But, wait! As I dug a little further, I found a flaw in my methodology that hadn't quite occurred to me before this year (though it probably hadn't been an issue too often before now): 11 of the big commercial buildings in Near Southeast had apparently appealed their initial 2010 assessments (sent out last year), lowering their tax bills by between 2 percent and 38 percent, from a combined $1.13 billion in the initial assessments to $909.36 million post-appeals. (Ten other buildings are showing no change in those assessments, and one--909 New Jersey--actually saw an 8 percent bump upwards, which was probably more of a function of the initial estimate being from before the building was completed.)

Taking these changes into account, the total assessments for 2010 for the neighborhood is closer to $5.88 billion, meaning that tally of the 2011 numbers just released of $5.89 billion would actually be a 1.9 percent increase. Except that I imagine that some property owners will be appealing again (since some of the 2011 numbers go right back to the original 2010 numbers that were appealed), and the $5.99 billion number will come down again.

Not all property in the neighborhood took a hit--with the opening of the first portions of Capitol Quarter, the blocks between Fourth and Fifth Street saw an increased value of $33 million, and the completion of Velocity raised the assessed value of its block from $99 million to $162 million.

And, since everyone will want to know: the behemoth of the area--Nationals Park--has an assessment unchanged from last year, at just a hair under $1 billion.

I'll check the numbers again later this year to see how many proposed 2011 assessments get altered.

Here's a quick table of the big properties that saw their 2010 assessments change from the original number released early in 2009:

Property	Original 2010	Revised 2010	% Diff.	Proposed 2011
300 M	$132.26M	$82.00M	-38%	$74.69M
55 M	$162.60M	$110.66M	-32%	$110.66M
80 M	$124.08M	$92.75M	-25%	$111.27M
100 M	$90.98M	$68.18M	-25%	$90.98M
1201 M (Martime #1)	$87.97M	$72.57M	-18%	$64.74M
1100 NJ	$142.79M	$121.40M	-15%	$139.16M
100 I	$85.20M	$73.00M	-14%	$85.20M
70 I	$132.28M	$119.00M	-10%	$132.28M
1000 NJ *	$84.46M	$81.06M	-4%	$79.75M
770 M (Blue Castle)	$23.93M	$23.17M	-3%	$23.93M
1220 12th (Maritime #2)	$66.99M	$65.57M	-2%	$47.57M
909 NJ	$68.05M	$73.58M	8%	$79.93M
* This is for the residential portion of Capitol Hill Tower; the 2010 assessments on the Courtyard by Marriott show no change.

* The Bullpen will be back in action this season, in its same spot on the northwest corner of Half and N across from the ballpark. There were two requested changes to the voluntary agreement between the ANC and the owner: that the bar be allowed to operate until 1:30 am (with alcohol sales ending at 1:00), and that liquor in non-frozen form be allowed alongside the already approved beer, wine, and frozen drinks, both of which are already allowed under the liquor license. The discussion was more contentious about process than it was about content (with commissioner David Sobelsohn arguing strongly that the motion should be tabled until the next meeting, which none of the other commissioners were interested in), but in the end the commission voted 6-1 to approve the extended hours, and that mixed drinks could be served during private events. There were some concerns from commissioner Rhonda Hamilton about the noise at the bar on weeknights, but owner Bo Blair said that live music will always be cut off by midnight.

* There is a move afoot by commission Bob Siegel to carve out some of the curb space in front of Capper Seniors #1 at 900 Fifth Street (which it must be noted is also across the street from his house). The street, which is one way in the block in question (between K and Virginia) gets clogged on a regular basis thanks to shuttle buses, vans, trucks, and other vehicles double-parking while at the building, and the residents want a portion of the curb cut out to allow vehicles to pull out of the traffic lane (like the one in front of the Courtyard by Marriott entrance). DDOT initially rejected the request because it was called a "curb cut," which means something different in traffic parlance, but DDOT's Ward 6 planner Jamie Henson was in attendance and pledged to help the ANC work with the engineering side of DDOT to see what could be done without taking away the sidewalk or the ADA ramps to the building.

* There was supposed to be an update from the Nationals, but no reps from the team were there; ANC chair Ron McBee did report that April 23 will be "Neighborhood Night" at the ballpark, with the first pitch and national anthem being performed by nearby residents and other goodies as well. (I imagine discount tickets will be part of the deal, but nothing was said. The game is against the Dodgers.) McBee also said that the ANC has requested a meeting with DDOT about the Traffic Operations and Parking Plan for this season, to check on how it's all going, but no specific concerns were mentioned. (With the Nats Express no longer shuttling fans to and from parking at RFK, there probably will be a noticeable uptick in traffic this year, even if attendance remains steady.)

* The next 6D meeting will be on March 8 at 7 pm, and it'll be held at the Courtyard by Marriott at New Jersey and L, so if you've been dying to go to a meeting but haven't felt like venturing across South Capitol, you'll get your chance. It's also worth mentioning that ANC 6B's meeting the next night includes an update by CSX on the Virginia Avenue project on its agenda.

Possible locations they're looking at for the new barracks appear to be north of the freeway (and outside of my boundaries!), including the Potomac Gardens public housing project at 12th and G, SE, and the Tyler Elementary baseball field at 10th and I, SE, but they are also considering the Marine Corps Institute site within the Washington Navy Yard. Also shown on their maps as a possible site is Square 882 (across from the barracks annex built in 2004), currently Nats Parking lot W on the site of the old Capper Seniors building, but the Voice article says that the DC Housing Authority has taken that block off the table--I've been hearing that DCHA is close to securing financing for the mixed-income apartment building they intend to build on the north side of that block, and would possibly begin construction by the end of this year.

The article also says that the current owners of the Blue Castle, Madison Marquette, have expressed an interest in leasing space in the old trolley barn to the Marines.

The Marines' web site for the development project has been updated with the packet from last week's open house, an FAQ, and other materials. There apparently will be a series of community meetings, which are described by the FAQ thusly: "The current plan is for the first workshop (February) to focus on needs and goals, the second workshop (March) to focus on potential development sites, the third workshop (April) to focus on CIMP alternatives, and the fourth workshop (May) to focus on CIMP consensus elements. Additionally, a charrette focused on the CIMP way forward will be held in fall 2010." (If you're interested in these, you should plan to attend rather than waiting for a JDLand report--I tend to stay away from community meetings that are pure planning sessions, because, well, they drive me insane.)

And note that this is a *different* armed forces expansion plan from the one we heard about last week, where the Navy is looking for additional office space outside of the walls of the Navy Yard. Got to keep your service branches straight these days!

For more about this funding, how it will work, and What It All Means, read my notes from the council hearing last month, including the prepared written testimony of a DCHA rep explaining the need for the bill.

Though I'm about to disappear down the college football rabbit hole for the the rest of the day, I couldn't resist getting a few quick photos of the new framing that's going up on the last block of Capitol Quarter's first phase, on the northwest corner of Fourth and I.

I also wandered over to First Street to get "final" photos of Velocity building now that the building has opened, including a shot of the sign now up at Justin's Cafe (not that you can really see the sign, thanks to poor sun positioning. Might have to sneak back over there early in the morning).

Here's the complete batch of before-and-after photos for the shots I posted today.

And now, time to go bite my orange-and-blue nails for a few hours.

There still aren't any details posted online by CSX or the District about exactly how the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project will work (though we do have notes from their various recent public outreach sessions), but at a cost of about $140 million, it's not a small piece of the $842 million "National Gateway" project. In the documents that were part of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board vote on the project back in September, CSX described the Virginia Avenue Tunnel as a "bottleneck that when unlocked improves the freight efficiency and mitigates the expected freight growth in the region."

(Quick background: This infrastructure work would be a combination of underground work on the Second Street blocks around Canal Park, the relocation of the DPW operations at New Jersey and K and demolition of that block, and perhaps the construction of I Street between Second and New Jersey. These projects were originally expected to be funded by the sale of unrated municipal bonds, but the current Economic Difficulties have made those sorts of bonds all but extinct, and additional attempts to secure loans from banks for the money have been fruitless as well. Read this for more details.)

The hearing was pretty straightforward--you can watch it via streaming video, plus I've managed to procure the prepared written testimony of David Cortiella from DCHA if you're more of a reader than a watcher (like me!). The main takeaways:

* The city is intending to sell $32 million in short-term bonds, and will cover the estimated $600,000 a year in costs from funds in an industrial revenue bonds assessment fund held by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. After three years, when presumably the bond market is a bit healthier and Capper's own PILOT fund has begun to receive payments, long-term bonds will be issued. John Ross of the CFO's office called this "a very clever arrangement."

* Because the council originally approved a $55 million bond offering as part of the original Capper PILOT legislation, the cost of these bonds is already reflected in the city's budget.

* DCHA and the CFO are asking that this bill be approved on an emergency basis at the council's December meeting, so that the bonds could be sold during late December or early January, which is apparently a good bond-selling time of year. (Christmas bonds for everyone!)

* Cortiella mentioned that DCHA is also investigating a change in the tax code that may allow the financing of the 189-unit apartment building planned for the old Capper Seniors site at Seventh and L (Square 882) by the third quarter of 2010.

* Money has already begun to flow into the Capper PILOT thanks to the completed houses in Capitol Quarter, and if the phase 1 and 2 townhouses and Square 882 apartments are finished as currently scheduled, approximately $1.2 million will be flowing to the PILOT fund each year by 2012. (It's the PILOT fund that then pays back the bonds.)

Jack Evans--the only councilmember at the hearing--was receptive to the plans and also to moving the bill as emergency legislation, calling it "a good project" and saying it should "definitely move forward." He also made sure to note that, since the new bonds are being backed with proceeds from the Gallery Place TIF, that the city will be "backing Ward 6 projects with Ward 2 money": "We're always helpful when we can be helpful," he said. He also reminisced that, when he first ran for city council in 1991, Near Southeast was in Ward 2, and that he received all of six votes across the entire precinct in the 13-man primary.

The council's December legislative meeting is scheduled for Dec. 15.

* ANC 6D (Southwest and Near Southeast) has posted the agenda for its November meeting, which includes an update on the plans for Canal Park. It's on Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 pm, at St. Augustine's, Sixth and M streets, SW.

* The next night, ANC 6B (Capitol Hill SE and Eighth Street) is having its November meeting, where there will be a presentation by CSX on its planned Virginia Avenue Tunnel construction. (Voice of the Hill recently wrote about the plans, and you can read my posts about them, which include links to some source documents.) ANC 6B's meeting is Nov. 10 at 7 pm at the Old Naval Hospital at 921 Pennsylvania Ave., SE.

* Plus, the Friends of Garfield Park are having their own informational meeting about the CSX plans, on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 7 pm at Capitol Hill Day School (Second and South Carolina, SE).

* The Lower 8th Street Visioning Process folks have posted the minutes, historical background, and main presentation slides from their two October sessions. They've also posted the agenda for their November meetings, scheduled for 8:30 am and 7 pm on November 17 at the People's Church, 535 Eighth St., SE.

* And, if these events aren't enough for you, you can also watch on Nov. 12 the city council's Committee on Finance and Revenue Hearing on the bill that would allow the sale of bonds via the city's CFO office that would pay for a considerable amount of "Phase 3" infrastructure work for Capper/Carrollsburg redevelopment, encompassing some as-yet-undetermined combination of underground work on the Second Street blocks, the relocation of the DPW operations at New Jersey and K and demolition of that block, and the construction of I Street between Second and New Jersey. (This is above and beyond the $9.5 million in federal stimulus funds that the city is receiving to allow Capitol Quarter's second phase of townhouses to go forward.) The council hearing is on the 12th at 10 am, and you can watch on DC cable channel 13 or via the channel's web site. Here's my post about this proposed bill, if you want to know more.

* The BID and the Washington DC Economic Partnership held a "Capitol Riverfront Storefront Summit" on Tuesday morning, which The Hill is Home summarized, with quotes from the owners of Cornercopia and the Subway on Second Street. No splashy announcements of new retailers, though.

* The WBJ's Top Shelf blog pivoted off of the summit to write about Justin's Cafe at Velocity, which the owner now says "hopes to open in about two months from now."

* UrbanTurf asks: How do People Like Living in "Capitol Riverfront"?

* Beyond DC went to the Columbia Heights streetcar meeting on Monday, and posted more details about DDOT's plans. The Ward 7 public meeting is tonight, at 650 Anacostia Ave., NE, from 7 to 8:30 pm.

* The Bullpen is still selling tickets for its big Halloween night bash, from 9 pm to 1 am (with a fully heated tent!). An e-mail says that more than 400 tickets have been sold.

* The American Cancer Society is hosting Making Strides for Breast Cancer, a 5K walk to fund breast cancer research, at Nationals Park on Saturday. Two laps around the stadium, and one inside lap on the First Concourse. (I think I've done that walk a whole bunch of times over the past four years!)

* The council's Committee on Finance and Revenue has scheduled a November 12 hearing on the pending bill that would allow the city sell bonds to pay for phase 3 infrastructure work at Capper. (Though I don't see the hearing notice online yet.) For more about this, read my entry from a few days back.

I played cat-and-mouse with the clouds today and took some photos of the progress in the third block of Capitol Quarter, where the townhouses have sprung up pretty quickly over the past six weeks, meaning that St. Paul's Church at Fourth and I (above) and the private homes along Fifth Street are no longer the lonely outposts they've been since late 2004.