While at the Courtyard by Marriott today, I got some great overhead photos of Near Southeast; as I worked to put them on the site, I realized that it was also now time to launch separate pages for three developments that are in the pipeline: JPI's two residential projects on I Street, the mixed-use development project on Square 699N at 1st, Half, K, and L streets; and the Faison and Opus East 1st Street office and residential towers between L and M. Right now the pages are kind of short on specifics, and I don't have renderings of any of the projects, but with JPI and Square 699N looking to start construction later this year, I figured it was time to break them out into their own pages. Also, I added overhead shots to my Capper/Carrollsburg and North of M pages. (And, in looking at my 2006 pictures, have you all figured out yet that I got a new camera?)

JPI is not wasting time with their plans for a big residential development at 70 I Street, SE; they're going before ANC6D on Monday, and the Bureau of Zoning Adjustment on March 14, and today they've submitted a building permit application for the project. Plans are for two towers and 700+ units; the company has said in various news articles that they plan to start construction this summer. As soon as I can get my hands on a rendering, I'll create a new page for the project.

Let's see if I can remember how to post an entry that doesn't have to do with the stadium... ANC 6D has posted its February Meeting agenda, which has a number of Near Southeast items. First, there will be a presentation by the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation on their plans. Then there will be a (re?)discussion of the proposed alley closings on Square 743N petitioned for by Faison to allow for the construction of two towers on 1st Street. There will also be presentation on the BZA application for the planned JPI residential project at 70/100 Street SE, which should give us our first peek at what's being planned for that site. Finally, there is a public space permit application by the Courtyard by Marriott hotel at 1st and L streets SE for a sidewalk cafe (which might be just fancy talk for an outdoor seating area connected to any food service the hotel will be having). The ANC meeting is on Monday, Feb. 13 at 7 pm, at 65 I Street SW.

Near Southeast makes the front page of the Post on Friday with "The Last Handshake Deal", a long feature on colorful real estate investor Marty Chernoff and other men who bought land in the area years back and are now cashing out. (As an example, Chernoff bought the trash transfer station at 70 I Street for $800,000 in 1988, and sold it last year for $35.9 million.) The print version also has a huge fabulous half-page graphic with a map of the neighborhood (centered mainly on the North of M area) with nine stunning and brilliant photos of streetscapes along 1st, K, L, and M streets. (Yes, they're my photos.) The Post's web site has an interactive version of the graphic, which is a nice companion to their interactive map of all of Near Southeast (which has been updated with six months' worth of new information). And if you're visiting here for the first time as a result of the Post story, welcome to Near Southeast, and try not to be too scared by all that this site contains.

In zoning news this week... On Monday night the Zoning Commission approved the Capper/Carrollsburg 2nd Stage PUD--PUDs leave me bewildered, so I'm not 100% sure if this means that all systems are go for work to begin at Capper, or if there's still some other post-approval approval that still needs to happen (like with the DC Council). In easier-to-digest news, JPI has a second case ready to go in front of the Board of Zoning Adjustment, this time for the 900 block of New Jersey Avenue, where the Nexus Gold Club is. The application requests "a variance from the residential recreation space requirements under section 773, and a special exception for multiple roof structures with walls of uneven height pursuant to sections 411 and 770.6, to allow the development of a multi-family residential building ... at premises 900 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. " (I hate to tell them that this is going to have to be called 90*1* New Jersey, because it's on the west side of the block!) The lots they list seem to indicate that they plan on developing the entire block except for one lot, on the northeast corner of 1st and K. The hearing will be on May 16--JPI's other variance hearing for 100 I Street is scheduled for March 14. You can see pictures of both sites on my new North of M page.

It appears that JPI is moving forward pretty quickly with its plans for a 700-unit, two-13-story-building residential project at 100 I Street (just west of New Jersey Avenue, and just south of the SE Freeway; I'll add it to my map once there are drawings and a scheduled start date, but for now you can see a few pictures of the site on my South Capitol Street Corridor page). The March 14 agenda for the Bureau of Zoning Adjustment includes an application from JPI Development Services for variances "to allow the development of a multiple family residential building at premises 70 and 100 Eye Street, S.E."

Wednesday's Post reports that apartment developer JPI has contracts for two deals in Near Southeast. Later this month they will close on a two-acre site on the north side of I Street (I believe between 1st and New Jersey, although the article is indicating further west on I), with hopes to begin construction next summer on a 700-unit residential project. Just south of that lot, at First and I, JPI is buying the property that currently houses the Nexus Gold Club (a "gentlemen's club"). Their plans for that block aren't yet firm (because they are still trying to buy some of the neighboring parcels), but more residential space would be a good bet. That transaction won't close until late 2006, to give the Nexus time to find a new location. UPDATE: The article was wrong about the location of the two-acre site, but I was wrong, too--it's at 70 I Street, which is between Half and First streets.