Velocity went up, but the twin did not follow for nearly four years--after Cohen sold the empty lot to Toll Brothers, which is now building the River Parc apartment building on the site. And having a different developer build the twin has brought about a sticky situation.

Within recent days, Velocity residents have discovered that Toll's layout for the River Parc roof includes a wall that completely obscures the formerly expansive Capitol dome views from Velocity's roof deck.

This Facebook page shows the old view from Velocity's roof--and the photo below, provided by a resident, shows the new one.

In addition, the new building's design appears to place the building's 237 air conditioning units on the south side of the concrete wall, facing Velocity.

A recent e-mail to Velocity residents informed them that "[T]he ANC Commissioner, The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the offices of Planning and Zoning have all been contacted and we are being told that all construction is being done in accordance with all plans, permits, zoning, and easements" and that "Every avenue is being pursued to somehow make this situation better for us." Alas, "[A]s long as they are within all legal parameters of their construction of this building, there is little we can do."

Capitol Dome views are a sticky wicket in the neighborhood, since almost all of the buildings that have already gone up stand to eventually lose their panoramic vistas as newer projects continue to fill in the empty spaces. (Just ask Nationals Park!)

The exceptions are 70/100 I (aka the Jefferson and Axiom) and the about-to-be-built 800 New Jersey, all of which border the freeway and so will likely keep their views pristine, as long as Capitol Hill north of the freeway doesn't suddenly start to allow 13 stories of construction.

But an impenetrable concrete wall certainly puts an exclamation point on the issue.

* LOT LAYING: Enough people have written (and progress has been so slow) that I finally have to post that the work many of you are seeing on the Congressional Square block at 1st and I isn't the beginning of development there--the word is that the parking lot on the west side of the block is being extended eastward.

* PILE DRIVING: Pile driving has started at 800 New Jersey/Whole Foods, if your ears haven't already alerted you.

* TRAILER PLACING: A building permit just came through the pipeline for a temporary sales trailer at 1000 1st St. SE. The land. owned by Akridge, is unlikely to be about to see any large-scale construction, so might this instead be the beginnings of a leasing center for Toll's River Parc across the street?

* FERRY DOCKING: Following up on the ferry news from last week, I finally heard back from the office of Frank Principi in Woodbridge--it sounds like the routes and docking locations are still not 100 percent decided on. There is a stakeholder's group that will ultimately make the decisions, and it is meeting later this month to work on the project. So reports of a "Navy Yard" destination or a St. Elizabeth's destination or a Bolling destination appear to be premature.

Plans are for a 126-unit condo building with 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, in addition to integrating the chiller facility into the building.

The deal still has to be approved by Metro's board of directors, but the press release says "construction is expected to begin in 2016."

The press release does not say if the team plans to also purchase the 7,700-square-foot lot next door, which is for sale (and which has a bit of a history).

This will be MRP's second foray into the neighborhood, after having entered a deal in 2011 to co-develop the (still pending) first phase of the Florida Rock development.

The path to developing this site has not been a short one, given that WMATA has been trying to get the site developed since 2006. Three bids were received for the site earlier this year, two residential and one for an office building.

And, in case you don't believe me, I have proof! Witness dirt being dug! A press release from WC Smith officially announcing the start of the $87 million construction project says that pile driving operations will be getting underway this week.

But of course the excitement in the neighborhood surrounding this project isn't for the arrival of still more residential units--it's for the building's 35,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, which will be home to a long-sought Whole Foods after the building is completed in late 2016.

And, just like with its sibling to the south, 800 NJ's construction will include the construction and opening of a "new" street between 2nd and New Jersey--this time it will be H Street, running from just north of 200 I over to New Jersey just south of the freeway.

This is the second of three residential buildings on the block, with a third, 393-unit building fronting 2nd Street to follow. Residents in all three buildings will be able to use the facilities in every building, giving them "unparalleled access" to club rooms, game rooms, rooftop pools, an indoor lap pool, exercise facilities, dog walk areas, a demonstration kitchen and the 15,000 square foot courtyard.

As for the Park Chelsea, having been topped out a few weeks ago, work continues, with the bricking of the exterior being the next obvious milestone now underway.

My camera got a tour of the Park Chelsea this afternoon, and everyone better appreciate the 12 flights of stairs I walked up to get some of these pictures. (I do and I do and I do for you people.) It is expected to open in Spring 2015.

See the gallery for more photos.

This is in preparation for what the company "hopes" is a start date later this summer for its 324-unit residential building at 1111 New Jersey (I'm not quite ready to call it "The Gallery at Capitol Riverfront" just yet).

Note that the building will not be directly on top of the Metro station, as 55 M is over at the west entrance. But the big concrete retaining walls and small hill of grass will go away, and the new building will be right at street level.

If 1111 does in fact get underway (my caution is well earned!), it will join the now-lengthy lineup of under-construction residential projects in the few years: Twelve12, Park Chelsea, River Parc, Parcel N, the Lofts at Capitol Quarter, and 800 New Jersey (which should be getting started Any Minute Now, and did in fact get its excavation permit last week). Including 1111 NJ and 800 NJ, that makes about 2,100 new units in the active pipeline. (And maybe 320 more if Grosvenor gets the residential and hotel part of Ballpark Square off the ground this year like it seems to be planning.)

That's a lot of new neighbors....

The trapeze school is currently occupying the site, but they will be moving to the corner of New Jersey and Tingey once the NGA building demolition is completed.

This would be not only the first condo building at the Yards, but the first condo building in the neighborhood since Velocity was finished back in 2009. Judging by my inbox over the years, the demand for ownership opportunities in the neighborhood is strong.

The press release about the project gives some small amount of detail: "These luxury condominium residences will echo the unique industrial past of the site both in building architecture and unit finishes. A range of residence sizes are currently planned from studios to two-bedroom units. A rooftop resident’s lounge, outdoor kitchen and fire pits, private terraces and balconies, and front desk staff are just a few of the features."

Hoffman is a busy company these days, since they are the behind the massive Wharf development in Southwest. The company has been tied to the Yards before, having been attached way back when to the renovation of Building 202 (the big red brick building now just behind Twelve12), but that project seems to be in perpetual turnaround.

There won't be shovels in the ground next week--scuttlebutt says that Hoffman could start the project in late 2015 (about the time that the under-construction 327-unit apartment building across the street delivers), but there's nothing stated officially one way or the other.

This would be the fourth residential building at the Yards, following the 170-unit Foundry Lofts, the about-to-be-completed 218-unit Twelve12, and the aforementioned 327-unit building on Parcel N, which needs a name desperately.

The site, on the northern part of the hole and just south of 55 M Street, was going to be the hotel portion of Monument Realty's block-long Half Street development.

This is the third time in the past few years that Lehman has taken ownership of property in Monument's once-vast holdings just north of the ballpark. Lehman was one of Monument's investment partners on these properties, in addition to being the lender.

In both of the other cases, the "foreclosure" by Lehman ended up being a precursor to the sale of the property--both at 50 M, bought by investors in May 2013 and now the site of the planned Homewood Suites hotel, and at 1244 South Capitol, bought by JBG in late 2013 and likely to be a residential project. (The company's 55 M Street office building was sold in late 2013 without a Lehman takeback.)

Whether this is another precursor to another sale, we will have to see.

As of now, Monument retains an ownership stake in only two properties in the Ballpark District: the southern half of Monument Valley, where a residential project was planned, and the old Domino's site at One M Street, where back in 2012 Monument had been starting to shepherd an office project through zoning.

This is part of the Capitol Gateway Overlay Review that projects in many parts of the neighborhood are required to go through, to make sure that new buildings meet the many goals for design that were set when the area was just a gleam in the Office of Planning's eye.

The filing mentions the basics: the hotel will be 11 stories/40,000 square feet, of which about 4,800 square feet will be reserved for ground-floor retail. There will be a pool and fitness center, a rooftop terrace, and a green roof. And if the current design becomes the final design, the project would most likely meet LEED Silver requirements.

Also included were some early elevations, such as the one at right and a few others that I snagged and have put on a newly thrown-together 50 M Street project page. (And yes, it's in the new JDLand design format--I can't be bothered to build a separate one in the old layout. If it's not displaying right for you, drop me a line and tell me what browser you're using.)

The only special exception to the CG Overlay being sought is that the developers are asking to include only 40 parking spaces, when 53 would be the normal base requirement, because of the hotel's "urban location" directly across from the west entrance of the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station. Judging from the drawings, the underground parking entrance will be on Cushing Street; and the developers stated in the filings that they would be building a new sidewalk along the property's frontage on that street.

ANC 6D will be reviewing the project at its next meeting, on Monday, May 12 at 7 pm at 200 I St. SE., in advance of the Zoning Commission's as-yet unscheduled hearing.

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.)

Grosvenor's part of the project includes a 325-unit apartment building, a 170-room hotel by an as-yet-unnamed operator, and 22,000 square feet of retail, with some of the retail in a planned two-story building at the corner of 1st and N. (Skanska is developing 99 M, the office building at the north end of Ballpark Square; the under-construction L-shaped Hampton Inn toward the south end of the block is a separate development.)

There's a colorful brochure with highlights and renderings of the "shovel-ready" project (I especially like the fake "McCaffery's Irish Pub"), along with the basic information page, which has a gallery with a few not-quite-high-res renderings of the buildings' interiors. There's also the details on the amenities, which will include "a 5,000 sf fitness center, indoor/outdoor clubroom, multi-level rooftop amenity space with two pools, grilling stations, stadium seating and a dog run."

The documents say that Grosvenor is expecting to start construction this summer, which tracks with what I heard when doing my shoeleather parking lot reporting a few weeks ago.

Grosvenor also now has a page about the project on its own web site.

Let me look in my sofa cushions....