JES says: (1/23/15 9:54 AM)
Two questions, would be curious about people's opinions or if anyone knows.

1) Why are the nats pushing the gate forward? The concourse inside already has plenty of room.

2) If they're indeed going forward with a restaurant in the old team store space, wouldn't they probably want to get going on that like yesterday so that the construction is done before the season? Even if they plan to open it all year, I'd still wager a guess that the vast majority of its business would come during the season.

JD says: (1/23/15 11:29 AM)
I'm guessing that they are well aware of the timeline, and have ducks to get in a row before they can start. (I don't think they have any intent of getting it done by Opening Day.)

conngs0 says: (1/23/15 11:58 AM)
As to the first question, the reasoning behind moving the gates to the stadium isn't clear to me. Maybe there was a security or access concern with respect to bottlenecks at gates in their current location/configuration and moving them out provides the opportunity for more entry-points? That's all I've got.

I think JD hit the timeline nail on the head. No one gets more frustrated than me when seemingly simple (or at least predictable) projects don't get finished by obviously sensible deadlines, but I've basically given up on that happening with any kind of regularity. The projects really just aren't that simple apparently.

JD says: (1/23/15 12:03 PM)
It's possible the Winter Classic messed with the timeline in some fashion. And who knows how negotiations are going with any restaurant operator (presuming that it's an outside group and not just the ballpark food folks). Maybe Max Scherzer took all the money. :-)

Here's the City Paper write-up on Andy Altman's keynote:
link

JD says: (1/23/15 12:06 PM)
Also, conngs0, your conjectures about the moving the fences sound as likely as anything.

JD says: (1/23/15 12:22 PM)
... And the WaPo/Jonathan O'Connell Andy Altman report:
link

Alan says: (1/23/15 12:35 PM)
As far as the gates go, I'd guess that they're moving them up either to promote that plaza as usable/sellable event space for non-game days or they envision having more sponsorship acreage there (like the Lexus cars). Either way, I'm guessing that it's to make money.

nairobs says: (1/23/15 3:59 PM)
Was there any news about the movie theater during the BID meeting? Also the O'Connell article mentions the possibility that Target is looking around down here. Has anyone else heard about that? Did that also come up at the BID meeting?

cosmo says: (1/24/15 12:53 PM)
I believe MLB has mandated that stadiums implement new stricter security measures, to include metal detectors, by the 2015 season. Perhaps we're seeing the gate area expanded to accommodate this extra security.

JD says: (1/26/15 10:28 AM)
@nairobs - Icon was mentioned as starting late this year, which was the same as I've been reporting, so I didn't think to highlight it.

I guess I can mention the Target rumors now. :-) I've heard of the notion for a while now, but there's nothing concrete yet. Wouldn't that be something....

JD says: (1/26/15 10:28 AM)
(And sorry that it took me so long to approve your comment--the notification didn't show up until this morning)

Sophia Monster says: (1/26/15 10:49 AM)
Target?! I can't believe it used to just be CVS, Subway, and Five Guys competing for my hard earned money.

JES says: (1/26/15 10:58 AM)
Which on-the-board projects have enough planned retail space to hold a Target, even a small one? Ballpark Square on 1st St maybe?

JES says: (1/26/15 10:58 AM)
Also, would Target be considered a "grocer," effectively eliminating the entire Yards footprint from their possible locations?

JD says: (1/26/15 11:01 AM)
I think when you're dealing with someone like Target, a lot of "on the board" plans would go out the window.

But I doubt it's any building that we know is about to be underway.

ValveetaChz says: (1/26/15 8:51 PM)
PLEASE, no Target. I would hate for this wonderful neighborhood to turn into Columbia Heights.

conngs0 says: (1/27/15 10:41 AM)
I'm still in denial that NoMa managed to get an REI. I really can't be convinced that Navy Yard or SW Waterfront wouldn't have been a much better location for them. But if that's the beginning of a trend of bigger retail stores landing in NoMa, perhaps Target will turn its attention up that way as well.

But it's difficult to deny the appeal of Navy Yard to a store like Target if you think about all the uncommitted land that still occupies the area and combine it with the relatively quick access to 395. Although I admit that Target wouldn't be my first choice, I can sure think of some worse stores to move into the neighborhood. For instance, if it's one of several retail options in a large project on the Akridge Half Street plot to replace the Fairgrounds, that wouldn't be the worst development.

JES says: (1/27/15 10:48 AM)
If you walk down the street in Columbia Heights, you'd see that it's much more than the chain stores in the DCUSA complex. Our neighborhood is pretty big; there's room for chains and mom-and-pops alike.

NavyYardGuy says: (1/27/15 11:19 AM)
Bring on Target!

Please..

JD says: (1/27/15 11:25 AM)
In other news, the Homewood Suites at 50 M Street got its shoring/sheeting permit today.

SWag says: (1/27/15 11:27 AM)
Target is gonna wanna be REALLY close to a metro station

Westnorth says: (1/31/15 8:59 PM)
The Office of Planning mentioned something about large-format retail during the Southwest Neighborhood Planning process, noting that South Capitol Street (like, say, NY Ave) offers high vehicle visibility, and that the Southwest side is right-in/right-out for homebound Marylanders. Yet outside the Yards, it would be tough to find a single-block site in SW/SE big enough for even a CityTarget (80,000 sq. ft. minimum); few of the available or proposed spaces are much bigger than 20,000 on a floor.

However, that makes a Target Express (20-30,000 sq. ft.) an easy fit. The Express format reminded me of the the Walgreen's flagship stores (like in Chinatown) as far as selection goes.

As a kayaker, I'm a little disappointed that REI didn't go with the Yards Park or Florida Rock for its DC location. Would've been fun to have a boat launch right outside.