Let's look at signs and entrances, starting first at F1rst and its Residence Inn, where it looks like the homestretch has been entered (click to enlarge, of course):

Then, let's go over to 4th Street, where the District Winery building continues to zip along. It's also where the Bower is now signed, as is Conte's space in Arris:

Then we'll double back westward (you're getting a sense for how far I walk on these excursions), taking a look at the new sidewalk on New Jersey Avenue in front of Insignia on M. Shake Shack's signage at the Homewood Suites, and the One Hill South entrance (very New York, isn't it). (I caught the Bethesda Bagels signage back in December, just in case you think I'm missing it.)

I even caught the view from the bridge of the new Bardo beer garden at Florida Rock, with a few hardy souls in attendance. Plus, views of both Agora on New Jersey Avenue (aka the Whole Foods Building) and 1221 Van (aka That Big Building On South Capitol Immediately North of the Ballpark):

All the links above to project pages have additional brand spanking new pics, and of course Before photos.

Next up, checking out holes in the ground, both current and coming soon.

The press release says that "Chloe will be a showcase of Karoum's personal culinary journey, including his Lebanese roots and extensive travel around Western Europe and Southeast Asia, all grounded in and linked by the seasonal bounties of the mid-Atlantic."

It will have 103 seats inside, with counter seating for 14 at an open kitchen and another 27 spots in the bar, plus 32 outdoor seats for warm months (like February?).

Washingtonian has much more about the venture, including a couple of renderings of the interior, one of which seems to hint that the restaurant will be located in the corner space at 4th and Tingey, but I am trying to confirm the exact location for sure.

Chloe will join Arris's other existing and coming-soon retail tenants Philz Coffee, Conte's Bike Shop, the Juice Laundry, and the Cosmpolitan Nail Lounge. And it also joins the ever-increasing list of eateries across the neighborhood slated to open in 2017.

Here's a roundup, mostly from the running linkage I've been posting in the comments. And the photo at right has nothing to do with any of the tidbits--it's just from 11 years ago today. A little different.

* STYMIED: The developers of the proposed large residential project at 1333 M are asking for a two-year extension on their zoning PUD, citing beiing "stymied" in finding financing. (Capitol Hill Corner)

* UNVEILED: Forest City has shown ANC 6D the first renderings of its planned hotel at 3rd and Tingey, SE, on the north end of "Parcel L," where they are already planning a large residential building as well. (Urban Turf)

* TUNNELED: In Virginia Avenue Tunnel news, next week or thereabouts, watch for daily closings of 4th St. SE between I and Virginia, as well as the return of two (shifted) lanes on the 6th Street exit ramp. Also, the portion of 5th (or is the 6th) Street immediately south of Virginia is now closed for seven weeks or so. And the next "Coffee with Chuck" update is at 8 am on Feb. 22 at 861 New Jersey Ave., SE.

* FLICKED: Vote on the lineup for this summer's Thursday Outdoor Movie Series.

* PROMOTED: The 2017 Nats gameday promotions and giveaways lineup is now available.

* SALTED: Ryan Zimmerman is an investor/part-owner of The Salt Line, opening this year across the street from his place of employment. (City Paper)

* STUFFED: Five Guys is back.

Given this weekend's forecast, I may try to get out to take some photos, if the stars align.

It will offer full-service nail and waxing treatments, with free WiFi, refreshments, and "individual guest tables to listen to music or watch a movie during appointments."

The new nail salon will join Arris's already-open Philz Coffee and previously-announced-as-coming-in-2017 tenants Conte's Bike Shop and the Juice Laundry.

This would be the second DC opening for the company, joining its 14th St. NW location (along with one in Bethesda and two others in Maryland).

In addition to haircuts, 18|8 offers face, scalp, and nail treatments, shaves, waxing, and coloring; there are also grooming party packages for when you guys want to get with your buddies and get all gussied up.

It's Tingey Street's second grooming outlet, joining the Bang Salon one block to the east. (Too bad Unleashed doesn't offer grooming, otherwise there'd be a Tingey trifecta.)

No official word on when it will open, so don't let your hair get too long while waiting.

Meanwhile, one block to the south, the new District Winery building is getting its face on.

(h/t to reader RMP for the 18|8 sighting)

* The JBG apartment project now known as 1221 Van is speeding along, and has changed the skyline along South Capitol considerably. Taking southward-facing photos in the winter months is always dicey, but I couldn't pass up a shot of the new structure and its neighbor directly to the south.

* Insignia on M's logo at the top of its New Jersey Avenue face does easily catch one's eye.

* The preparation work to transform the O Street Pumping Station into the glimmery new DC Water Headquarters is now underway.

* CSX announced this week that the new second-track Virginia Avenue Tunnel is "nearing completion," and it certainly looks that way at the western mouth of both new and old tunnels. And I got to see a train coming out, too! (But the project isn't over--next work will shift to reconstructing the 100-year-old original tunnel.)

* The excavation for the combination condo-and-rental buildings project known as "Parcel O" at the Yards has proceeded apace.

* Conversely, the hole for the 99 M office building has remained basically unchanged since late summer. (Compare the below photo to this one taken in August.) There was a new crane-related after-hours permit approved for the site last week, so maybe things are about to start moving again. UPDATE, 12/13: A representative for the 99 M project has gotten in touch with me to say that there has actually been considerable "complex" work going on at the site, it's just that it's mostly underground/out of sight.

* The BID reports that Forest City has announced (I never hear about Forest City things directly anymore) that all-organic, vegan, and gluten-free juice bar and raw-food kitchen The Juice Laundry will be coming to Arris in the spring, its first location outside of its home base in Charlottesville. If you want a sneak preview, there's a pop-up version of the Juice Laundry this weekend at the corner of 4th and Tingey, from 10 am to 6 pm today (Friday, Dec. 2) and tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 3).

* Barred in DC says that "the long saga for the Bardo River Brewery appears to be over," with Bardo and ABRA having entering into a consent order this week that will finally pave the way for a liquor license. Barred says that the order means that Bardo can be open until midnight, but is "required to create a security plan and maintain a comprehensive security camera system and cannot seek permission to have entertainment, such as live music or DJs." However, an "anonymous" comment on Barred's post disputes these items, and says that Bardo "is still pursuing legal measures due to the delays ABRA's illegal actions caused." Gosh, I wonder who wrote that!

I kind of gave up on following the many twists and turns after last year's liquor license veto, but Barred has posts to catch you up on this new brewery plan.

UPDATE, DEC. 7: The owner of Bardo has been busy on Twitter yesterday and today, making clear his vast displeasure with ABRA and ANC 6D.

The official web site is online, along with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, though right now the site's links are mainly for how to reserve the events space for your wedding or how to work for the winery.

Here's a few more images, along with recognition that I need to get my act together and create a project page, though in the meantime you can read my previous posts for more info.

Just to the winery's northeast, digging is well underway at Parcel O, where a joint project is underway that will beget a 138-unit condo building by PN Hoffman and a 190-unit rental building by Forest City. There are hints that the condo building will be called The Bower, though PN Hoffman's web site hasn't quite gotten there yet. Completion is expected in 2018.

All of that is just a time-wasting intro to a roundup of the progress photos I took.

Dock 79 is getting pretty close to the finish line, with the sidewalk along Potomac Avenue now open and work proceeding on the open plaza to its east. (Yes, those are sculptures.) There's also emerging placeholding signage for The Salt Line in advance of its 2017 opening.

ORE 82 now has some completed balconies overlooking New Jersey Avenue and I Street, but mainly I just wanted the excuse to post my rather striking shot (below left). And speaking of red buildings, the Homewood Suites at 50 M is making steady progress as well.

The walls of windows at 909 Half Street are making for some interesting reflections, not only from the reflected bright blue sky but from the patterns of recesses and bump-outs, as well as the windows that are left open to presumably give the poor workers a little air.

If you stand at New Jersey and M, you can get good views of Insignia on M to your north and the F1rst apartment/Residence Inn hotel project to your west.

Then we have the even newer neighbors, the ones who we can't quite see just yet, although the 1244 South Capitol apartment building now has one floor above ground level. (I admit, this is one I am looking forward to watching rise up.) Then there's the office building at 99 M, which seems to be slooooowly getting ready for vertical construction, though a peek down in the hole indicates that a skeleton is still some weeks away.

I also took photos of the Bixby, but nothing much is changing on the outside there. And I only took morning-light photos, which means I don't have any good ones of Agora, unless you like looking at its backside. (So to speak.)

Then there's Parcel O at the Yards, where one condo and one apartment building are to be built. Fences are up, and there is some infrastructure work going on along with breaking up the concrete pad that the trapeze school stood on until last year. I believe the shoring, sheeting, and excavation permit is approved, but whether the true Digging of the Dirt is underway, well, We Shall See.

There are more new photos than just the ones above--follow the links for additional shots, plus I've also updated a bunch of before-and-after sliders. And maybe soon I'll get out in the afternoon light to get photos of the western side of all of these projects--with a new camera!

(If you're thinking that these photos don't look that blurry, it's really more on the edges of the shots where the problem lies, plus I do some sharpening of all photos after I size them down for posting.)

Last week the Zoning Commission received the filings for the project, so now there are some additional details about not only Parcel L's residential building, but a few other items percolating nearby.

First, the basics on Parcel L, some of which may or may not be new (what, you think I'm actually going to go back and read what I wrote?):

The plans are for a 110-foot-high building with somewhere between 270 and 285 units, 54ish of which will be set aside for households making up to 50 percent of the Area Median Income.

There will be a little more than 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, on the building's southern and eastern sides, facing 3rd Street and the Yards Park.

Two levels of below-grade parking will provide 270 vehicle parking spaces for both the residential building and a planned future hotel on the north end of the block. There will also be 109 long-term bicycling parking spaces in the garage.

Originally the plan was to open to vehicles 2nd Street south of Tingey down to an extension of Water Street, but that has been replaced with the idea of a 2nd Street "mews," helping to create a much more pedestrian friendly approach to the Yards Park from points north and west.

In the rendering below, you can see the apartment building's position on the block with the planned hotel site to its north. What you also see, in the foreground, is Tingey Square, the planned reconfiguration of the intersection of New Jersey, N, and Tingey. The site plan at right shows the Parcel L layout, the 2nd Street position, and Tingey Square. You can also see how then the residential entrance is keyed to the road on the southern side of Tingey Square while the hotel sits on the square's eastern edge.

In honor of all of this additional info, I have now created a Parcel L page, my 10th Yards-related project page. I also added to the main Yards page a spiffy updated Yards development map that was included in the Parcel L zoning filing, with all the parcel markings and whatnot.

Forest City representatives told me in June that the company is looking to get started on the Parcel L apartment building in 2018.