initial plans were to construct the office building and public plaza on the east end of the site (by Diamond Teague Park) first; the later phases can't be built until the new Douglass Bridge is constructed and the old one demolished.
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