Anyone who's lived in DC for any amount of time will be stunned to read today's Post story, "As Stadium Clock Ticks, DC Officials Bicker," detailing the difficulties of getting a design for the new baseball stadium agreed upon. Much of the trouble revolves around the desire (pushed most vehemently by Jack Evans) to have views of the Capitol Dome from as many seats at the stadium as possible. More from the story: "Evans argued that a view beyond center field of one of the city's signature buildings would give fans a sense of place and provide grand shots for national television cameras. At Evans's urging, city planners recently stopped work by Lerner Enterprises on construction of a 130-foot office building on M Street SE, one block north of the stadium. People familiar with the matter said the move angered the company, founded and run by Theodore N. Lerner, who is among those bidding to buy the Nationals. City officials said late last week that they will allow the company to resume work because it has abided by city building regulations. Company officials declined to comment. Evans also has discussed limiting the heights of buildings being planned by Monument Realty, which owns land on N Street SE that abuts the stadium site. City planners worried that such a move would inadvertently harm the creation of an entertainment and shopping district around the ballpark, which has been promised by another powerful player, the Anacostia Waterfront Corp." The article also says that groups are bickering over who has final say on the design. The stadium is supposed to begin construction in March, 2006.

Fences have gone up, and construction equipment has begun to arrive at the 20 M Street lot. This building will be the 5th new office tower on M Street since 1999. With more to come, I'm sure.

It's site update day! I've posted new photos on the following pages: DOT HQ, Capitol Hill Tower, Nationals Stadium, and M Street. And because I don't always put the latest photos at the top of these pages, I'm now including a   icon with the pictures to help you pick out the fresh content. Also, as I threatened a few days back, I've created a page for the 20 M Street SE office building project. Not exactly a barn-burner of a page at this point, since I can only post so many pictures of an empty lot without going crazy, but it's a start.

Lerner Enterprises announced today that construction will begin this summer on 20 M Street, a 10-story 190,000 sq ft office building, with completion scheduled for Summer, 2007. The property, designed to be "Green" and which will also have retail on its first floor, is on the northwest corner of the Half and M intersection (currently a parking lot), diagonally across from the Navy Yard Metro station and one block north of the new Nationals stadium site. No tenants have been announced. Whiting-Turner will be the general contractor. You can see a few photos on my M Street page, and I guess before long I'll be creating a 20 M page!

News continues to pick up:

More posts: 20 M, Capper, Nationals Park