It appears that the work being done at 1st and M (wrapping back toward L Street) is plumbing/pipe work of some sort under the street and sidewalks, not any-second-now demolition of On Luck and the other buildings (although I imagine that's not far behind, given that construction on 100 M Street is supposed to start "late summer 2006" according to Opus East). And the Sunoco station at 50 M Street is indeed now being dismantled. But still no announcement of any big deal for that lot.

Eagle-eyed boots on the ground report seeing the appearance today of No Parking signs along M Street between New Jersey and 1st Street--in front of On Luck, Zohery Bus Tours, and the Metro entrance--marked as lasting from Aug. 12 to Aug. 30. Dovetailing with what I've heard elsewhere, this may well mean that demolition on that corner is about to start. (I would guess that it will happen the same time along the rest of that block of 1st Street, back to L Street.) This is to clear the way for the 100 M Street office building and the 1100 First Street residential tower, which will be built concurrently. Some folks have also mentioned the fence that has gone up today around the Sunoco station at 50 M--there's still been no word on the sale of that property, so I don't know if demolition is imminent there or not. UPDATE: I went and took a look myself, and there are also No Parking signs along the eastern side of 1st Street between L and M, marked as starting August 8 through December 8. Also, the Sunoco fences also have signs on them indicating that it is a Sunoco construction zone. Perhaps Sunoco is demolishing the station themselves--but to make way for what, we all want to know? Is it the rumored hotel? Will the hotel folks be buying the land, or is Sunoco keeping the land and handling the development themselves? We shall see....

Donohoe Real Estate Services has posted a new and more detailed rendering of their planned 146,000 sq ft office building at 1111 New Jersey Avenue. It shows St. Matthew's Baptist Church at New Jersey and L still standing, and also shows the project not using the air rights above the entrance to the Navy Yard Metro station at New Jersey and M. I don't know whether this is their final design or not, but it was far enough advanced in comparison to the earlier one that I bit the bullet and created a new tab on my Square 743N page for this project, now joining the project pages for its neighbors-to-be at 100 M Street and 1100 First Street. The Donohoe web site says only "Delivery 2008" for a timeframe, so construction could start anywhere between late 2006 and mid-2007.

From a press release hitting the business wires today about the condo project at 1100 First Street: "The Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund is making its first-ever investment in the Washington, D.C., market by partnering with Faison of Charlotte, North Carolina, on the development of a transit-oriented condominium project next to the Navy Yard Metro station in the Near Southeast submarket. [...] Plans call for 266 condominium units over a four-level underground parking garage with approximately 210 parking spaces and 65 storage spaces. The condominium community is part of a master planned development that will include a 13-story office building adjacent to the project, which will be separately developed by Opus. [...] Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, the development's major equity investor, is a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Johnson Development Corporation." The release also says that demolition is scheduled for the "third quarter of 2006," which means, uh, any minute now. And: "[P]roject completion is expected in the third quarter of 2008. The majority of units, designed to attract entry-level professionals, will range in price from the high $200,000's to the high $300,000's with an average unit size of 725 square feet. Residents of the full-service building will have amenities including a public courtyard, game room and pool. "

From GlobeSt.com: "Charlotte, NC-based Faison Enterprises has closed two separate land deals in the DC area over the last week worth almost $200 million. The first is for a condo project in southeast Washington near the baseball stadium at First and L Street, SE. Philip W. Norwood, president and CEO of Faison tells GlobeSt.com that this was a particularly complex transaction in that it involved land swaps and will entail some joint development work with a nearby office project on M Street. The approximate 260-unit condo development, which is expected to be delivered in 2008, is worth roughly $100 million, he says." The building permit for this project was filed in mid-June. UPDATE: Faison has generously passed along to me a rendering of 1100 First Street, which I have added to the project's page.

Donohoe appears to be continuing to move forward with its office project on New Jersey Ave., now christened 1111 New Jersey (just north of the Navy Yard Metro station at New Jersey and M). A page on the Donohoe Real Estate Services web site describes the project: 146,000 sq ft, 12 floors, designed by WDG (who've also designed a pile of other buildings in Near Southeast), and delivery in 2008 (which would mean that construction would need to start by early 2007). At this time, the project doesn't include the land still occupied by St. Matthew's Baptist Church at New Jersey & L--I've heard through the grapevine about negotiations over the past year or so, but apparently no deal has been reached. (I haven't yet created a page for this project, I'm waiting a bit to see if anything changes with the church.)

Opus East has launched a project page (and posted a press release) for 100 M Street, its 240,000-sq-ft office building planned for the current site of the On Luck Cafeteria at 1st and M, SE. The site says that construction is expected to begin in "late summer 2006", with delivery in late 2008. 100 M's construction will run concurrently with Faison Enterprises's 254-unit residential tower at 1st and L. (Now if Faison would post information and a rendering about it's project!) You can of course see photos (and the 100 M rendering) on my 100 M/1st and L page.

A building permit application has been filed with the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for a project at 1100 First Street, SE--this would appear to be the 14-story, 260-unit residential tower being planned by Faison Enterprises at 1st and L. So it appears to be moving forward....

In news from last night's Zoning Commission meeting (and thank the heavens that DCOZ has gotten its live webcast up and running again), the commission gave final approval to the office building proposed for 100 M Street, a 263,000-sq-ft tower being developed by Opus East. Opus is planning to do its construction contemporaneously with the Faison residential project just to its north, and indications are that they plan to start work by the end of this year. A side note--Opus was unable to procure lot 0800, a 1,485-sq-ft empty triangular lot that runs along the southeast portion of Opus's land, abutting the north-south alley at New Jersey Avenue. It makes no real difference in Opus's plans, but is another interesting example of people not selling to developers, which is a fine-enough stand except for when you have a lot that will then be unable to ever have anything built on it....

Thanks to a tip from an eagle-eyed correspondent, I can pass along that a sign has materialized on New Jersey Avenue just north of the Navy Yard Metro entrance at M Street that says: "Donohoe Real Estate Servies / CORFAC International / Office Space for Lease / 150,000 to 250,000 SF." A bit of poking around the Donohoe web site finds this "What Have We Been Doing Lately?" page, which includes this lot, and gives "late 2008" as a delivery date (and also says that the project will include retail). Donohoe paid $6.2 million in early 2005 for 10 lots (totalling about 16,000 sq ft) along New Jersey north of the Metro entrance, up to but not including the St. Matthew's Baptist Church. I know that the church has had developers knocking on their door, but I don't know whether Donohoe has bought the property (no such transaction appears in the DC land records through early April). With this project now appearing to move forward, that makes at least eight high-rise projects (maybe 10, maybe more) that are looking to start construction in the next 12 months. Between all that and the stadium, you might want to start wearing a mask to protect yourself from all the dust that will be flying in Near Southeast.