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Near Southeast DC Past News Items: 1000 South Capitol
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1333 M St.
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SC1100
Completed
Thompson Hotel ('20)
West Half ('19)
Novel South Capitol ('19)
Yards/Guild Apts. ('19)
Capper/The Harlow ('19)
New DC Water HQ ('19)
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Virginia Ave. Tunnel ('19)
99 M ('18)
Agora ('18)
1221 Van ('18)
District Winery ('17)
Insignia on M ('17)
F1rst/Residence Inn ('17)
One Hill South ('17)
Homewood Suites ('16)
ORE 82 ('16)
The Bixby ('16)
Dock 79 ('16)
Community Center ('16)
The Brig ('16)
Park Chelsea ('16)
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Hampton Inn ('15)
Southeast Blvd. ('15)
11th St. Bridges ('15)
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Twelve12/Yards ('14)
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Boilermaker Shops ('13)
Camden South Cap. ('13)
Canal Park ('12)
Capitol Quarter ('12)
225 Virginia/200 I ('12)
Foundry Lofts ('12)
1015 Half Street ('10)
Yards Park ('10)
Velocity Condos ('09)
Teague Park ('09)
909 New Jersey Ave. ('09)
55 M ('09)
100 M ('08)
Onyx ('08)
70/100 I ('08)
Nationals Park ('08)
Seniors Bldg Demo ('07)
400 M ('07)
Douglass Bridge Fix ('07)
US DOT HQ ('07)
20 M ('07)
Capper Seniors 1 ('06)
Capitol Hill Tower ('06)
Courtyard/Marriott ('06)
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18 Blog Posts Since 2003
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First, summer was hot, then it was really hot, then the Nationals were hot, then the Nationals were REALLY hot, and suddenly it's November and the JDLand camera has been crying out from neglect. But I took care of that this weekend (oh boy, did I), and wanted to catch up on the latest downward digging and upward construction.
Let's start by peeking through some fences to look at the digging portion, where excavation is now underway at New Jersey/Canal and N/Tingey on the first office building to come to the Yards, which will be the headquarters for Chemonics International. (Yes, it's the project that chased the Trapeze School down to 5th Street.) The other two digging locations are Lerner's residential building at 1000 South Capitol and the CSX East site on New Jersey Avenue just south of the freeway, where a hotel and 800 units of residential will be coming. In order:
Next, we have three buildings that are above ground but not yet topped out. We'll start with the reconstruction of the Capper Seniors building at 5th and Virginia, which started just a smidge more than one year after the fire. With the pad not needing to be redone and the concrete-encased stairwells still standing, it isn't taking long for the wood-based construction to look familiar. (It is an odd thing to be watching the same building go up twice, 14 years apart--the first photo below was taken on Nov. 28, 2005, then after the fire in Sept. 2018 and March 2019, and now ).
The other skeletons are the new headquarters of the District Department of Transportation at 3rd and M Streets, which at this time of year can only been seen in sunlight for about one hour, from the west.. A few blocks away, on L Street between South Capitol and Half, the neighborhood's first "sliver" residential building (condos!) at 37 L is now a few floors away from its roof.
Beyond that we have a mere, oh, 12 additional projects that are topped out but not finished. Three of them are getting their faces put on (DC Crossing, Meridian on First, and One Hill South Two):
The rest have long since stopped looking particularly different while they plod toward completion, but there are updated photos on their project pages if you wish to see some. And yes, I'm looking at you, Thompson hotel and Estate apartments, Parc Riverside Phase 2, NAB HQ, Avidian, The Kelvin, Envy, the Garrett, and the Maren.
Now I'll turn my attention finally getting caught up on sliders. Wheeeee!
 

Another residential project is now officially on its way, as Lerner Enterprises announced last week the start of construction on 1000 South Capitol, its 244-unit apartment building on the site of Nationals Parking Lot K between K and L Streets, SE (sharing the block with the 1015 Half Street office building, home of Bonchon).
The project will have 10,000 feet of retail alongside the sort of amenities that are de rigeur in new buildings: 24/7 concierge, state-of-the-art fitness center, private dining room with a demonstration kitchen (and wine lockers!), theater room, business center, infinity-edge rooftop swimming pool and club area, luxury pet spa, bike storage, and more.
Back in the day, 1000 South Capitol was initially planned to be an office building, but in 2015 word first started filtering out that the site had been switched to residential. And now, here we are.
It is, somewhat surprisingly, only the fourth project to get underway in the neighborhood in 2019, along with the new DDOT HQ at 250 M Street, the 74-unit condo building at 37 L, and the I-promise-I-will-get-my-act-together-and-build-a-project-page multi-building project being called "CSX East" on the railroad company's former land west of New Jersey and adjacent to the freeway. (And I will update my Current Projects map as soon as I can figure out how to squeeze in more words in the extremely well-filled areas west of 1st Street.)
And stay tuned for a post on the other new Lerner(ish) project now on the boards.
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More posts: 1000 South Capitol, Development News
 

A few items of note I've come across while catching up with recently filed building permit applications:
* CHURCH OF THE BLUE CASTLE: It's been four years since the National Community Church purchased the Navy Yard Car Barn, aka the "Blue Castle," at 8th and M, and with all tenant leases now expired, an interior building permit application has been filed for creating a "worship space" for the church, along with support spaces "such as green rooms, production studio, and a kids room." Back in September, Capitol Hill Corner reported that these Phase I plans are for a 900-plus seat auditorium "which will be used for Sunday church services but will be available for rent to the community during days and nights." And, to answer the inevitable question, when I interviewed Mark Batterson about the purchase of the building, he said that he hopes "that someday the Blue Castle will just be the Castle."

* CHURCH OF THE A-1 TIRES: While developers have been trying to pitch a sliver of a residential building on the northeast corner of 1st and K since the lot changed hands in 2017, the only current movement at the site is an apparent plan to renovate the former A-1 Tires garage for a church assembly space, including a new roof and windows. Is perhaps the Waterfront Church looking to move from their Capitol Hill Tower space? We Shall See. UPDATE: I've been told that this is an expansion by the Waterfront Church, not a move.

* HARNESSING THE SUN MONSTER: If you've seen some construction activities on top of the Nats Park garages along N Street, it is the installation of "solar canopies" containing 4080 modules. (The only question remaining is, will the Sun Monster's number one victim be back this season to see these new additions?)

* WALLS COME TUMBLIN' DOWN?: After the Lerner Companies initially received approval to take the roof off of the old warehouse at 49 L but keep the lower 4 feet of brick walls, there is now a request to revise that permit to remove the wall completely "due to failing structural integrity," and to replace it with a new 8-foot chain link fence. There have been no development plans announced for this site, but one wonders if the Lerners might be thinking about some temporary parking options if indeed their 1000 South Capitol residential building is soon to get underway, which would necessitate the closure/move of Nats Parking Lot K.
 

Some stories people have been waiting to hear about for a while:
* MOVIE THEATER MOVING FORWARD: WBJ reports that "D.C. Water, developer Forest City Washington and the District government have settled all outstanding business tied not only to the parcel needed for the long-planned 16-screen, 1,500-seat movie theater, but other sites surrounding it that are similarly planned as part of The Yards."
Forest City should receive the movie theater land in late spring, apparently, with the other residential-planned parcels to come probably over the next five years.

* LERNER BUYS 49 L: The General Services Administration announced this morning that the sale closed on Feb.22 for the one-story brick warehouse on the southeast corner of Half and L, SE.
Property records show that "Half Street Partners, LLC" paid $31 million for the site. And that LLC happens to have a mailing address of 2000 Tower Oaks Blvd., Eighth Floor, which happens to be the address of Lerner Enterprises.
No word yet on the plans for the site, which is (sort of) across the street from Lerner's 20 M office building, and also creates a sort-of Lerner-owned triangle with...

* 1000 SOUTH CAPITOL MOVING FORWARD: Lerner officially announced this week its plans to build the 250-unit 13-story residential building at South Capitol and K that has been working its way through the design and zoning process for the past few years. Designed by Shalom Baranes Associates, it will also have 10,000 square feet of retail along with the lineup of amenities befitting a new "luxury" building--fitness center with Pelotons, private dining room with demonstration kitchen, rooftop pool and entertainment center, and pet spa and bicycle repair offerings for residents. It is expected to get underway late in 2018.
UPDATE: And now we have one more piece of neighborhood news from WBJ today, which is that it has finally been officially announced that the new hotel at 3rd and Tingey in the Yards will be a Thompson boutique hotel.
(Though it must be noted that the WBJ story doesn't seem to quite realize that the hotel is already under construction, in a joint digging-and-building project with Forest City's next residential building, on Parcel L.)
The hotel will have 225 rooms, and the residential building will have about 270 units, and combined the two will have about 24,000 square feet of retail.
 

With a BZA hearing in the offing later this month, Lerner Enterprises has submitted more filings on 1000 South Capitol, its proposed 330ish-unit residential building at South Capitol and K Streets, SE. And those filings contain the first spiffy renderings of the building, so of course must follow my fiduciary duty to pass them along. Shalom Baranes is the architect.
On Monday night, ANC 6D supported 5-0-1 the project's application for two zoning variances (side yard and loading berth) and a special exception (roof structure). In its motion, the ANC did mention that the loss of Nats Parking Lot K and the addition of more residents "will place further demands on an already difficult parking situation," and asks for the developer's commitment to "place information in all leases stating that tenants are not eligible for [residential parking permits.]" The ANC also mentioned concerns with potential use of the curb lane on South Capitol for loading, deliveries, and drop-offs, and suggested a small signed zone on K Street for such uses.
And, while the building does not have an affordable housing requirement, Lerner has committed to having two such units in the building, one with a household income of 50-80% area median income (AMI) and one of 80-120% AMI. Commissioner Rhonda Hamilton made a strong plea for the AMI to go as low as 30% AMI, noting that "it's not fair" that people who work at the stadium or nearby restaurants for low pay are being priced out of the ability to live near where they work.
Note the angled windows along South Capitol, alternating between south-facing and north-facing on each floor, to give residents views toward the Capitol and toward the ballpark.
I am not seeing any evidence in the filings of any ground-floor retail--this block is not covered by the Capitol Gateway Overlay District, so it does not have the same requirements for retail space that buildings along and south of M are bound by.
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More posts: 1000 South Capitol, Development News
 

After years (and years and years) of expectations that Lerner Enterprises' 1000 South Capitol Street project would eventually be a 320.000-square-foot office building, an application filed in mid-August with the Board of Zoning Adjustment has revealed the company is now looking to build a 330ish-unit residential building on the site between K and L Streets, SE.
There are no renderings included with the filing, and the company has let me know that they are not quite ready to offer up details on the project, but the BZA documents do show that the building would be 110 feet/13 stories high, with three levels of underground parking, and is being designed by Shalom Baranes Associates.
The site is the western half of the block where the 1015 Half Street office building has stood since 2011, and has served as Nats Parking Lot K since 2008.
This would be Lerner's second development project in the neighborhood, with the company having built the 20 M Street office building back in 2005-2007. (The other neighborhood project owned by the Lerner family, the one with the Curly W logo, has its headquarters a few blocks further down South Capitol.)
This 1000 South Capitol project actually came to ANC 6D way back in 2006 (no, really) with a request to close a portion of the alley that runs between this lot and 1015 Half, and in fact the alley closing is still marked as "proposed" on the new BZA documents.
For your zoning nerds, Lerner is looking for variances from side yard requirements and loading requirements, and a special exception from roof structure requirements. In addition, the project will have a 15-foot setback along South Capitol, which is not currently required since the site is not within the Capitol Gateway Overlay boundaries, but will become a requirement once/if the city's zoning rewrite is ever completed.
The BZA hearing is currently scheduled for Nov. 24.
More as I get it.
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More posts: 1000 South Capitol, Development News
 

Some recent items of note, some Tweeted over the past few days and some I just lazily haven't gotten around to mentioning until now:
* Several readers wrote in to mention the awnings now in place at the Cornercopia Deli at Third and K, which were installed on Friday. Still no word on when it might open--but to make sure that I hear about it ASAP when its doors do open, I pledge to buy a sandwich there for the first reader who alerts me that the deli is open to customers.
* If you haven't been in the unit blocks of either I or K streets--the Wendy's (on the site of the on-hold 23 I Street apartment building by JPI) is now completely demolished, and glass is now being hung on 1015 Half Street. If you're wondering why the west side of 1015 Half is not glassed but has just a plain beige exterior--remember that that side will just be facing an alley, with 1000 South Capitol someday rising between it and South Capitol Street. (Emphasis on the *someday.*)
* The Obama Five Guys on Second Street has seen a 50 percent jump in business since the president's visit on Friday, says Politics Daily. And plenty of people are ordering the "Obama Burger," a cheesburger with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and jalapenos.
* A little excitement at USDOT on Monday when a suspicious package forced the evacuation of the Fourth Street building. According to DC Fire and EMS's Twitter feed, it was a package leaking diesel fuel.
* Greater Greater Washington spent some time looking more closely at the schematic of the new 11th Street Bridges that I posted about last week.
* The Post had a good report on Saturday's high school baseball Congressional Bank Classic at Nationals Park.
* The Mayor wants to clean out the Community Benefits Fund funded by the ballpark to pay for 10 weeks of his summer jobs program, says the Examiner. Members of the council say that six weeks (the amount that can be paid for by the original amount budgeted for the program) is good enough, and that money should go to various projects they've earmarked. (UPDATE: The council voted today *not* to cut the program to six weeks.)
 

In the past few days I've mentioned the start of construction on the first of the temporary surface parking lots at Capper and the transformation of an existing lot at 1100 South Capitol into a monthly lot managed by Colonial Parking. Today I see that the dirt is being dug up at 1000 South Capitol, which had a public space permit approved a few weeks ago for the construction of a parking lot. This property is owned by Lerner Enterprises (yes, the same Lerners that own the Nationals) and they have eventual plans for an office building on the site, but it shouldn't be a surprise that they would give this land over at least temporarily to the Ballpark Parking Cause.
Additional dispatches from today's drive-around:
* Equipment has arrived on site at 1345 South Capitol, presumably for the start of excavation for this 276-unit residential project across the street from the ballpark.
* The DC Foreign Car Shop at 31 K Street and the buildings along First Street and N north of the ballpark are still standing;
* A very affable-looking "Hospitality Ambassador" from the Capitol Riverfront BID was answering questions with a smile at the Navy Yard Metro entrance;
* The amount of construction and roadwork from New Jersey Avenue west to South Capitol really is unbelievable. (I rarely drive through the neighborhood during the day on weekdays, so most of you long-suffering residents and commuters are already well aware of this.) But seeing it in full swing just reinforces my New Year's resolution to restrict my photo treks to Sundays, when the commotion is taking its Day of Rest.
UPDATE: One more tidbit: a permit has been approved to remove the underground storage tanks at the BP Amoco at South Capitol and N. I had thought that maybe it was only temporarily closed because of the construction on N Street, but this probably means it's gone for good. As for what might appear in its place--the land is part of Monument Realty's vast holdings north of the ballpark, but no development plans for the site have been announced. In the meantime, I bet it would be a handy spot for a parking lot!
 

Today's print edition of the Washington Business Journal reports that National Public Radio is looking for 400,000 square feet of office space for a new headquarters to replace their current location on Massachusetts Avenue. In addition to sites in NoMa and Silver Spring, the article lists possible Near Southeast locations 1015 Half Street, 1100 South Capitol, and.... 225 Virginia Avenue? The site for which the city signed a long-term lease last year when it planned to move the the Metropolitan Police Department there, before that plan fell apart in late summer? Is this just a mistake by the reporter, or is this a hint at bigger news afoot about the future of the old Post Plant?
Maybe those Capitol views are particularly enticing to the media--two months ago the WBJ reported that CNN is also looking at 1015 Half, 1100 South Capitol, and Lerner Enterprises' proposed building at 1000 South Capitol. (The lower prices on commercial real estate in this part of town probably don't hurt, either.)
 

Today's print edition of the Washington Business Journal (online for subscribers only) reports that CNN, wanting 80,000-100,000 sq ft of space to upgrade its studios, is looking at three in-development office buildings in Near Southeast: Opus East's 440,000-sq-ft 1015 Half Street, at the old Nation site, which is scheduled to begin construction in October; Lerner's 320,000-sq-ft 1000 South Capitol right next door, which has no announced start date; and Ruben Companies' 350,000-sq-ft 1100 South Capitol, one block to the south. "Sources familiar with the search say the sites were picked for their views of the Capitol, access to transportation and the opportunity to build a structure designed to fit CNN's needs instead of retrofitting an existing building." It should be noted that WBJ also wrote back in late March that CNN (and other companies) were looking at Near Southeast.
 
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