Adding to the projects that look to be starting in 2007, it appears that the 1111 New Jersey Avenue office building being developed by Donohoe is moving forward--they've recently applied for a zoning special exception ("for a waiver of the rear yard requirement"), which has been added to the Bureau of Zoning Adjustment's May 8 agenda. This is slated to be a 146,000-sq-ft, 12-story project with ground-floor retail, and I've heard tell that they're planning a mid-2007 start date. It will be on the land between the Navy Yard Metro station entrance at New Jersey and M and St. Matthew's Baptist Church at L Street (St. Matthew's is not being demolished)--and no, it won't be built up on the grassy hill, they'll dig down to street level! This will make the third project underway on what is known as Square 743N, along with the 100 M Street office building and the Onyx on First residential tower on the other side of the block, along 1st Street.

WMATA has released a Joint Development Solicitation for two sites in Near Southeast--the eastern entrance to the Navy Yard subway station at New Jersey and M, and the chiller plant on the southwest corner of Half and L. The sites would be offered for long-term leases, with the goal being Transit-Oriented Development: "safe, walkable, mixed-use communities that emphasize transit connections and reduce auto dependency." The 4.400-sq-ft New Jersey and M site is interesting because it butts up against Donohoe's planned 1111 New Jersey Avenue office building, and the JDS states: "The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation has indicated a preference for the ground floor area around WMATAs eastern entrance to be an attractive public plaza, complimenting the new development in the area. In this case, development on the parcel would largely occur above the street level." I'm not sure how you create an attractive public plaza that has development above it.... I'm guessing that Donohoe will be quite interested in this land (and their rendering of 1111 NJ does indeed show a very nice plaza). As for the chiller site at Half and L, it's 14,100 square feet, with a 7,700-sq-ft privately owned strip right next to it that combined could allow for a 200,000-sq-ft development (just like 20 M Street just to its south). With two other parcels at the corner of Half and L ready to be developed (the Nation site and the Ron Cohen Square 699N project), I'd imagine this site will garner a fair amount of interest. Proposals are due to WMATA on Nov. 17.

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.

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.)

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.

Near Southeast hits the bigtime, with a front-page story in Monday's Post ("A Transformed Neighborhood Awaits Stadium") that jumps to two full pages of information and photos about the 'hood. The story gives a great feel for the mood as the land rush by developers transforms this formerly neglected neighborhood. A huge map lists 64 spots within Near Southeast that are being developed, sought after, or are held by developers who aren't divulging their plans. If some of the information and photos seem familiar, that's because your humble Near Southeast webmaster temporarily escaped the Post's Newsroom IT department and helped put together the package. Dana Hedgpeth and I will be taking questions and comments on Monday Aug. 15 at 11 am in a washingtonpost.com Live Online chat, so please join in to talk about all the goings on.

While frequent JDLand visitors will be up-to-speed on much on the content, there are some new nuggets to be found:

Today's Post Business section leads with "Stadium Land Rush, Developers Deal For Prime Properties Around Ballpark Site," detailing the attempts by big companies to grab land in Near Southeast. Not much in the way of new news (especially for loyal JDLand readers!) except for the tidbit about Monument Realty trying to purchase most of the land on the north side of N Street between Half and North Capitol (across from the stadium site) for an "office, retail, and residential development." It mentions the Florida Rock project as still being a "go", with plans to begin construction near the opening of the stadium in 2008. And of course it mentions DOT, the Southeast Federal Center, and the Donohoe acquisition on New Jersey Avenue. (The story also mentions a purchase by Doug Jemal of land on Buzzard's Point for an Inner Harbor-like development, which I haven't covered because it's in Southwest, and I have to draw the line somewhere!)

Today's Washington Times reports ("Firm Snaps Up Lots in SE") about the purchase of 16 lots along the 1100 block of New Jersey Avenue by the Donohoe Corporation, which confirmed the company has plans to develop the site but isn't prepared to announce any details. This would be the block that includes the New Jersey Avenue exit of the Navy Yard Metro station (across from the gleaming New "Federal Gateway" Building at New Jersey and M). I've heard tell that a hotel will be built there, but I don't know for sure. I don't believe that the properties include the church at New Jersey and L (the addresses are 1115-1131 New Jersey), but we'll have to see. UPDATE: new photos of the block on my New Jersey Avenue page....