There's been other free online satellite images that were more recent than Google's, but the newest I had seen was this Mapquest shot from late 2006, where the steel work was underway at the ballpark. So this is quite a Great Leap Forward, not only because it shows the completed ballpark, but comparing the two images (as you can do on my Satellite Compare page) shows the incredible amount of change during that 18-month timespan in the neighborhood. (You can also compare this newest images to others from 1988, 2002, 2004, and 2005; my preference is to compare it to 2002.)

The short version for 2008?

First half: All Nationals Park all the time.

Second half: Hello, is there anybody out there?

(On the bright side, this second part is pretty much the same story in any neighborhood anywhere in the country.)

As for 2009, at this point it's hard to imagine a whole lot of projects getting started, though if the economy starts to perk up in the second half of the year there could be some movement. (I'm no Dr. Doom, but you can still color me a bit skeptical.) I haven't put up the Gone Fishin' sign yet, but clearly the volume of JDLand content is going to continue to be a bit thin for a while.

And, while my expertise in predicting the ups and downs of the commercial real estate biz is somewhere around, um, none, I'll still pat myself on the back for this final paragraph from my 2008 SOTH: "Near Southeast will make its official debut with quite a splash in 2008, but we'll also find out whether the economy will slow down the blistering revitalization pace the neighborhood saw in 2007. And whether the Nats can christen their new home with a postseason run. And whether I can make it through to 2009." Well, two out of three ain't bad.