The building, as yet unnamed and generally just referred to by some variation of the oh-so-attractive "Square 769N Residential" moniker, is planned for the northern part of the block bounded by 2nd Place, 3rd, L, and M, next door to the recently discussed 250 M Street office building. It will be 11 stories, and will include 34 units of public housing in its 171 rental units. There will also be about 4,100 square feet of ground-floor retail. (The above image shows the block as seen from Canal Park, with the apartment building at left and 250 M at right.)

This funding is not enough to get the building's construction jump-started, but a) it's better than no funding at all and b) it probably helps move the process toward full funding forward.

It has already spent plenty of time in Zoning Land, having received its second-stage PUD approval back in 2009 followed by time extensions in 2011 and 2013.

This is one of four** large mixed-income apartment buildings still to be built as part of Capper's redevelopment, with two more planned for the other blocks along the east side of Canal Park plus one on the old trash transfer site at New Jersey and K.

* For sticklers, this award is part of the 2014 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) awards from the Housing Production Trust Fund.

** It could be five, since the Housing Authority is looking at splitting some units out from one planned mixed-income rental building (not this one!) into a second market-rate condo building. But there has been no public indication of movement one way or the other on that, and a planned Zoning hearing this fall has been pushed back to at least early 2015.

It states that DCHA is "seeking proposals from qualified service providers with a broad experience in providing programs, fundraising, property maintenance, asset management, and community outreach in a mixed income environment,"

Responses are due on Friday, Nov. 21.

Earlier this year the Housing Authority ran a community "engagement process" to come up with a series of recommendations on what sort of programming and activites the neighborhood would like to see at this building, which presumably/hopefully/possibly whichever operator is chosen will use to guide their plans. And this gives me an excuse to post the final copy of the report.

UPDATE, 10/29: It took a while, but the RFP itself is finally available.

It's just a little better than the one we've been seeing up to now, which I first posted in October of 2005.

And since I failed you by not getting to the event (just add it to my ever-growing List of Shame), here's the Housing Authority's press release on it.

(Though one thing not in this rendering that was at least hinted at in the old one: the Marines' parking garage.)

This will get the structure itself underway, but it's still not yet known who will operate the building, or exactly what sorts of programs and offerings there will be. A few months back the process completed for determining what the neighborhood is looking for from the new space, but full clarity probably won't arrive until closer to the building's opening, in latelatelate 2015 or early 2016.

UPDATE: Dang it, I forgot to use the phrase "shovel-wielding VIPs."

It will kick off with a showing of the 2007 documentary Chocolate City, which tells the stories of families displaced when the plans went forward a decade ago to replace the old Capper/Carrollsburg housing project with the mixed-income Capitol Quarter townhouse development.

Afterward, there will be oral histories from some of the neighborhood's former and returning residents, along with some panel discussions.

There will also be activities for the kids and refreshments.

No RSVP necessary, but there's a Facebook event page for more information and to indicate if you're going, should you choose.

The recommendations are:

* A 7,000-square-foot gymnasium with basketball court that can also be divided into two smaller courts when needed;

* A 3,600-square-foot day care center, which would also include a secured outdoor play area;

* Three multipurpose fitness rooms (for yoga classes or the like):

* Two multipurpose classrooms;

* One individual fitness area, which could include treadmills and weights; and

* A small "soft play area" for little kids.

The recommendations are not a written-in-stone marching order, however. Soon the Housing Authority will be putting out an RFP to find the organization that will run the community center (though apparently we're now calling it a "community building," because #branding). The operator would then have "flexibility" in what it offers, while ostensibly guided by the survey results.

There were 473 responses to the survey, and the meeting slides show both the demographic breakdown of respondents as well as the top vote-getters in both fitness and "enrichment" activities.

The slides also include conceptual drawings of how the two-story building could be laid out to handle the recommended offerings, though it was stressed that the operator will be making the final decisions on layout and whatnot. (You may remember that there was at one time a basement planned for the building, but it's now been removed from the design.)

Attendees at the meeting did not rise up in fire-breathing opposition to the presentation, though concerns were raised about the lack of garden space, the seeming preference of fitness activities over learning/cultural/enrichment activities, and the need for space and kitchen access to accommodate private events like kids' birthday parties.

Even though the consultant's report is due to DCHA next week, the team still wants to hear comments, if you've got them.

The slides also said that the groundbreaking for the building is "about to happen," which of course translates to JDLand Speak as "Any Minute Now."

Sayeth DCHA: "Over the past three weeks, almost 475 members of the Southeast neighborhood answered the 130-question surveys. Of those, more than 85 percent were from within a 10-block radius of the proposed facility. About 46 percent of those surveyed indicated they rented their home. Almost three-quarters of the surveys were completed online."

The first community meeting was held in April, and included some initial "strategic visioning," in advance of the surveys going out.

It was on March 5 that a large number of Very Important Persons gathered at 601 L St. SE to ceremonially break ground on the Lofts at Capitol Quarter, the 195-unit mixed-income apartment building that's the next step in the redevelopment of Capper/Carrollsburg. It's not unusual that there's a bit of a lag between the celebration and the actual start of work, but I admit my toes were starting to tap a bit as to when the real digging would begin.

And, lo and behold, this week the heavy machinery arrived, the northern half of Nats Lot W is roped off, and I witnessed with my very own eyes the breaking of ground. And there is plenty of ground to break:

PS: If folks have a minute and want to peek at the beta version of my Lofts at Capitol Quarter page, and report whether your browser freaks out--or if it doesn't--that'd be keen. (This includes mobile access.)

The survey is being passed out in the neighborhood in printed form (though you kids may not know what "printed" is), but it also can be filled out online. Responses are due by May 16.

And, to goose participation, DCHA is offering a chance to win one of six $50 gift cards if you complete the survey.

I wrote last week about the first public meeting in the agency's "engagement process" , in which they are working to determine what programming will be offered at the center once it opens, by late 2015 or early 2016. Another public meeting will be held in June, followed by a final report.

On Monday night the first public meeting was held to begin gauging neighborhood expectations and desires for the programming at the Capper Community Center, which is expected to begin construction Any Minute Now and open in late 2015.

I wasn't there, but the Housing Authority was nice enough to pass along both the presentation slides that were shown by the consultants running the meeting and the entire community "engagement process." These slides also include the breakout of the responses to various questions asked during the meeting. (I'm not going to call it Visioning. I'm just not.)

Attendees were given keypads to register their answers, and so the demographics of the 60ish folks who participated were immediately available: 62 percent of attendees were aged 60 and older, 61 percent were female, 69 percent have lived in the neighborhood for four years or more, etc. Then a series of questions about what the focus of the building's offerings should be and how the building should be operated were asked, followed by breakout small group discussions.

The next step in gathering input will be a survey that will go out in the next few weeks, which will focus on feedback about specific potential programs and activities. Another community meeting is expected in early June, with a final report issued not long afterward.