This closure is to allow for the demolition of the temporary deck over the still-under-construction north tunnel, which will then allow the roof of that tunnel to be built. Then work can begin on "installation of the new, final roadway features" on Virginia Avenue itself, first in the blocks just east of 2nd Street and then working eastward (which will mean more deck removals and temporary traffic flow changes/closures in coming months).

Traffic coming south down 3rd Street north of the freeway will still be able to make the right onto the freeway entrance ramp.

As with the previous closures, pedestrian access along 3rd Street will be maintained, as will access to the driveway to the Capitol Quarter houses on the front lines.

Fourth Street will be the main southbound route from north of the freeway down into the neighborhood.

Enjoy my map (sorry, CSX, my maps are easier to read than yours), and read the CSX presentation for more information.

The site was purchased last year by DBT Development for $6.7 million, with plans for an eleven-story 74-unit building that apparently will be condos. DBT was also the developer of the condo building at 1350 Maryland Ave., NE.

I had hoped to get some renderings, but decided to stop waiting and get this post up, in case people wonder why fences are now in place.

It is a small site--less than 8,000 square feet--and does not include the WMATA Navy Yard Metro station "chiller" operations immediately to its east, on the corner of Half and L, though that site is also expected to be a residential building, by MRP Realty, if that project is still happening.

It will be interesting to see if it is demolished before October 24, which will be the 40th anniversary of the Cinema Follies fire, when a ground-floor explosion and the resulting flames blocked the exit from the 50-seat x-rated gay movie theater on the second floor, killing nine people with thick toxic smoke.

Officially, this EA "will evaluate conversion of the existing facility into an urban boulevard consistent with the expected multimodal travel demand and the character of the adjacent neighborhood." On the spiffy new web site for the EA, project elements listed include:

* Reconfiguring Southeast Blvd. upwards to match the elevation of L Street SE;

* Adding sidewalks, bicycle facilities, trees, parking, and "green infrastructure";

* Taking the "surplus transportation right-of-way" and converting it to other uses, such as parks;

* Extending 13th, 14th, and 15th Streets SE so that they connect to Southeast Blvd.;

* Adding pedestrian and bicycle links to the Anacostia waterfront (which includes getting across the train tracks that run along the boulevard's southern side);

* Reconfiguring Barney Circle; and

* Building an "under-deck bus transit support facility with bus access via 11th Street SE and/or Barney Circle." (I bet they say this one really quickly and quietly.)

I cannot bear to rehash many years' worth of meetings and designs here, but I would point interested readers to my post from early 2016 about the DDOT Southeast Blvd. Feasibility Study. If I may plagiarize myself: "And what does the feasibility study say? DDOT's report determines that changing the current Southeast Blvd. from the limited-access quick route between 11th Street SE and Barney Circle to a street with connections to its north and south and development along the footprint is feasible, but the transformation 'would be neither inexpensive nor quick'."

I also wrote about the Office of Planning's Southeast Blvd. Planning Study, which had as its purpose "not to identify a single 'preferred alternative,' but rather to develop concepts that respond to the planning goals and objectives for the District and the community, which could be advanced through further study." Those concepts looked like this:

And so now we continue onto the Environmental Assessment. See my SE Blvd page for more history (including the demolition of the old freeway and DDOT's quickie reinstallation of a new road), or just scroll down through my previous posts on it, if you dare.

* Taylor Gourmet opens tomorrow, Wednesday, Aug. 23, on 1st St. SE between M and N, at 11 am.

* District Winery opens on Aug. 30. And its restaurant is apparently named Ana, as in Anacostia. (WTOP)

* The Juice Laundry is really really trying to open. Really.

(This is short, because I saw the sun disappear yesterday, and am still out of pocket.)

The hunt is now on for what Brad Fennell of WC Smith called an "operator who will fully embrace the park and all of its potential," and meetings with interested parties are apparently already underway.

Il Parco opened in early 2016 as a retool/replacement for the Park Tavern, which opened in April 2013. Neither restaurant ever seemed to capture the fancy of residents, office workers, or Nats fans, and it will be interesting to see what might come into that location next and how a new operator will approach the space and its surroundings.

Gone is the arched bascule design that was chosen many moons ago, replaced with a showier look using three sets of parallel arches. (I will await more detailed renderings before assuming that the bridge has the same multi-use paths on each side of the bridge as the previous design did, though the Post article says there is at least one.)

The plans for building the new bridge immediately south of and parallel to the old bridge have not changed, and there will still be large traffic ovals on both ends.

A $441 million design-build contract has been awarded to a joint venture of Archer Western Construction and Granite Construction Company, and AECOM is the lead designer. This phase also includes the reconstruction of the interchange of Interstate 295 and the Suitland Parkway.

The Post article says that the new bridge is "projected to open in 2021."

Here's a few more graphics purloined from the Post piece--hopefully DDOT will post their video of the design soon and I'll add the link.

It'll take me a little while to update my South Capitol Street Bridge project page, but in the meanwhile it's a nice trip down memory lane and includes more information (current as of the last time the city announced information about the project) about the ovals and whatnot.

And my South Capitol Street project page explains how this bridge and the interchange project are the first of a multiphase plan to rework much of South Capitol from the Southeast Freeway to the Suitland Park.

UPDATE: There is a new URL for an official web site for the project, newfrederickdouglassbridge.com. You can see the rendering video by scrolling down a touch or clicking on "Gallery." There's a lot of additional drawings, including these two from above, which show the traffic ovals and also do show multi-use paths on both sides of the bridge. See also the siteplan to get your bearings about the new bridge and ovals and 295 interchange.

Also, the project web site says that construction is expected to begin in "winter 2017."

It turns out having a public roof space at a central location in the neighborhood is going to be veeeeery handy for me, as it allowed me to grab a great shot of the DC Water Headquarters construction that shows exactly how the new steel is wrapping around the existing O Street Pumping Station. It also allowed me to check on the progress of the excavations at 1250 Half, West Half, and the One M/10 Van combo project in a single shot.

Then there's the Any Minute Now retail offerings, with the Juice Laundry telling Instagram followers that they really are coming soon (really!), and representatives of the new Taylor Gourmet on 1st Street telling nearby office tenants that they expect to open on Aug. 23. We shall see!

Meanwhile, exterior work seems to be starting to wrap up at the 1221 Van residential building just north of the ballpark (and note all that retail space on the first two floors), while the 99 M office building is celebrating its topping out later this month. And while the neighborhood waits with baited breath to see exactly when the Whole Foods build-out will begin at Agora, there are now nice new sidewalks on the stretch of H Street SE that is in the process of materializing.

Finally, there are holes in the ground that now show evidence of the start of vertical construction, so these might be my final downward peeks into the two residential projects at the Yards Parcel O on 4th Street, the large residential project at 2 I Street, and the mixed-income Capper Hope VI apartment building at 3rd and L.

And, finally, while I have no intention of adding the new DC United soccer stadium to my lineup, I was surprised to see how visible it is from just within the JDLand boundaries at South Capitol and Potomac. So, here.

But this is just a very small sample. If you want to see a whole lot more of the shots I took, here's 333 of them. Or follow any of the above links, or click on the projects on the map at the upper right of any JDLand page to see the latest for those projects under construction.

* 816 POTOMAC: Developers of the empty lot on the northwest corner of 9th and Potomac, SE have gotten an initial green light from the Historic Preservation Review Board for a four-story residential building with below-grade parking. This project will also incorporate an existing historic building at 819 L (sort of visible here), which will remain separate from the new building. Here is a video showing what the project would look like, and a screengrab from it of the proposed building is at right. No word on timing, and this does not include the existing old apartment building next door at 812 Potomac.

* 99 M TENANT: The under-construction office building at the corner of 1st and M has signed its first tenant, with Pyxera Global taking 17,000 square feet on the fourth floor. As I mentioned a few posts ago, Skanska said recently that some tenant announcements would be in the offing, and this would appear to be one of them. (Bisnow)

* POP-UP BBQ: If you've noticed the picnic tables on the northwest corner of 1st and N, where the F1rst sales trailer was, it's the home of a Rocklands Barbeque and Grilling Company pop-up offering on Nats game days, from now through the end of the season (and post-season). Service off of the "full food truck menu." including beer and wine, will start 90 minutes before gametime, through the first 30 minutes after first patch.

* MORE PROGRESS: On my way to and from the ballpark this weekend, I took a few smudgy cellphone photos of progress, showing the new DC Water HQ, District Winery, and (water-filled) holes in the ground at Parc Riverside II and West Half (forgot to go across the street to Lynch Half), and evidence of previously tidbitted items about the warehouse at 49 L Street and the A1 Garage site. Maybe I'll get out with the real camera this weekend for a full update, weather and energies permitting.

One that I didn't take was the view southward from M Street between 1st and New Jersey--I have to admit I was not expecting the DC Water HQ to be so visible from the north.

* 1ST AND K SLIVER? Urban Turf reports that the owner of garage on the northeast corner of 1st and K has finally sold his lot, and a developer is planning a 12-story 34-unit residential building. Urban Turf has a rendering, but I prefer looking back to December 2004, right after the garage building was rehabbed and opened as A1 Tires. JPI attempted to buy the site back when planning 909 New Jersey, but the owner was, shall we say, not interested. (The expletives still ring in my ear from when I asked him about it a decade ago.)

* YARDS PARK KIOSKS: With the return finally of the approved building permits feed, I was able to report in the comments a few days ago that the construction visible in the kiosks along the boardwalk at the Yards Park were for ventures from the owners of Lumber Shed tenants Due South and Osteria Morini (along with what I believe is office space for the marina). I posted last year about the possibility of "Due South Dockside," but Eater has now reported that the Morini kiosk is not going to be the long-ago announced pizza joint Nicoletta, but a "summer sister spot" for Morini that could open late this summer. "Details about the offshoot are limited, but expect a bar serving draft beer and wine, as well as a pared-down menu of what’s available at the flagship restaurant. That includes made-to-order salads, the New York-transplant’s iconic meatballs, and simple desserts," Eater says.

* FED WAREHOUSE: Another twist in the long-running saga of the warehouse at 49 L Street: There is now a sign up announcing that the site is up for sale, and a commenter found the GSA listing.There was talk a few years back of this building being traded to the city, but that apparently is not coming to pass. (Nor apparently did the city choose it as the site of a homeless shelter.) And once upon a time a group of residents wanted it to become the Half Street Market.

* ROSE PT: The BID Newsletter reports that Rose Physical Therapy Group is now open in the ground floor of 1015 Half Street.

* ROOFING: The first "roof cap" on the rebuilt original Virginia Avenue Tunnel was pored last week, in the 200 block of Virginia Avenue. It seems odd to say these words, but the project is expected to be completed next year. (Time flies.)

* YOU'RE AN ALL STAR: The preparations and publicity for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game at Nats Park are now underway, with the unveiling of the logo and also information on how one might actually procure tickets.

Here are a few bullet points of the development-type items I found of most interest:

* Dock 79 is 92 percent leased, and MRP Realty expects to begin construction on the residential building next door (71 Potomac) late this year or early next year--and that it is expected to have a lot more 2-bedroom units than Dock 79. I was also told that All-Purpose will probably open in the fall, and Dacha in the spring--and also that the planned small additional storefront for All-Purpose fronting Potomac Avenue has fallen by the wayside.

* One Hill South is 60 percent leased, and the developers have just begun design meetings for the project's second phase, another 300ish-unit building fronting South Capitol Street. That could get underway in a year or so.

* As the attendees were taking their seats at Arena Stage, a splashy video was played for the 25 M Street office building project planned by Brandywine REIT and Akridge. I can't link directly, but go to the (new to me) official web site at 25mst.com and scroll down to click on Property Video. Janet Davis of Brandywine did say that this building will not get underway until it's about 50 percent leased.

* Skanska's 99 M office building at 1st and M is expected to top out in about a month or so. Skanska's EVP Mark Carroll said that they expect to announce their first signed tenants soon, and that they are "not typical tenants." Both Carroll and Davis agreed that there has been a clear uptick in interest in Capitol Riverfront office space in the past six months or so.

* District Winery is crossing its fingers for a September opening. (Perhaps even earlier than September, but best not to get ahead of the permitting process.) Owner Brian Leventhal was on the Yards panel, and told the story of branching out from the original operations in Brooklyn without having any specific location in mind, and how once they narrowed to DC, everything about the lot at the Yards "was perfect, [so] we didn't consider any other space." (He also has moved to DC from Brooklyn, and said that living at the Yards is "like living in a resort.")

* 1221 Van is expected to begin move-ins later this year, and leasing should start in the relative near future.

* Forest City's Debbie Ratner Salzberg talked about how the Yards came to be, and said that "the minute Bluejacket opened [in 2013], we were on the map."

* And we definitely appear to be referring to the blocks immediately north of Nats Park as the "Ballpark District" once again.

* It was only mentioned in passing, but I should still officially note here that Cosmopolitan Nail Salon is now open in Arris at the Yards.

* Roti is now open in the ground floor of F1rst, on 1st Street SE between M and N.

* Unfortunately, one block away, on Half Street, Chix has already closed, not even a year after opening. (Their third location on 11th Street has closed as well, leaving just the original one on 14th, and their online presence has gone quiet, so something must be amiss.)

Enjoy the conversation below!

* DACHA: Way back in March it was learned that Shaw's popular beer garden Dacha will be coming to Dock 79, and signage now confirms that. It will occupy the space along the riverwalk on the building's southwest corner--closest to Bardo, for some hot beer garden-on-beer garden action.

* PUNCH BOWL SOCIAL: Less way back, in May, it was announced that "eatertainment" venue Punch Bowl Social will occupy 24,000 square feet on two floors at 1250 Half Street, aka the residential building that will soon fill the Half Street Hole directly north of Nats Park. To quote from the press release, Punch Bowl "has made a name for itself with its remarkably balanced execution of the eat, drink, play concept, pairing a Chef Hugh Acheson designed, southern inspired scratch-made menu and craft beverage program with social activities including pinball, skee-ball, karaoke, vintage video games, bocce, bowling, and more."

* STEADFAST SUPPLY: The "unique marketplace that connects brands with consumers" has opened anew, now at the Boilermaker Shops on Tingey Street in the space formerly occupied by Hugh & Crye. Hours are 12-6 pm Tuesdays-Sundays. (Alas, I got my photo about 24 hours too soon, so it's out of date already, but "progress, not perfection" is the current JDLand motto.)

* OTHER COMING SOONS: While wandering a week ago, I procured photographic evidence of the work going on at Roti at F1rst on 1st Street, as well as some of the recent Coming Soon window signage that I don't think I have posted, for Cava Grill next door to Shake Shack at the Homewood Suites at 50 M, and both the Juice Laundry and Cosmopolitan Nail Salon at Arris. (I didn't get Eighteen Eight Salon because I know I posted that at some point. Not sure if I missed window signage for Shilling Canning Company and/or Chloe, though?)

There. Now I feel a little better.

It will be 10 stories tall, with 227 rooms and about 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail, plus additional space for a rooftop bar. No operator for the hotel has been publicly announced, but apparently those talks are far along.

The hotel is expected to be completed more or less at the same time as its sibling to the south, the 280ish-unit residential building that first hit the boards a year ago. That building will have about 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The residential building is being developed by Forest City, but the hotel is actually being developed by JW Capital Partners and Geolo Capital.

As part of the construction of these two buildings, a new pedestrian "mews" along what would be the footprint of 2nd Street SE will be constructed, making for an easier and less traffic-y flow between the Yards Park and points north and west.

There will also be a new Tingey Square built at the intersection of N, Tingey, and New Jersey, which should change the traffic flow at that spot considerably.

There's been no official announced timeline on these projects, but the closure on June 1 of the public parking lot on Parcel L might lead one to believe that there is some expectation of work at least on the southern end of the block looming before too long, but I know nothing for sure. UPDATE: I see now that an excavation-only permit was approved for this site recently (looks like they need to run water, sewer, gas, and telecommunications infrastructure to the block), and there is a shorting/sheeting permit application filed for the residential building, which jibes with the estimated 2018 start date that was given last year.

See my Parcel L page (such as it is) for additional details (such as they are).

* UPWARD: The biggest news (for me, anyway) is that at last the 99 M office building project has peeked up above ground-level. Also worth getting excited about is seeing the structural steel going up for the new DC Water headquarters along the banks of the Anacostia.

* DOWNWARD: There's digging underway (or about to be) in multiple locations, and the camera peeked past the fences to check out the holes. In order, may I present the current state of: the former McDonald's site at 2 I Street (where a 380-unit apartment building will rise), the Yards Parcel O site at 4th and Tingey (where a joint condo/apartment project has been slooowly underway thanks to the need to dig very carefully when it's an old munitions site), the mixed-income Capper apartment building at 3rd and L, and the JBG West Half residential project directly north of Nats Park.

(I missed the hole at South Capitol and M where the new NAB headquarters and the 10 Van residential building will rise, but it probably doesn't look all that much different from this.)

Then there's the Half Street Hole, where work does appear to be underway, but since excavation was done in 2007, it's kind of hard to tell what's new (I should have gone up to the Hampton Inn roof). Finally, there's the lot at Half and L where fences recently went up around the site that will be Phase II of the Parc Riverside apartment building, but while some dirt has been turned, heavy equipment isn't quite yet on site.

So, if you are counting, that is eight additional projects that will rise out of the ground in the coming year or so, along with the four others that are already above ground but not done.

* OUTWARD: Vertical construction has been finished for a while at the residential building 1221 Van just north of the ballpark, but exterior work has progressed since I last wandered by. And ditto for the District Winery building at 4th and Water.

* ONWARD: Some additional catching up.

And there are going to be lots of other "for the historical record" photos that have been needed to be taken for some months added to various project pages in coming days. Just click around from the main map--you'll never know what you might find.

Coming Soon, a Coming Soon post.

The full gallery is here, and it was good timing that the visit came on the first non-gloomy day in what felt like weeks, since the bright sunlight (remember that?) gives many of the photos, especially from the roof, some added pop.

The final stop on the tour was at the building's first retail tenant, where the official word came that Bethesda Bagels will open for business at 6:30 am tomorrow, Saturday, June 3.

For actual information about the building, check out the official web site, or to be reminded of the "befores" of 1111 New Jersey, see my project page.

Here's a sampling of shots, but there's plenty more in the full gallery:

And while the photo isn't from yesterday, here is the official before-and-after of the northwest corner of New Jersey and M, as another project moves to the "Completed" column.

My lack of interest in coffee and coffee-like beverages is well documented by this point, so I will just leave it to the JDLand Commentariat to weigh in with their opinions. But it is always nice to welcome a new retail outpost to the neighborhood.

(And I got a nice chuckle out of the line of people marching directly from next-door neighbor Orangetheory Fitness right into Slipstream. Hope they burned a lot of calories first!)

Slipstream is just the first of a mini-wave of arrivals, with reports via the Commentariat that the Salt Line is apparently coming this week and Bethesda Bagels is in Any Minute Now mode as well.

Unfortunately, there is also apparently a farewell, as reader JH_105 reported that a sign at the register says that Congressional Cleaners, in the ground floor of Capitol Hill Tower, is closing permanently on June 14. which is just two weeks short of the 10th anniversary of its opening. Which would also make it two weeks short of the 10th anniversary of it getting robbed just a few hours after it opened. Things were different then.

(PS: I'm still very much in and out. Patience requested, noted, and truly appreciated.)

* The first retail offering at F1rst has almost arrived, as salad purveyor Chop't is opening its doors on Tuesday for a "preview," from 10:30 am to 2 pm and again from 5 pm to 7:30 pm (or until they run out of food). It's a "Chop't Gives Day," meaning that for a $2 donation to the DC Central Kitchen, guests will receive a complimentary salad.

I do not have a recent photo of the Chop't exterior, but here's what @JRogers202 sent out on Twitter last week. Also, the official address for Chop't is 1257 1st Street, SE, if yiou are needing exact coordinates.

* A press release has gone out announcing a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Tuesday at the still-as-yet-unnamed DC Housing Authority mixed-income residential project on the south side of L Street between 2nd and 3rd known for now as "Square 769N."

The glitterati will be there to wield shovels to herald the "start" of construction on the next phase of the Hope VI redevelopment of the old Capper/Carrollsburg housing project, which will bring 179 rental units including 36 affordable apartments immediately to the east of the Canal Park ice rink block. (Pay no attention to those piles already in the ground.)

(Also note that in the above drawing, the 769N apartment building is the one on the left, as seen from Canal Park--to the right is the long-planned but still in limbo 250 M Street office building.

* The first piles being driven for JBG's West Half residential and retail project;

* Some evidence of initial activity at Monument Valley, where Jair Lynch's 1250 Half Street residential and retail project is set to finally fill in the hole that has existed on the east side of Half Street since 2007; and

* Shoring/sheeting/excavation underway on the southern part of Monument's combination project of the new headquarters for the National Association of Broadcasters and a residential building at 10 Van Street (here's a closer shot).

Here's what West Half, 1250 Half, and the NAB HQ will look like when they are finished, perhaps in very late 2018 or probably 2019:

These three projects join the other buildings that complete the N Street lineup across from the ballpark--JBG's under construction apartment building at 1221 Van (at the upper left of the above photo) and the Hampton Inn that's been open at 1st and N since late 2015.

What this means is that we will now move from nine years' worth of complaining about how nothing has been built directly north of Nats Park to two years of complaining about construction noise and ickiness, leading into the inevitable future complaining about how these new buildings with all of the retail people have complained about not having end up ruining what views remained of the Capitol dome from inside the ballpark.

Progress!

And these are not the only projects just getting started. Piles have also been driven for the DC Housing Authority's latest Capper Hope VI mixed-income apartment building at 3rd and L, and digging is well underway for the new apartment building at the old McDonald's site at 2 I St., which I don't actually have a recent photo of and so one from February will have to do. I suck. Plus, digging sloooowly continues at the Yards Parcel O apartment/condo dual project.

On the bright side, we're about to have a long-watched hole finally graduate to above-ground construction, as Skanska's 99 M office building is at last reaching street level.

With the completions in 2016 and early 2017 of eight apartment buildings, and with eight more buildings looking to join them in the next two years, the neighborhood now has what can not-so-charitably be called a "glut" of new apartments, as Bisnow reported last week in its story on how the city is seeing a record number of residential units deliver in the second quarter of 2017. (I should of course give you hard numbers of total units, but see my earlier comment about my current state.)

However, if you are looking for a place to live in Near Capitol Ballpark River Yards, having multiple buildings vying for your business is certainly good news for you.

The photo gallery is a big one, with so much newness for me to capture. The official F1rst web site and the Residence Inn site has all of the details you probably want, and so I am just let the photos do most of the talking.

But before I get to those, there is some news, which is that it's been announced that fitness studio Solidcore is the latest retail tenant now signed, joining Chop't, Taylor Gourmet, Chipotle, Roti, Rasa Indian Grill, and Declaration. Solidcore is expected to open in the latter stages of 2017. (For those of you salivating at the rest of the lineup, it looks like Chop't will be the first to open, perhaps next month, followed by Taylor, Chipotle, and Roti in late summer/early fall.)

With that, onto the photos of both the apartment building and the hotel. This is a sampling--see the gallery for the full narrated tour.

Chef Reid Shilling is at the helm of this "rustic combination of Mid-Atlantic cooking and Californian finesse," according to the press release, and will be working with "local growers and purveyors to source the best in fresh ingredients from the Mid Atlantic, from proteins that will be butchered in house, to seafood carefully selected from local fishermen."

The restaurant is named for the small canning business that Shilling's family operated in Maryland from 1935 to 1958.

It will have 75 seats, and additional outdoor seating as well. There will also be a wood-burning grill and wood-fired brick oven, allowing for pizza to be on the menu. There will also be a raw bar.

Chef Shilling has previously worked at numerous restaurants, including Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro and most recently at The Dabney here in DC,

The Shilling Canning Company joins the Arris coming-soon offerings Chloe and the Juice Laundry, and a slew of neighborhood-wide eateries expected to open in 2017 and 2018.