When finished (and it doesn't look like it's going to take long), the church will be the neighborhood's Demolished Building #172 since I started watching back in 2003.

This is a step on the path to construction of Donohoe's 1111 New Jersey apartment building, which should truly commence Any Minute Now.

At Twelve12, where the first residents have begun moving in and Sweetgreen is now open, TaKorean looks to be making progress toward its own launch:

Up above TaKorean, VIDA Fitness's signs have gone up, with an opening looming probably in August.

(And, no photos, but 100 Montaditos at the Boilermaker Shops appears to finally have its building permit.)

Over at 1st and L, fence signage has sprouted for the River Parc apartment building (announcing a web site at, you guessed it, riverparc.com, though there's nothing pertinent there just yet). Plus the leasing trailer is now landscaped and outside the Akridge fence.

In grocery store news, I haven't yet posted photos of the fun artwork hanging on the historic brick wall outside of Harris Teeter's space at 4th and M (below left). And below right, the Whole Foods/800 New Jersey hole in the ground is indeed being dug. (Never say I withhold important information.) Teeter is expected to open this fall, while Whole Foods is not going to be seen before 2017.

But of course, the showiest action in the neighborhood continues to be the long (LONG) farewell to Spooky Building 213, which is starting to edge into How Can We Miss You If You Won't Go Away? territory. But the very south end of the structure began its march into the sunset this weekend, which means that, yes, the bat is about to vanish.

Finally, given the vagaries of both Mother Nature and the summer calendar, it's possible I might not get too many more shots of St. Matthew's church at New Jersey and L, with its raze permit now approved and demolition expected to get underway in the next couple of weeks to make way for 1111 New Jersey. So, maybe a final before-and-after, comparing the view eight years apart:

It closed a few months ago, and was bought earlier this year by Donohoe, and will be torn down so that its footprint can be part of the new 1111 New Jersey Avenue residential building expected to get underway soon. (It's this project that is the reason for the scaffolding around the east entrance to the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station.)

The project's shoring/sheeting/excavation permit was also issued last week, so the bureaucratic wheels are definitely turning.

(I will eventually start calling it the Gallery at Capitol Riverfront, but give me a little while on that.)

LATE-DAY UPDATE: Look for the razing of the church to begin in the next couple of weeks.

Also, after getting enough questions about it, I'll post confirmation that Ann's Beauty and Wigs is not part of the 1111 footprint, and so will continue to provide for the neighborhood's cosmetic needs.

* HAMPTON INN: I can report that dirt is indeed being moved (if not necessary removed) from the site of the Hampton Inn on the northwest corner of 1st and N. This is the L-shaped hotel that will wrap around a planned two-story retail building right on the corner (which is not yet under construction). But, in case you weren't around pre-2008 and want to know what this hotel is "displacing," I give to you a peek at the hotel's N Street and 1st Street frontages in their previous lives: