Just a small update on the movement that appears to be happening on Square 696, which is the block bounded by 1st, Half, I, and K that is currently home to a firewood lot, a towing company, and a car repair shop. I mentioned a week ago that "DRI Development Office/Retail" signs appeared on the fence surrounding the firewood lot at 1st and I--within the last day or two, the same signs are now hanging on the southwest corner of the block (at Half and K). I have no more word on what's transpiring in this spot (believe me, I'm trying), but this could be what the Washington Business Journal was talking about in a recent piece when it mentioned "a block on the corner of Half and K" being "among the handful of property sales in the developing ballpark district as high valuations lure the current crop of owners to sell." The four parcels on the block have been owned up to now by the Pedas family (who sold Square 699N one block to the south in 2005) and also Potomac Development Corporation, and there's no indication yet in the land records of any sales. This is a big block, as the four parcels total around 74,000 square feet--with I Street likely to become a prime east-west artery across South Capitol through Southeast and Southwest, and with JPI's two residential projects going up directly to its north and east, it's a location that I've been surprised hasn't sprouted any projects sooner. More as soon as I get it.

Let's see.... The most interesting news of the day is that, as of 2:00 this afternoon, there were already folks camping out in front of the Capitol Quarter sales office, six days ahead of the next offering of five market-rate townhouses. Next, I took some new photos of the Nation demolition (which is not exactly proceeding with lightning speed)--check either my 1015 Half Street page for the basics, or the Photo Archive for Half and K and Half and L for additional shots. I also updated with what might be my final M Street photos for the DOT HQ, recording that both New Jersey and 4th Street are now open to traffic south of M (a couple weeks after the stoplights were turned on). And I took photos of the new DRI sign at 1st and I (though the photos don't show them real well, and one's already falling down)--they say "DRI Development Services, LLC | A Transwestern Company | Office/Retail." Still trying to get some info on what's coming there. Anyway, you can poke around those pages, or you can look at all the photos from today that I've posted and then click on the intersection/direction links to compare today's shots to what that view has looked like over the past few years.

Today I saw for the first time new signs hung on the fence surrounding the firewood lot on the southwest corner of 1st and I Streets, emblazoned with "DRI Development/Office and Retail" (or some such). I have absolutely no information on this--this lot has been owned for quite some time by the Potomac Development Corporation, but I don't see any records as of yet in the online public records to indicate a sale has taken place, so perhaps it's a joint venture. Or not. I don't know. Anyway, I'll try to see what I can find out (whispers in my ear always welcome!), and hopefully some light can be shed on perhaps ANOTHER project getting started in the North of M section of Near Southeast, to go along with JPI's two residential towers, ADC Builders' Square 699N, Faison's Onyx on First condos, and Opus East's 100 M office building (and maybe the Nation site, too?), and perhaps something on the Sunoco lot by Monument Realty.

From today's print edition of the Washington Business Journal (subscribers only for now), word arrives of two big Near Southeast real estate transactions: Opus East, developer of 100 M Street, is on track to purchase the 1015 Half Street/Nation site from Potomac Investment Properties (the story says Republic Investment, but I don't think that's correct). And Monument Realty is reportedly adding to its vast Hood holdings by buying the old Sunoco lot at 50 M Street. (I have heard rumors of these two items for weeks/months, but it turns out what I was hearing wasn't 100% accurate--score one for waiting for confirmation) The article says that Opus plans to retain the plans for a 440,000-sq-ft office building with retail on the Nation site, and are rumored to be paying $100 a square foot; Monument has not disclosed what it might do with the Sunoco site or what it's paying. The article also has some vague mention of some other transaction on the "corner of Half and K", but doesn't say which corner (the northeast and northwest ones are the two possibilities), or who's buying it. More on these transactions (such as actual prices) as I get it. (And yes, I'll have photos of the Nation demolition as soon as the sun comes out.)

Thanks to the eyes on the ground for the news that Nation is indeed now being demolished--I'm out of pocket for another day or so, but will have a full report on all the North of M demolition (including also Square 699N and the Nexus/909 New Jersey site) by the end of the weekend.

Sometime within the last few weeks another of the auto repair shops along First Street closed; this time it's the United Transmission Center, at 1004 First (the red brick building at right in these photos). The property was bought in September by Akridge, but the company hasn't announced any plans for the 11,000 sq ft of land it now owns on the east side of First (it doesn't own the Market Deli on the south end, nor the two other garages on the north end, but now owns everything in between). See my North of M map to see what's on the boards in the section of Near Southeast north of M and west of New Jersey--lots of land now owned by developers, but still waiting to see plans begin to move forward on most of the lots. UPDATE: I should note that the garage has moved to a new location in Northeast, so it hasn't shut down altogether.

The agenda for last night's ANC 6D meeting wasn't made available before meeting time, so I decided to take a chance and skip the session (even though I normally adore subjecting myself to the psychological equivalent of having 2-inch nails driven into my eyeballs for a couple of hours). And it sounds like I picked a good one to miss, because my sources tell me that once again a fight over an alley closing dominated the proceedings, this time being another go-round on Monument Realty's 55 M Street project on the west side of Square 701. Monument was looking for the ANC's support in advance of their Jan. 11 Zoning Commission hearing; last night the ANC's commissioners voiced concerns (which were also voiced in the past when Monument asked for support for its alley closing bill) that Monument's proffered community benefits package is insufficient--as currently constructed, it includes a $10,000 contribution to the Southwest Neighborhood Association's Scholarship Fund, a $50,000 contribution to the local schools, and a commitment to set aside a certain percentage of the residential project for affordable housing. Monument's standpoint is that this project is a "Matter of Right" development, meaning that there is no requirement that they do anything for the community, but they are doing so, anyway. The discussion has been tabled until the ANC's January 8 meeting, and the commmissioners also passed a resolution asking the City Council to table the alley closing bill (which already passed unanimously last week on its first reading and is scheduled for its final reading and vote on Dec. 19) to allow negotiations to continue. In less fractious news, there was apparently a presentation by WMATA about its Joint Development Opportunities around the Navy Yard station, including their work with Monument at 55 M Street (on top of the Half Street station entrance) as well as the Chiller Plant at Half and L and a small bit of land near the New Jersey Avenue station entrance. Am hoping to get more information about this....

The DC Property Sales database runs about six weeks behind the calendar, so it's only now reporting that in late September the John Akridge Companies paid $7 million for six properties totalling 11,145 sq ft on the east side of First Street between K and L, currently home to an auto repair shop and an empty lot. Akridge has owned since the late 1980s an empty lot totalling 3,934 sq ft on this site, so they now own everything in this block of 1st Street except for the Market Deli land on the corner of 1st and L and the two car repair shops on the corner of 1st and K. No announcement so far as to any plans for this land. See my North of M map to orient yourself--and note that the photo at the top of the North of M page shows the block in question, with the two beige brick buildings at left being owned by the William Cohen/Willco Construction Company, and the red brick building and the empty lots to its right now owned by Akridge.

The city's Issued Building Permit data feed just updated (and guys, isn't it time to admit you're only updating it weekly and not daily?), and lo and behold there's an issued permit listed for 1015 Half Street, the site of the defunct Nation nightclub, where Potomac Investment Properties is planning 420,000 sq ft of office space with 20,000 sq ft of retail. The permit info seems a bit incomplete--no actual permit number, some other info missing on the complete entry, and the building permit application submitted two years ago still shows one discipline needing to be approved. But I note that there's also a Public Space Permit that went into effect last week for water and sewer excavation at 1015 Half, a permit that can sometimes signal preparations for demolition (because the water and sewer lines into the property need to be capped before a building can be demolished). But certainly even the existence of these permits--along with the sign on the north side of the Nation building from Cushman and Wakefield advertising office space "coming soon"--would seem to indicate that movement isn't far away. The other half of this block (where the parking lot is, fronting South Capitol) is owned by the Lerner family, who are proposing 1000 South Capitol (320,000 sq ft office building) on that lot, but have not announced any timetable. See my North of M map to get your bearings. (And I guess it might be time for 1015 Half to get its own page. It never stops!) Anyone with the scoop (c'mon, Mr. Gewirz, I know you're lurking out there) feel free to fill me in.

Today's Post writes about the two lots in Near Southeast that WMATA has announced will be made available for private development, the 14,000-sq-ft lot on the Southeast corner of Half and L and a 4,000-ft patch around the eastern entrance to the Navy Yard station at New Jersey and M. Not really too much in the piece that I didn't address in my own entry eight weeks ago when WMATA announced the search, but it's also a nice way to be able to post here that the deadline for developers to submit their proposals is Nov. 17. The article does mention, however, that sometimes these joint development opportunities don't always move like wildfire: "Once WMATA chooses a developer, the proposals must be reviewed by local jurisdictions and the Metro board. Getting the appropriate permits can be a lengthy process. Developers at the Prince George's Plaza Green Line station were selected by WMATA in 2000 but broke ground only last year."