Not far away, at the Yards' Parcel N, concrete has appeared in the large hole in the ground (left), meaning that the digging down is almost over, and the rising up should start before too long (its tower crane permit application was approved not too long ago). And in a totally different illustration of progress (right), the sales-trailer-to-be for the River Parc apartment project appears to now be in its proper place.

(I wanted to get a photograph of the outdoor patio signage at the soon-to-arrive Ice Cream Jubilee at the Lumber Shed, but the hordes standing in line on Saturday to get into the Jazz Fest completely blocked the view.)

I recorded the current state of the Florida Rock site across from the ballpark {insert Logan's Run reference here}, because the developers have now filed applications for both sheeting and building permits for the site's first-phase apartment building. This doesn't necessarily mean the project is close to getting started, but it deprives me of my snarky "they haven't even applied for their permits yet" response whenever someone mentions that it might get underway soon.

Finally, I present to you official evidence of the new 11th Street SE exit from the freeway, which I'm doing mainly as a mea culpa for not having gotten over there to photograph the ramp and environs, and to hopefully shame myself into action.

I also deserve additional shaming, or at least parallel shaming, for not yet documenting that the Southeast Freeway signage I have griped about for years has been fixed.

My Building 213 Expanded Photo Archive gives you the before-and-afters from more than 50 angles, which still probably isn't every spot in the neighborhood that has/had the building in its vista.

And, late in the week another long-sought demolition wrapped up, as seen in this terribly exciting before-and-after:

As scheduled, Sweetgreen opened at Twelve12 a little over a week ago. Here's the outside looking in, and the inside looking out:

As for Twelve12 itself, work is still on-going at the Vida empire, the Teeter, and the upper levels of the residential, but the streetscapes are finished, and the northeast corner of 4th and Tingey now looks well filled in:

(Judging by the ads, it appears that the opening date for the Penthouse Pool club has been pushed back to August.)

First, the obligatory Building 213 demolition shots. Let's compare the state of things on June 2 (left) and June 14 (right):

It's also fun to move back a block and get a better view from the east side, from November 2007 to this weekend. Where did all that sky come from?

And of course there's your basic Om Nom Nom shots:

There's also more peeks at other spots. First, I bring you the holes in the ground at the Hampton Inn on 1st Street (left) and the new residential building at Yards Parcel N (right):

Next, the still-papered over Sweetgreen at Twelve12, in advance of its opening this week, and a nose-pressed-up-against-the-dirty-window shot of the progress at the Harris Teeter in the same block, scheduled to open Oct. 1:

And I'll wrap up with the two photos below. At left, Twelve12's all-but-completed new service nestled between the new building and Building 202. And at right, on 1st south of K, the trailer that arrived this week, which is the one I posted about on Friday--and my guess that it is to be the leasing office for River Parc across the street has been confirmed.

The links to the project pages will show you these photos and many more....

The purveyors of food that is more healthy than should be allowed by law* are planning a soft opening on Wednesday, June 18, from 11 am to 4 pm, where you can pay what you want for food ordered during their test run, with proceeds going to FreshFarm Markets.

Then it's anticipated the restaurant will open on Thursday, June 19 for regular business, with hours of 10:30 am to 10 pm seven days a week.

This is Sweetgreen's twelfth location in the DC area. It's in the same block as Vida Fitness, TaKorean, and Harris Teeter, all of which should be opening over the coming months. Twelve12 expects its first move-ins this month.

* MANAGING WATER: The EPA has released the case study about Canal Park entitled Integrating Stormwater Management and Public Amenities through a Public-Private Partnership, saying that the park "exemplifies how a public-private partnership can be used to create a public amenity that enhances the community and provides environmental benefits."

* FRONTING WATER: I came *thisclose* to posting a link that just popped up in my RSS reader about how the developers of the Florida Rock site just said that they expect to begin construction on Phase I of RiverFront on the Anacostia in "mid-2014"--but then I thought to look at the date on the release, and it was May 7. So I guess could still technically be considered news, but we're now reaching "mid-2014" with no sign of movement....

* CROSSING WATER: A reminder that tonight at 6:30 is your chance to meet the four finalists in the Bridge Park design competition. The event is at 1801 Mississippi Ave., SE.

And in the No Water Connection At All Department:

* COMMUNITY CENTER: Tomorrow night, Wednesday, June 11, is the public meeting on the results of the Capper Community Center survey.

* VAN NESS: Greater Greater Education looks at the drive to reopen Van Ness Elementary School.

"Finally, the site is located about a block east of one entrance to the Navy Yard Metro station, and across M Street from the west entrance[.] Both entrances can be quite congested, particularly during rush hours and on baseball stadium game/event days. WMATA has indicated a desire to increase capacity and convenience to passengers by providing an additional entrance to the Navy Yard Metro station on the south side of M Street on Parcel A. To faciliate this, OP is proposing that, as part of Zoning Commission review of any development on Parcel A, facilitation in the site and building design for a new entrance be provided - this would not require [Forest City Washington], the developer, to provide the new entrance, but rather would ensure that any construction on the site would accommodate this additional entrance."

Not something that would happen anytime soon, I imagine, but good to know that it's at least being thought about.

I put a hard hat on my hard head for the first time in what feels like forever, and got my first look inside the soon-to-open Twelve12 apartment building on 4th Street at the Yards.

There's still a lot of finishing touches underway, but I got some photos of the model unit as well as some of the other parts of the residential portion of the development.

Forest City says that the building is somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter leased, with the first move-ins coming later this month. Current prices range from $2,100 to $3,100 for studios/1 BRs, and from $3,500 to $4,500 for the two-bedroom units.

I didn't get inside the various retail offerings (though I did press my nose up against the windows). Sweetgreen, TaKorean, and the various components of the Vida Fitness empire (including Aura Spa, Bang Salon, and the Penthouse Pool Club) should be opening over the next few months, and the Harris Teeter Twitter account recently pegged Oct. 1 as the opening day for its new home at 4th and M.

Go look at the entire gallery for lots more shots.

It's a lot of building to knock down, but a milestone of sorts was reached late last week at Building 213 when the demolition punched through from the west to the east, splitting the remnants in two and giving a peek at the vistas to come once it all comes tumbling down.

So I've added a bunch of new photos of the destruction to my Yards Parcel A page, and I also think the destruction is now far enough along to add the 171st entry to my Demolished Buildings Gallery.

In addition, I've scoured the archives and have come up with more than more than 40 vantage points where Spooky Central has been visible from and will be for just a bit longer.

But if you want a few more moments of the building not looking torn apart, go stand about halfway between M and N on first and look eastward above the "Event Parking" sign, as I did above. (I didn't even notice this quirk until I got home and looked at the photo.)

A few blocks away another man-made creation that won't be much lamented is being dismantled, as seen here in its before-and-after, with the Park Chelsea now looming:

Then there's some signage I have needed to officially record, that of the Subway Café and the Big Stick at 20 M (which got its tenant layout building permit approved recently), and the new Homewood Suites banner at 50 M. Plus there's now a tower crane at the Hampton Inn site.

To bring some green to the page, I'll close with this lovely photo of the increasingly lush Monument Valley just north of the ballpark.

And I'll have an even more interesting batch of photos coming soon.

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.