F1rst.

(Yes, that's a numeral "1" in place of the "i".)

We also now have an operator for the 170-room hotel--it will be a Residence Inn by Marriott, joining the chain's Courtyard location that's been in the neighborhood since 2006.

The residential building will have 325 units--a mix of studios through 2 BR/den--plus a fitness center, club room, outdoor courtyard, garage with bike parking, and a rooftop deck with a pool, grilling stations, dog park, and an "outdoor multimedia theatre" on the building's southwest corner that will have stadium-style seating and a view into Nats Park.

It will take about two years for the buildings to be completed, though some retail tenants could move in starting in the first quarter of 2017.

And, as I reported a few weeks ago (even though nobody believed me), Taylor Gourmet and Chop't are already signed for some of the project's 25,000 square feet of retail.

The event today did not have shovels and hardhats--which made sense given that the ground has already been broken--but there were dignitaries and speeches, and a ceremonial throwing of baseballs into the construction footprint.

I took photos, of course, and here's the full gallery. A few snippets here, though:

It's been open to move-ins for a few months now, even while final construction activities were wrapping up, but on April 2 they threw a not-small grand opening party, where I took advantage of getting in a little ahead of the crowds to snap some quick shots of the communal spaces, the roof, and the model unit. (I also used the occasion to grab overhead photos of the holes in the ground at 82 I and 909 Half.)

Here's a smattering of images (click to enlarge), but check out the gallery for the complete lineup.

(I know the pictures with shots of the Capitol dome will *thrill* anyone who lives at Velocity.)

You can read the opinion here, but here's a quote that gets at the meat of the ruling, on page 3:

There then follows 40 pages of discussion of the legal merits of each of the Committee of 100's points of contention, before concluding:

It goes on to say that, while a resident's misgivings about a large-scale construction project outside her windows are "understandable," those concerns "do not outweigh the broader public's substantial interest in modernizing this deteriorating and outmoded tunnel."

This is not necessarily the end of the lawsuit--it just means that there is nothing preventing DDOT from issuing the permits that would allow CSX to begin work on the project while the lawsuit continues to wind its way through the process.

See my Virginia Avenue Tunnel page for an overview of the project; and back in February I looked at the staging plans for the first few months of construction, which can begin once the required permits are in CSX's hands.

And perhaps this is as good a time as any to mention that CSX's next quarterly open house is scheduled for April 23 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm at the Courtyard by Marriott at 140 L St., SE.

UPDATE: Here's the WashPost piece about the injunction denial.

This development has been referred to up until now as "Ballpark Square," but apparently its real name will be unveiled at this event.

The rendering above shows, from left, the project's two-story retail building at 1st and N, just across from Nats Parking Lot C, then a blank spot where the Hampton Inn is being built, then the 285-unit (or is it 325-unit) residential building, then the 170-room hotel (no operator so far named). At far right is the 233,000 square foot 99 M Street office building being developed by Skanska, which isn't technically part of this groundbreaking but which appears to be close to getting its own permits to start digging.

Their destination is Monument Realty's planned project on the southeast corner of South Capitol and M streets, on the old Domino's spot.

I wrote about this site a few weeks ago when Monument went before ANC 6D to give a heads up on their plans to build both a 120,000-square-foot office building and a 175ish-unit residential building there, and that they already had a "user" (not a tenant) that they "felt pretty good about."

And now we know why the word "user" was chosen: upon the completion of the new headquarters (expected to be in the fall of 2018), NAB will be buying the building.

"Among the features in the new 10-story building will be a curved facade facing M Street, a rooftop terrace with a view of the Capitol, along with a 100-seat theater. Both the rooftop terrace and theater will be used for receptions and special events."

There is also a quote from Gordon Smith, the president and CEO of NAB, that this new building "will be a showcase venue for radio and television stations across America and will send a strong message to public policymakers on the vibrant future of local broadcasting."

Look for this revised project to pop up in front of the zoning commission for a Capitol Gateway Overlay Review soon. The announcement says that it's expected that construction will begin in the spring of 2016.

This news has also brought about an update of my Ballpark District 2.0 project map.

UPDATE: Monument Realty has passed along the above rendering of the NAB portion of the project--with a ghostly placeholder for where they are proposing an additional 180,000-square-foot residential building, which the comapny says will be built at the same time as the NAB HQ. The NAB building was designed by HOK; the residential building is being designed by Gensler.

And today brings the answer, with the official announcement by new Commissioner Rob Manfred that 2018 will indeed be the year, as has been rumored for months now

That will dovetail nicely with what I hope will be a nice slew of celebrations of the stadium's 10th birthday that year. (And, for the historically minded, this will be the first All-Star Game in DC since 1962. UPDATE: Make that since 1969. I'm an idjit with poor reading comprehension.)

As for whether by July 2018 there will be more in the block north of the ballpark than just shipping containers and holes in the ground, I can point you to my new Ballpark District 2.0 map, giving the rundown of the latest plans along Half Street and nearby. Hint: somewhere near the middle of the 2016 season will be a good point to assume that whatever projects are started will be completed by July 2018.

It's going to be a fun three years watching this new little deadline become a focus and target of so many projects and plans in the neighborhood....

And hopefully with this good news we can now dispense with "#DCisReady." Because not everything in life needs to be accompanied by a hashtag.

The neighborhood is pretty darn different compared to when the Nats took up residence in 2008, and it's fair to say there is more development now underway than at anytime since 2007.

Here's a rundown.

You've got the just-opened BonChon at Half and K SE, with not only their signature Korean fried chicken but also a large bar with TVs (and eventually an outdoor patio). BonChon has special game day hours, staying open until 11 pm Sundays-Wednesdays and midnight Thursdays-Saturdays.

Kitty corner from the Half Street Metro entrance is The Big Stick, with a sausages-and-sandwiches menu and also quite the lineup of craft beers and other beverages.

There's also two new options at 3rd and Tingey Streets in the Boilermaker's Shops, starting with Willie's Brew & Que, which has all sorts of offerings of the barbeque persuasion, along with a sizeable beer menu and house cocktails.

A more fast casual option is 100 Montaditos, which serves small sandwiches on crispy buns (100 different ones to choose from, and someone has eaten them all) along with other Spanish delicacies along with draft beer and sangria.

There's also a new Subway at Half and M, plus a new Harris Teeter at 4th and M at if you feel like grabbing some groceries.

Three more restaurants are expected to open in the coming months: Scarlet Oak and its American fare, Due South and its southern fare, and the Navy Yard Oyster Co. and its, well, oysters. There will also be a long-awaited new beer garden at 8th and L, SE, with the great name "The Brig."

And of course there are all of your favorites from the past few years, from Five Guys to Bluejacket to Osteria Morini.

Here's the full restaurant map, all nice and interactive and Googily.

BALLPARK DISTRICT 2.0:

For people who have been tapping their toes waiting for the block north of the ballpark to finally show signs of regeneration, I've created a handy dandy Ballpark District 2.0 map to guide you through the latest plans and changes between South Capitol and 1st Street.

But if you can't bear to click through, here's a quick rundown:

In addition to the Hampton Inn that sprouted just across from Nats Parking Lot C last year and should be completed by the end of 2015, work is now underway just to its north on 1st Street on Ballpark Square (perhaps not its real name), which will have a 300ish-unit apartment building, a 170-room hotel, an office building, and 45,000 square feet of retail when construction is completed, probably in 2017.

Immediately to the north of the subway entrance, a new 195-room Homewood Suites just getting started at Half and M.

And the three lots across N Street from the stadium and its garages now have new owners, who seem motivated to get new residential projects underway in late 2015 or 2016.

(It may mean the end of the Fairgrounds after this season--or at least it'll get a lot smaller--but change marches on.)

A WHOLE LOT OF CONSTRUCTING GOING ON:

You may feel like the entire neighborhood is a construction zone, and that isn't far off, because, in addition to the Ballpark Square apartments, there are eight other residential projects currently under construction, totaling around 2,800 new rental units.

(Note that one of these is going to change the view of the Anacostia River from the stadium's viewing platform a fair amount, so begin to prepare yourself.)

Also look for a temporary park to sprout later this year on the huge empty lot just northeast of the ballpark. And possibly a big beer garden and park immediately to the south of the stadium, if the Bardo folks' vision comes to fruition.

The JDLand Visiting Nats Park page has links to all of this, along with my Stadium Parking Lots map and more.

Whew! It would probably be easier to just read JDLand religiously in the off-season. But now, with this and my Parking Update and my Ballpark Update, my pre-Opening Day mandate has been fulfilled. Play ball!

There's no getting around the fact that parking is going to be tighter this year, thanks to the following:

* Lot F at 1st and M, and the cash lot that sprouted immediately to its south last year, are both gone, thanks to the beginning of construction on Ballpark Square, the large residential/hotel/retail project.

* Season ticket holders' Lot P in the garage of 1015 Half Street has exited the inventory thanks to the fact that the building is finally starting to get tenants. (And Bonchon!)

* The cash lot at Half and M is no more, because construction has just started on a Homewood Suites hotel.

* Also gone is the cash lot at New Jersey and I, where work is now underway on a new apartment building.

(Are you sensing a pattern?)

One bright spot in the offing, though--a 220-space lot will return to the northeast corner of 1st and N on the former Spooky Building 213 site, but it still has to be built--they are hoping it'll be done later this summer.

I have confirmed that the cash lots at South Capitol and M, South Capitol and N, and the two Yards lots on N and Tingey streets will be available this year. But confirmation on some of the other cash lots--especially the ones on the west side of South Capitol--will have to wait until this weekend or Opening Day. (Any and all intel on these lots will be much appreciated!)

Also watch for lots of construction around the neighborhood, with some street parking eliminated (but you weren't using that anyway, RIGHT?). And the walk from your lot to the ballpark might require tiptoeing around some closed sidewalks, especially on the west side of 1st Street south of M.

As for getting to the stadium, note that, if you use Maine Avenue in Southwest to get to the ballpark, the construction at the Wharf may impact your route--plus it has done quite a number on the asphalt along there.

Finally, if you use South Capitol Street alongside the ballpark, keep it to 25 mph, because there are currently speed cameras set up in both directions.

Check the parking page for more information.

From lots of new food to the new Norfolk Southern club level to the new not-for-plebes Club 24 to the new grass to the soon-to-be-new team store to the new mumblemumble metal detectors, there was a lot to cover.

Which means I took a lot of photos. Virginia biscuits? Check. Korean BBQ tacos? Check. Grilled cheese sammiches? Check. Club-level choo-choos? Check. Stormtroopers? Check. (No, really.)

Here's a smattering (click to enlarge), but go look at the gallery, which also has a lot of detail about what you'll see during the 2015 season. I'll also be adding here links to the more straightfoward coverage of the day.

UPDATE: Here's the Post on the new food and the Sam Adams 10th anniversary offering. Here's MASN's coverage. And Eater's. And MLB.com's.

I went back on Sunday and found it much quieter, and saw at least part of the reason that the pedestrian walkway had been closed - a new curb had been built, and new concrete poured along the gutter, as you see in the photo below. I also saw evidence of the old cobblestone, as you also see in the photo.

But this was apparently just the first part of a process that then resulted in new asphalt being laid down on Monday, as you see in the other photo below.

I had actually noticed last Thursday that the old asphalt was starting to show cracks and appeared to be sinking toward the new 82 I excavation, so this work was probably pretty critical.

And in other good pedestrian news along New Jersey, the stairs up from/down to Garfield Park are being repaired today.

If you are interested in more conversations about the subject, a group calling itself Capitol Riverfront Citizens for Pedestrian Safety (on Twitter at @SaferWalksSEDC) is working to keep a close watch on the state of things.

* ALL-STAR GAME: The rumors keep flying that Nationals Park will be the site of the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but when Tom Boswell says he is "virtually certain" he will be happy with the 2018 announcement when it is made, well, one does take notice. Official word could come on April 6, when new commissioner Rob Manfred comes to Nationals Park to throw out the Opening Day first pitch.

* NLRB MOVE DELAYED: There's been some wondering about when the National Labor Relations Board will arrive at 1015 Half Street, and WBJ has the story of the "costly planning snafu" that delayed the move by six months (it looks like late June may now be the date).

* 11TH STREET BRIDGES VERSION 1.0: DDOT's latest dive into its photo archives includes a shot of the construction of the highway version of the 11th Street Bridges, back in 1964, before there was a highway to connect them to. It also shows the original "local" bridge.

* 503 ERRORS: I know that the site is throwing "503 Service Unavailable" errors with some frequency these days. I'm begging the hosting company to get them fixed, but in the meantime, at least the errors generally never last more than a few seconds. Count to 10 and hit refresh, and your requested page should appear (though then sometimes it takes a little longer for images and formatting to return). UPDATE: And then the site took a breather for an hour early this afternoon, which seemed to finally get the attention of the hosting folks, though I think there are still all manner of configuration issues that they need to fix. Why this has to happen in March and not December, I don't know....

April 1: The Waterfront Church is holding an Ultimate Nerf Battle for students in grades 5-12, from 6 to 8 pm at the Courtyard by Marriott (2nd floor) at 140 L St., SE. Admission is free.

April 4: As part of the mega Cherry Blossom Festival, there will once again be Lantern Making at Canal Park, with sessions at 10 am and noon. There will be a "variety of Japanese cultural activities," as well as a moon bounce (for the KIDS, not you!). It's co-hosted by Capitol Riverfront BID and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

(Also on April 4 is the Nats-Yankees exhibition game, but we'll discuss that later, along with Opening Day on April 6.)

April 11: There will be an Anacostia River cleanup event, from 9 am to noon, at Anacostia Park, put on by Anacostia Riverkeeper, Near Southeast Community Partners, the National Park Service, and others.

April 24: Another year of the Truckeroo food truck festival kicks off at the Fairgrounds, from 11 am to 11 pm.

April 24-26: Did you know that, had he lived, William Shakespeare would have been celebrating his 451st birthday this year? It's true! And so the Folger Theater and the BID are marking the occasion with Bard in the Yards, three nights of outdoor films at the Yards Park. The 1993 version of Much Ado About Nothing will kick things off on Friday, April 24, followed by the DiCaprio/Danes version of Romeo + Juliet on Saturday, April 25, and wrapping up on Sunday, April 26 with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in The Taming of the Shrew. All showings are free, and will begin at sundown, somewhere between 7:30 and 8 pm each night. Actors from the upcoming Folger production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will introduce the flicks. Conversing in iambic pentameter will be optional.

Remember to keep an eye on the JDLand calendar (scroll down the home page) to be reminded of what's on the neighborhood agenda.

It will be open every day at 11:30 am, staying open until 9:30 pm Sunday-Wednesday and 11 pm Thursday-Saturday, except on Nats game days, when 11 pm will be closing time Sundays through Wednesdays. with midnight the post-Nats closing time Thursdays through Saturdays.

The menu is here, and note the $9 lunch special from 11:30 am to 2 pm Monday through Friday, with a choice of wings, drums, strips, or a combo, plus one side.

If you go, feel free to post your review in the comments.

There's also the expanded service for Nationals games, with buses running when there are Sunday home games from 10 am to 10 pm and until midnight when any home game starts at 4 pm or later.

And, as mentioned previously, today also marks a change in the route's stops near Union Station, with buses headed toward Navy Yard only serving the stop at Massachusetts Avenue and Columbus Circle. This means buses will no longer stop at 1st and Mass and 2nd and Mass.

And perhaps later this year the route will be extended to the Southwest Waterfront, though there's been no recent new news on that.

I snagged a peek-through-the-fence shot of the hole, though before long I'll get to start taking photos of it from up above, on the viewing platform at Nats Park. (While I, uh, watch baseball, too. Yeah, yeah, that's it.)

Here's the riverfront view of the Riverfront footprint (below left), matched to the rendering of the same spot (center). Plus, at right, a shot looking from Diamond Teague's pier to the staircase at Nats Park, giving a sense of the plaza that will be there (and that one sightline from the staircase to the river will still exist after the apartment building is completed).

/This building, the first phase of the overall 1.1-million-sq-ft mixed-use redevelopment, is expected to be finished in late 2016. It will have a little more than 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and two levels of underground parking (as you see!). There will also be an extension of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

The Phase 2 land immediately to the west of the new building is expected to be temporarily remade as a "beach" area, including volleyball courts, with additional space for parking and other temporary uses. Which is all separate from Bardo's potential "brew garden" plans for the two acres to the west of THAT site, on the portion of the Florida Rock footprint that edges up to the current Douglass Bridge.

See my Florida Rock page for lots more photos and renderings.

UPDATE: I finally made it up onto the Douglass Bridge on Sunday for the first time in forever to take some photos, and got an even better view of the excavation and its position in relationship to the ballpark. So, let's all look at this and start to mentally prepare for the change in the view not only of the ballpark, but from the ballpark.

With new sidewalks not yet in place in front of the Park Chelsea/800 New Jersey developments on the east side of the street, and with 82 I apparently not being covered under the regulations that resulted in the wide wide sidewalks you see all along the rest of the avenue, excavation and site work has been taking place right up to the (former) curb line on the only side of the street where pedestrians can walk. This has been going on for a few weeks, and while the temporary in-the-road-but-separated-by-plastic-barriers pedestrian path isn't optimal, it's also not unusual in these situations.

But this morning a large truck was parked in the former pedestrian path, with flagmen directing traffic in what had become just two very narrow north-south traffic lanes--and now there was absolutely nowhere for pedestrians to walk, in a location where it's very hard to take an alternate route on foot, unless you want to walk allllllll the way over to South Capitol and alllllll the way back to New Jersey once you get north of the freeway and train tracks, or backtrack southward to K so you can then walk north on 2nd or 3rd.

I've sidestepped a lot (A LOT) of construction during my 12 years of JDLand-ing, and I am generally pretty laid back about it--I'm not walking a dog, or pushing a stroller, so I just kind of grumble and pick my way through.

But the situation this morning--when two flagmen on either end were each telling me a different lane in the street in which to walk, and later exacerbated by seeing the line of seven or more dump trucks that were idling back to and around onto K Street while waiting to haul off excavated dirt--well, it escalated past even my high bar of tolerance, especially since I know how many people now walk along New Jersey to go to Capitol South, or the Capitol complex, or wherever.

And with the Nats returning to the neighborhood one week from today, and with thoughts of the number of stadium-goers who also do that New Jersey Avenue walk before and after games, I did the normal thing in 2015--I mentioned the situation on Twitter.

Which led to a lot of other people speaking up on Twitter, many of whom have been complaining about the issues surrounding this construction since it began back in February. Before long, Ward 6 council member Charles Allen tweeted that he had contacted the director of DDOT, and that "he's looking into it."

And while it shouldn't be the case that residents' complaints are ignored until either a) a loudmouth blogger fires off a tweet or b) baseball arrives, the truth is that the Nats' 2015 season is going to present a lot of challenges for anyone arriving in any way other than coming out of the Metro at Half and M.

There will be less parking available this year (which I'll detail in an upcoming post), and with 13 active construction sites east of South Capitol between the freeway and Nats Park, cars and pedestrians and bikes and fans and residents and commuters will be fighting a lot of battles, even though for the most part there won't be at gametime the sort of active work that snarled New Jersey and I this morning.

In addition to this New Jersey Avenue construction possibly bedeviling fans using Capitol South, the blocking of the sidewalk on the west side of 1st Street south of M for Ballpark Square construction in the block just north of the stadium--and the apparent temporary loss of the bike lane there as well--will end up making lots of fans just walk in the street instead of crossing back to the east side of the street, away from the ballpark.

And there are other spots where sidewalks are now blocked off or narrowed, or where street parking is temporarily banned, which are the sorts of issues that lead to grumpy drivers and grumpy pedestrians, which can lead to bad things.

One hopes that there will be attention paid to ways to ensure a safer passage to the ballpark, but one also hopes that any real effort to mitigate these construction/sidewalk/traffic/pedestrian issues doesn't happen only during the hours that red-and-white-bedecked masses are around.

In the meantime, be careful out there, and not just right where you see construction. (I watched a dump truck blow through a red light at 1st and Potomac, taking me back to the last era of crazy amounts of construction, but that was in 2007 when the resident population was about 1/10th of what it is now.)

UPDATE: One thing I should have emphasized more clearly is that this was obviously a Saturday-type operation, where the assumption is that such a setup will be less disruptive than on a weekday, and so the contractor can then get more done (in this case, hauling of dirt) in a shorter timespan. This intersection is just a tough one, since, as I said above, it doesn't easily allow for alternate north/south passage if something is going on.

UPDATE II: I went back on Sunday, where, as I expected, things were much quieter. And I also saw that part of the reason for the closure of the pedestrian walkway on Saturday was to build a new curb, and also pour some new concrete. I had noticed actually on Thursday that the old asphalt had a big crack in it and seemed to be dropping off toward the new excavation hole, so obviously this was a fix for that, and probably a pretty critical one.

Note also at the bottom of the photo evidence of old cobblestone.

Now the Bardo folks, who already operate a similar brew garden in Northeast, are trying to raise $200,000 to "do this thing deluxe," to create what it calls Bardo Riverfront, described as "100,000 square feet of BeerDisneyLand." This would include flush toilets instead of porta-potties, a bike shop, a kiddie playground, and "the largest dog park in DC," as well as parking for 500 bicycles, cornhole, food trucks, outdoor movies "projected onto a floating screen in the river," and other ideas.

(Their main web site has a festive graphic of how they envision the layout.)

Donations of $20 now will get you four pints of beer when it opens, or four pitchers for a $50 donation, or numerous other options up to a $5,000 donation allowing you to take over the entire place on any Monday-Thursday when the Nats aren't playing. If you don't have money to contribute, you could donate wood trips, or "big tree logs to make into totem poles."

More details as they become available....

I checked in with Forest City, and they've passed along that there were some last-minute changes requested by the DC Board of Veterinary that needed to be made to the facilities, and it took a little time to then get approvals.

Things once again appear to be on track for an opening, in April--when I hear a date, I will alert the masses.

The Banfield web site has the page for this location up and ready to go, and it shows operating hours as 9-7 Monday through Saturday and 10 to 5 on Sunday.

June 4: Back to the Future

June 11: Selma

June 18: The Princess Bride

June 25: Rush Hour

July 2: Independence Day

July 9: Bring It On

July 16: LEGO Movie

July 23: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory

July 30: Big Hero 6

August 6: Pitch Perfect

August 13: The Goonies

August 20: Guardians of the Galaxy

August 27: To Kill A Mockingbird

September 3: The Sound of Music

The official start time each week is "sundown," but the BID invites you to come around 7 pm with picnic in hand. All movies are free and open to the public.

* MUSIC: The Friday Night Concert Series at the Yards Park is coming back for its fifth (!) year, starting at 6:30 pm each week. The schedule of musical acts:

May 15: Jimi Smooth

May 22: Still Surfin'

May 29: Sponsored by Tour de Fat: Lineup TBA

June 5: Scott's New Band

June 12: DC JazzFest at The Yards: Soul Rebels & Sharón Clark

June 19: Texas Chainsaw Horns

June 26: Jah Works

July 3: Almost Journey

July 10: Hand Painted Swinger

July 17: Wesley Spangler

July 24: Justin Trawick

July 31: White Ford Bronco

August 7: Morrison Brothers

August 14: Jeff From Accounting

August 21: Lloyd Dobler Effect

August 28: Special Guest TBA in August!

September 4: Crowded Streets

September 11: Sara Gray

UPDATE: Washingtonian has a sneak peek, with pictures, and says March 30 is the opening date. And Eater has its post up now too, and there's confirmation of that date on the Bonchon Navy Yard Facebook page. So, prep your taste buds!

* OPENING DAY GETTING CLOSER: The Capitol Riverfront BID has put together an initial list of Opening Day Specials and Events, which I imagine I will mention again with more fanfare when April 6 is upon us. If you liked 106.7 The Fan hanging out in Canal Park for the Winter Classic, they are doing it again for Opening Day. And Bluejacket is having a big Opening Day Fest.

* PARK CHELSEA GETTING CLOSER: With a July 1 target date to start leasing, the huge residential building at New Jersey and I is rolling along, and they've posted some interior construction photos on their web site. (But what I really want is their update on getting I Street opened....!)

And now I can't get Paul McCartney out of my mind.