From an Anacostia Waterfront Corporation press release (not yet posted on their web site): "JBG Companies will present $4 million to help fund neighborhood improvements in the Near Southeast neighborhood, including Washington Canal Park and Diamond Teague Park, at a ceremonial event scheduled for Monday, April 30, 2007 at 11:00 am. The ceremony will take place at the planned site for Washington Canal Park, located at the corner of 2nd and M Streets, SE. Participants in the check presentation ceremony will include District Mayor Adrian Fenty, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and AWC Interim President and CEO Neil O. Albert, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown, Chair of the Committee on Economic Development, and Ben Jacobs, President of JBG Companies, who will present a ceremonial check to District officials and AWC. JBG Companies, developer of the new U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters building on M Street, SE, is contributing $2.5 million toward development of Washington Canal Park and $1.5 million toward the development of Diamond Teague Park." And, this additional bit of info about Diamond Teague Park: "The park is being completed in a partnership arrangement with surrounding land owners for area-wide benefit and use. The park's first phase will incorporate interim improvements to include a ferry landing [emphasis mine] and esplanade. Future improvements will include connecting the Ballpark District to The Yards (formerly Southeast Federal Center) with the construction of the Anacostia Riverwalk adjacent to the river bank site currently occupied by the DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA)."

Two upcoming events from the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation that might be of interest: On Earth Day, April 21, the AWC is running an Anacostia River Earth Day Cleanup and Celebration, with Canal Park being of the four cleanup sites (along with the Southwest Waterfront, Marvin Gaye Park, and Kenilworth Parkand Poplar Point). See their announcement for details, and also check out the Anacostia Watershed Society's Earth Day cleanup plans for the Anacostia. The next day, April 22, as part of Cultural Tourism DC's Walkingtown Tours, the AWC is sponsoring four different routes, none of which are actually in Near Southeast but which still might be of interest (the eastern riverfront and Poplar Point, Kingman and Heritage Islands, Hill East, and Marvin Gaye Park). The announcement has times and locations and whatnot.

From this week's Washington Business Journal print edition (online for subscribers only), a story about water taxi service being established between Alexandria, Georgetown, and the new National Harbor also addresses the possibilities of expanding the service to the stadium area:"[When the first segment of National Harbor opens in 2008], the Nationals' new baseball stadium in Southeast is expected to be ready, and waterfront planners are looking into building a dock system near the Earth Conservation Corps offices on First Street SE [note from JD: this is the Diamond Teague Park location]. To date, representatives of the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. haven't had any discussions with Peterson or Potomac Riverboat about running the water taxis there for baseball games. But that should change in the coming weeks, says Nia Francis, a project director with AWC. Preliminary research has shown that the demand for a landing near the ballpark is contingent on commuter traffic and other uses for the dock, Francis says. An arrangement with a dining cruise operation will also be examined. 'We're in the midst of a feasibility study for building a landing down there,' Francis says. 'I'm sure we will approach [Potomac Riverboat] while the study continues.' "

From today's Examiner: "Mayor Adrian Fenty said Wednesday he supports consolidating two quasi-government agencies charged with developing major interior and waterfront properties and bringing their responsibilities under his authority. With Fenty's backing, the days appear numbered for the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. and the National Capital Revitalization Corp. as they exist today. The D.C. Council is considering a bill that would dissolve both agencies and shift their duties to the office of Neil Albert, Fenty's deputy mayor for planning and economic development. 'We can support that legislation if it would consolidate the functions of the AWC and NCRC under the deputy mayor's office,' Fenty said of the legislation, introduced by Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans. Restructuring the corporations was a top priority for Fenty in his first 100 days, and a report analyzing various structural alternatives was delivered to the council this week. But the mayor had yet to take a position on Evans' bill, now under consideration by the council's economic development committee. 'The likelihood is that the organizations will be consolidated in some fashion and it will be under the control of the mayor,' Evans said."

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