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Near Southeast DC Past News Items: The Yards
See JDLand's The Yards Project Page
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In the Pipeline
25 M
Yards/Parcel I
Chiller Site Condos
Yards/Parcel A
1333 M St.
More Capper Apts.
Yards/DC Water site
New Marine Barracks
Nat'l Community Church
Factory 202/Yards
SC1100
Completed
Thompson Hotel ('20)
West Half ('19)
Novel South Capitol ('19)
Yards/Guild Apts. ('19)
Capper/The Harlow ('19)
New DC Water HQ ('19)
Yards/Bower Condos ('19)
Virginia Ave. Tunnel ('19)
99 M ('18)
Agora ('18)
1221 Van ('18)
District Winery ('17)
Insignia on M ('17)
F1rst/Residence Inn ('17)
One Hill South ('17)
Homewood Suites ('16)
ORE 82 ('16)
The Bixby ('16)
Dock 79 ('16)
Community Center ('16)
The Brig ('16)
Park Chelsea ('16)
Yards/Arris ('16)
Hampton Inn ('15)
Southeast Blvd. ('15)
11th St. Bridges ('15)
Parc Riverside ('14)
Twelve12/Yards ('14)
Lumber Shed ('13)
Boilermaker Shops ('13)
Camden South Cap. ('13)
Canal Park ('12)
Capitol Quarter ('12)
225 Virginia/200 I ('12)
Foundry Lofts ('12)
1015 Half Street ('10)
Yards Park ('10)
Velocity Condos ('09)
Teague Park ('09)
909 New Jersey Ave. ('09)
55 M ('09)
100 M ('08)
Onyx ('08)
70/100 I ('08)
Nationals Park ('08)
Seniors Bldg Demo ('07)
400 M ('07)
Douglass Bridge Fix ('07)
US DOT HQ ('07)
20 M ('07)
Capper Seniors 1 ('06)
Capitol Hill Tower ('06)
Courtyard/Marriott ('06)
Marine Barracks ('04)
 
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Due South Opening Softly, Then Opening for Real Next Week
They're still putting their makeup on, but after a soft opening over the next few days, Due South is planning to open its doors for real on Monday, Aug. 17 in the northwest corner of the Lumber Shed at 3rd and Water in the Yards.
The southern-themed restaurant is the latest from the Bo Blair empire, he of the Fairgrounds, and Jetties, and the Bayou, which is where Due South executive chef Rusty Holman made his home before moving to the Yards.
It will be just dinner service starting at 5 pm during the first few weeks, with weekday lunch and weekend brunch offerings coming probably in early September.
The official web site isn't up and running right this instant, but once it is, you should be able to see the menu and more details.
When I visited this morning, there was a lot of work still going on, but they were nice enough to let me take a few photos while I dodged the crowd of workers bringing in the cartons of eggs and stocking the bar.
 

Philz Coffee Announced as First Arris Tenant; Pacers Running Confirmed
Forest City is announcing today that San Francisco-based Philz Coffee has been signed as the first tenant at Arris, the 327-unit residential building now getting its upper levels of glass on the southwest corner of 4th and Tingey Streets, SE.
Philz is described as a company "on a mission to better people’s days by reinventing the coffee drinking experience," with not only "an impressive array of exclusive, handcrafted, flavorful blends," but also excellent customer service.
DC is the first place Philz is expanding outside of California (with another outlet coming soon to Adams Morgan), and this move also will bring back a coffee shop to the Yards, after the recent closing of Buzz Bakery.
The Philz will be located in a 2,400-square-foot space on Tingey Street across from the Boilermaker Shops, and will open in spring 2016. (Arris's retail spaces total 19,000 square feet.)
Pre-leasing at Arris is expected to begin this fall, with move-ins targeted for early 2016, according to Forest City.
Also today Forest City is finally officially confirming the news that's been out there for a while, that locally-based Pacers Running will be taking the final retail space at the Boilermaker Shops, with an opening expected in October. Forest City says that "While Pacers Running stores carry top-of-the-line footwear, as well as running and exercise clothing and gear, along with personalized expert advice and fitting, they have also branched out to be a major organizer and promoter in the area of events aimed at runners who are serious and even not so serious about their running."
Also tucked into the press release is that Due South is expected to open in "late August," and that there is no announced opening date for Nicoletta Pizzeria.
 

Showplace Icon Theaters Lease Signed; Projected 2018 Opening
The news that so many people have been waiting for just crossed the transom, with a press release from Forest City announcing that a lease has at last been signed with Showplace Icon Theaters and that construction on the planned 16-screen, 1,500-seat "premium cinema complex" on DC Water land just east of Nats Park is "expected to begin in early 2016 with opening projected for early 2018."
From the release: "Each theater in the new Showplace Icon at The Yards will feature wall-to-wall screens and premium sound, deluxe leather recliner seats and reserved seating. The facility will also have exclusive VIP levels with adults-only access and tables for enjoying food and beverages inside the auditoriums. The theatre's Lobby Lounge will feature a full bar, along with a tasty menu of appetizers, small plates, snacks and desserts for enjoying before, during or after the show." The theater will also have its own 320-space parking garage.
Word of Forest City's plans for a movie theater first leaked out in the spring of 2013, but it wasn't until just a few months ago that the deal to take control of this portion of the DC Water site was locked down. Though note that the press release also says that "the theatre construction start is dependent upon DC Water’s timetable for vacating that portion of the property."
There are also plans for two residential buildings along 1st Street, though no timeline for those has been announced.
(PS: deep in the release, it mentions that the Due South restaurant at the Lumber Shed is expected to open "this summer." No date for Nicoletta, though. It also says that the PN Hoffman condo building and Forest City's apartment building immediately to its south on the current trapeze school lot are expected to break ground in early 2016.)
 

Getting Their Faces Put On: Arris, Lofts at CQ, and Others
The holes in the ground have been surveyed, so now it's time to catch up on the latest neighborhood façade action, starting at 4th and Tingey, where Forest City's Arris apartment building at the Yards is now starting to get the floor-to-ceiling glass panels that will surround the building's top six floors. The photo on the left, from Tingey Street, shows how the glass reflects the sky and clouds when caught at the proper angle; the photo at right, from Water Street, shows them as being a little less opaque. Either way, the glass makes for a substantial contrast with the brick of the building's lower floors.
Speaking of brick, up at 7th and L the Lofts at Capitol Quarter mixed-income apartment project is just starting to get its masonry on--though that's an awful lot of square footage to cover, as you look at that loooooong wall stretching west from 7th Street.
While the beer garden coming to 8th and L known as the Brig will win no awards for its speed of construction, progress is evident (below left), with light fixtures now in place along the roof line. Over at 5th and K the Community Center continues to move closer to looking like its renderings.
And thanks to everyone who stopped to say hi while I was roaming around on Sunday, though I can't imagine how people guessed that the old lady standing in the street taking pictures of construction was me.
 

Banfield Pet Hospital Now 'Soft' Opened at the Yards
It took a little while longer than it seemed like it would, but I have confirmed with my own eyes that the Banfield Pet Hospital on Tingey Street east of 4th has finally opened its doors.
I inquired within (ignoring the bewildered look of the nice lady at the front desk when I explained that I was merely the "neighborhood blogger" requesting information), and apparently they are dubbing this a soft opening, so they are not offering the full slate of care just yet.
In the coming weeks--perhaps in late July--there will be an official Grand Opening.
Banfield will be open seven days a week, from 9 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday.
With the spaces at Twelve12 and the Boilermaker Shops all but filled, those desperately hungry for news of more retail at the Yards will probably start casting glances toward Forest City's next delivery, the 325-unit Arris apartment building and its 20,000 square feet of ground-floor space (though there's been no announcements as yet, and the building is still a number of months away from completion).
 

Pacers Running Coming to the Boilermaker Shops
From HillNow: "Pacers Running is expected to arrive on Tingey Street SE in August, the chain’s chief executive officer, Kathy Dalby, said today. "
It will be coming to the Boilermaker Shops, and will fill the last available retail space in that building, which opened in 2013. It will be the seventh Pacers location nationwide, and fifth in the DC area, and will join Unleashed, Hugh & Crye, GNC, and Wells Cleaners in the lineup of current non-food offerings in the rehabbed building.
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More posts: Boilermaker Shops/Yards, Retail, The Yards
 

Upcoming Biking, Music, Opera, Fitness, and Imbibing Activities
It's a fairly sizeable lineup of events on the neighborhood calendar over the next few days:
* BIKE TO WORK DAY: The forecast looks swell for DC's annual Bike to Work Day, on Friday, May 15. Canal Park is one of the pit stops, from 7 to 9 am, at which there will be refreshments and food, plus you'll have a chance to win prizes if you have registered. (Looks like the free t-shirts are all already claimed, though.) Read about commuter convoys, ride buddies and more at the official web site.
* FRIDAY NIGHT CONCERTS: The Friday night Summer Concert Series at Yards Park kicks off this week, with the R&B stylings of Jimi Smooth. The concerts begin each week at 6:30 pm, and the Grassy Knoll fills up pretty quickly, so arrive early!
* OPERA IN THE OUTFIELD: Saturday is Cinderella Day at Nats Park, thanks to the the return of the annual Opera in the Outfield simulcast. Gates open at 5 pm, with a slew of pre-performance activities and entertainment, including a Royal Parade that will allow "kids of all ages" to arrive in costume and march around the lower concourse. The actual simulcast begins at 7 pm, and it's all Rain or Shine, and all free and open to the public. Note that sitting in the outfield now requires a wristband handed out on a first-come first-serve basis. More details here.
* GLUG GLUG GLUG: This most assuredly is not free, but Canal Park on Saturday will host "ABV," an afternoon of "outdoor imbibing" of the "finest craft beverages," put together by Greg Engert and friends. It will run from 3 to 8 pm, rain or shine, and tickets are $20 at the door or in special advance packages. The full list of beer, wine, and spirits to be available is here.
* FITNESS IN THE FRONT: Technically not a weekend event, but you may need to toss in a workout session or two after a big weekend--and just your luck, the lineup of outside summer fitness classes gets underway on Monday, May 19. Brought to you by VIDA Fitness and DC BFIT and located in Yards and Canal Parks, the classes range from Yoga to Zumba to "high energy" to Boot Camps to a once-a-month family fitness session. The schedule is here, and classes are free and open to the public.
* MARGARITA WARS: In case you didn't get your fill of drinking in a neighborhood park at ABV, City Paper's third annual Margarita Wars is slated for May 21 at 6:30 pm at the Yards Park. "You be the judge as the region's top mixologists compete for your vote in a winner take all battle for 'rita supremacy." Tickets are $25 and include unlimited margarita tastings. Also included: one of those extra-special tequila-fueled hangovers. (But you'll want to recover by May 30, when the Tour de Fat extravaganza returns to Yards Park.)
 

Winery Looking to Come to Water Street - Time for New Building(s)?
A Friday afternoon post over at City Paper's Young and Hungry site broke the news of a liquor license application for a "multipurpose facility" by the name of District Winery, saying that it would have "450 seats (with a total capacity for 750) plus dancing, a 100-seat summer garden, and a wine pub."
And that it would be at 385 Water St., SE.
Which is pretty cool news, except that right now there is no building with an address of 385 Water St., SE.
There were theories that it would be the first hint of retail leasing in the under-construction Arris, which is indeed in the 300 block of Water, but is on the north side of the street and so would have to be an even-numbered address.
The Lumber Shed is 301 Water--if all of the retail spaces in that building weren't spoken for, the notion of just a fat-fingering of the address could have been assumed.
But, 385 Water... Hmmm....
Many of you may not have been around back in 2009 when Forest City received approvals for its plans for Phase 2 of the Yards Park. This included approving the remaking of the Lumber Shed as a glass-enclosed retail pavilion--and also included the plans for two additional retail pavilions on what is now open lawn space between the Shed and 4th Street SE.
The drawings you see here are from 2009 and have actually been on my Yards Park and Lumber Shed pages since then--they show various views of all three pavilions, including a view from a deck on the easternmost pavilion looking toward the west with the Shed and other pavilion visible. (Click to embiggen.)
The larger, eastern pavilion, dubbed P2B (because this is Parcel P) would have a footprint of about 10,300 square feet, while the smaller middle one's footprint would be about 6,300 square feet. Each of them would be less than 40 feet high and would have "open roof terraces on the second story for outdoor dining." And, as the drawings show, they would have much the same glass-and-concrete look as the Lumber Shed does.
And it could certainly be possible that the larger eastern one could have an address of 385 Water Street. And it looks sizeable enough for a venture looking for 450 seats with capacity for 750, plus dancing.
Forest City, as always, makes no comment on tenant-related information when there is no signed lease. And so it's also interesting that District Winery (which City Paper says appears to be from the same folks behind the Brooklyn Winery in New York) has made the move to apply for a liquor license before any lease has been signed.
We Shall See on all of this, including what any potential timeline might be for the construction of one or both of these new pavilions, but at least it means there would appear to be some definite leasing interest for these spaces. Either that or I am terribly off base with all this pondering.
UPDATE: All that pondering, and I could have just read that yes, it is indeed a new building being planned."Plans are still in the early stages, putting an opening at least two years away[.]" (h/t @JES)
 

The April Out-of-the-Ground Report
I already looked down this month, now it's time to look up.
* ARRIS: Let's start with the now-topped-out Arris apartment building at the Yards. In addition to its having reached its final height, the masonry work on the five lowest floors of the eastern portion of the site is pretty far along, and windows have started appearing in the second floor.
While the three "pavilions" on the western side (not seen real well in this shot, but check the rendering) will be brick-faced all the way up their eight floors, the east tower's upper façade will be all glass, with an undulation that's obvious even with just the concrete in place.
This building will have 325 rental units and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and is expected to open in early 2016.
* PARK CHELSEA: It certainly won't win the prize as Speediest Construction Project Ever, and the countdown to the start of leasing has changed its target from July 1 to September 15, but work on the 430ish-unit rental building on New Jersey Avenue does continue. You may have seen the forms with the planets-and-the-stars design that have now been hoisted up to their final perches on the roof--I've been told this is based on Johannes Kepler's "star polygon tessellations," which I concede is way too much education for JDLand to normally pass along.
* LOFTS AT CAPITOL QUARTER AND CAPPER COMMUNITY CENTER: They may not be tall, but they are wide--as is my lens, thankfully. If you are wondering about the concrete portion on the western end of the Loft's construction, that's parking for residents of the building's 195 mixed-income units. The two projects, both along L Street between 5th and 7th, should be completed in 2016.
* THE BRIG: I certainly could have used a drink after the 11 miles of walking I did in two passes on Sunday to properly update my photo archive, but while work on the beer garden at 8th and L to be known as The Brig continues, it still has a ways to go before it begins quenching thirsts. But it's interesting to now start to see the outline of its contribution to the "skyline" along 8th.
The links above have lots more information on each project, of course. And I skipped the Hampton Inn in the roundup, but I wouldn't want it to feel left out.
 

Arris: Topping Out the Next Apartment Building at the Yards
It's a noteworthy enough event that Forest City has issued a press release this morning announcing the final pour of concrete that marks the "topping out" of its 327-unit Arris apartment building at the Yards, on the southwest corner of 4th and Tingey. (So if you see a bit of a celebratory-looking luncheon at the construction site today, that's why.)
The eastern side of the building, along 4th, is 11 stories high, while the three western wings reached eight stories a few weeks ago. When finished, Arris will have 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, and "some of the best waterfront views in the city."
It's now being said that the project will be "substantially complete" in early 2016.
An initial web site where you can sign up for information on leasing is at LiveArris.com.
Forest City tells me that work on the facade will continue through the next few months, with the expectation that the building will be completely enclosed by the end of the summer.
Also nestled into the press release about Arris is the statement that sometime this summer "development will begin on a 50-slip public marina as the newest addition to Yards Park," with completion expected by the end of the year.
(I was planning to get updated photos this weekend, so dang it, no up-to-the-second shots available. But you can see what it was looking like in late March.)
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More posts: Development News, The Yards, Arris/Parcel N/Yards
 
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