The Capitol Gateway Zoning Overlay requires buildings just north of the ballpark to "minimize unarticulated walls," and there is no doubt that this design, by ODA Architecture of New York, passes that test, with "extensive modulation" through the use of "balconies [and] extensive landscaping incorporated into the elevations." (This mondo-articulated approach to building design seems to be an ODA hallmark, as you can see from the company's portfolio.)

The condo portion, on the south side of the building at Half and N facing the ballpark, would have approximately 224 1- and 2-bedroom units, while the rental portion on the north end would have 200 units, mostly studio and 1-bedroom units but also with about 10 3-bedroom units. (And the units will have irrigation systems for the balconies, to keep that greenery nice and lush, though I'd still suggest branded watering cans placed strategically as well.)

The rendering above is the view at Half and N, like you were standing at the Nats Park ticket booths looking to the northwest, on the site currently home to the southern portion of the Fairgrounds. Here's a few more drawings, looking down Half Street toward the ballpark (maybe from just a little south of Buffalo Wild Wings) and looking down from On High.

The residential entrances would be on Van Street, facing JBG's just-underway residential building at 1244 South Capitol, which also has two stories of retail, as you can see in the rendering at below left, looking north on Van from N. In the below-right rendering, you can see at left the "Via," a wide pedestrians-only alley that will run along the north end of this project and the south end of Brandywine's planned 25 M Street office building.

For zoning geeks, this filing is actually a modification, revising the design that Akridge received approvals for back in 2009, which planned one office building and one residential building for this portion of the west side of Half Street. A graphic included in the new filing gives a handy siteplan comparison of the modifications, and made me laugh as I realized the line drawing of the new design looks like it could have been drawn on an Etch-a-Sketch. These massing drawings are also worth a look, to give an idea of exactly how the building undulates along Half, as well as how the condo (green) and rental (orange) units are situated.

The only thing that will probably dismay observers is that it's likely the project won't get underway until after the 2016 baseball season ends, making it likely that it won't be completed by the time the Major League Baseball All-Star Game arrives at Nats Park in July of 2018, though the exterior should at least be finished by then.

And because JBG gets a gold star for the thoroughness of its filing, I'll just toss in a few more of the renderings they included, showing the building's interior courtyard (open to Van Street and the west) and the anticipated view from inside the ballpark, with the view of this new building flanked by 1244 South Capitol and the Jair Lynch condo/rental/retail project coming to the Half Street Hole site.

I've added a few of these renderings to the project page, which of course also has a big pile of Before photos and some history of the lot--part of the corner of Half and N has a history that's a bit spicier than we normally discuss around here.

Next, we'll wait to see how the zoning commissioners feel about such an outside-the-box design.

Also now appearing on Half Street (below left) is a spiffy logo for Due South, the restaurant coming this year to the Lumber Shed at the Yards. (The restaurant is a Bo Blair enterprise, as is the Fairgrounds, hence the cooperative crossover deal.) And, one block to the east (below right), it didn't take long for Grosvenor to make its F1rst presence known.

(Yes, I finally went out and took pictures. Be prepared for the coming onslaught.)

JBG has acquired the southern two-thirds of the block, far better known as the shipper container-ringed location of the Fairgrounds, directly across N Street from Nats Park and also directly across Van Street from JBG's own under-development 1244 South Capitol residential project.

Akridge apparently is maintaining a minority stake in that portion of the site, but JBG will "take over day-to-day development duties." WBJ says Akridge is also apparently "under contract to recapitalize the northern third of Half Street."

After Akridge acquired the site in 2008--which was once home to WMATA's Southeastern Bus Garage--plans were run through the Zoning Fun Factory for two office buildings on the north end of the site and a 280-unit residential building on the south end (along with 55,000 square feet of retail), but WBJ says that JBG's portion of the block is now expected to include two residential buildings, with one office building on the land Akridge still owns along M Street. Plus "dramatic retail."

WBJ pegs the sale price for the JBG portion of the site at $45 million.

This is not unexpected, as news had surfaced back in September that Akridge was looking for a new partner to develop the site.

It also dovetails with the sale of Monument Valley on the east side of Half Street to the MacFarlane/Lynch development team, which is early in the process of bringing residential offerings along its own portion of N Street.

You can look at my Akridge Half Street project page for reminders of what had been planned for the site, though I look at that page (and my Monument Valley page) more as a marvel of the tens of thousands of words I have expended on plans for these sites over the past 10 years.

The Washington Business Journal, having now heard the same rumors I heard a few weeks ago (hence my sneaky comment in my Monument post about "whether Akridge is currently making any moves"), is reporting that Akridge is working to market its Half Street project to potential investors, with the company needing to replace a capital partner "that desires to leave the project." WBJ says that Akridge "expects to have some closure on a new partner by the fourth quarter," and that "All forms of transaction are on the table."

Akridge has been planning since 2008 to build two office buildings, a residential building, and 55,000 square feet of retail on the west side of the street. Whether those plans will stay the same once capital is found, well, We Shall See.