I always say that I will never take another photograph of a person behind a microphone, but my resolve is weak, so I headed down to the southeast corner of South Capitol and M on this lovely Monday to
document the ceremonial groundbreaking for the new National Association of Broadcasters headquarters at
One M Street, SE.
While actual construction isn't underway just yet, the shovel-wielding VIPs did their duty. Mayor Bowser, Ward 6 councilmember Charles Allen, DC delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, NAB chairman Gordon Smith, and other luminaries made remarks, and noted local radio personality Tommy McFly acted as master of ceremonies (his radio station is after all
only a block away).
You can
see all my photos here, if microphones and shovels are your thing. But here's a few, if that one extra click is more than you can handle:
It's expected that construction will get underway later this summer on both the 120,000-sq-ft NAB HQ (which will have about 4,800 sq ft of ground-floor retail) and a 163-unit condo building immediately to its south, also fronting South Capitol but with an address of 10 Van Street. Both are being developed by Monument Realty, and you can
see my project page for more details. If both do get started this summer, the buildings would probably be completed in 2018.