or the surrounding Near Capitol Ballpark River Yards neighborhood since last year's Opening Day, here's what you'll see that wasn't completed on your last visit:
*
55 M Street - Right on top of the west entrance of the Navy Yard Metro station, at the head of Half Street, is Monument Realty's 275,000-sq-ft office building, which has been finished in the last few months and which will be home to
Artomatic this summer. No office or retail tenants have been announced, although
WBJ reported a few weeks back that
Gordon Biersch may be eyeing some of 55 M's ground-floor space. The rest of Monument's Half Street site remains a large hole in the ground, with financing for the planned 350 residential units and adjoining hotel directly across from the ballpark nowhere to be found.
*
70 and 100 I Street - Sibling apartment buildings officially known as the
Axiom and Jefferson at Capitol Yards first began move-ins in late summer 2008, and their combined 700 units are reported to be about 50 percent leased. (They're the big brick buildings sitting just south of the Freeway.)
*
Onyx on First - Another apartment building (though it had been originally planned as condos), Onyx opened at the corner of First and L streets in late fall of 2008. It has approximately 266 units.
*
100 M Street - On the site of the old On Luck cafeteria at First and M, this 240,000-sq-ft office building opened right at the tail end of 2008, and is close to 40 percent leased, with Parsons occupying about one-third of the space. A SunTrust Bank branch is under construction on the ground floor--there's additional retail space where a restaurant could be a possibility, though no deals have been announced.
*
909 New Jersey - Finished mere moments ago (it opened last week), this 237-unit apartment building at New Jersey and I by JPI (developers of 70 and 100 I) is catching eyes with its blue-edged nighttime profile, and is generating piles of "have they signed anyone for their retail space?" messages in my inbox (answer: not that I've heard so far). Baseball fans walking down from Capitol South will also appreciate the wide new sidewalk now just one block south of the freeway.
As for what's currently underway, there's the first phase of townhouses at
Capitol Quarter (where the first residents will move in this month and where work will continue into next year), the 200-unit
Velocity condo building at First and L, and the 440,000-sq-ft office building at
1015 Half Street (which will be completed in 2010 but will already be cursed for obscuring the view of the Capitol dome from some seats in the ballpark that had it last year). There's also construction continuing at
Diamond Teague Park, right across from the ballpark's grand staircase, but the somewhat optimistic timeline of having the water taxi piers completed by Opening Day has now been revised to "midseason."
Work had begun on rehabbing the
brown-and-white Pattern/Joiner Shop at the
Yards last year (which folks walking to the ballpark from the Nats Express drop-off will see), but financing problems brought the work to a halt early in 2009, and Forest City continues to look for money to restart the project.
The most prominent structure that's disappeared in the past 12 months is the former
WMATA bus garage on Half Street just across from the subway entrance, demolished two weeks ago to make way for Akridge's planned 700,000-sq-ft mixed-use development, though that project won't get underway before 2010. (The south end of Akridge's Half Street land is where the
[not-a-]beer garden may appear later this summer.)
But, as has been written about extensively elsewhere, as of now there's no new places to eat since last year (though
a deli is coming to Third and K in May), and most likely no additional projects will get underway before next year.
So, study this little guide and amaze your friends with your knowledge of what's what as you look at the ballpark's surroundings.
Comments (2)
More posts:
100 M,
55 M St.,
West Half St.,
artomatic,
Capper,
Capitol Quarter,
cornercopia,
Foundry Lofts/Yards,
Metro/WMATA,
Monument Valley/Half St.,
Onyx,
Retail,
Square 743N,
Square 699n,
Nationals Park,
Velocity Condos,
Water Taxis/Riverboats,
The Yards
Details on 'Luck of the Draw' This Weekend
Feb 10, 2009 12:37 PM
From a
just-sent-out press release, more details on the "Luck of the Draw Art and Music Event" being put on by
Artomatic,
Pink Line Project, and the
Capitol Riverfront BID in the neighborhood this weekend:
"Luck of the Draw will transform selected units, lounges, courtyards and the parking lots at
Velocity Condominium,
Axiom at Capitol Yards and
Onyx on First residential buildings with photography, installation art, graffiti artists, live music, DJs and dancing to create a threeday neighborhood art and entertainment event. Start the night at the Velocity Condominium's entertainment tent on Half Street between L St and K St SE, and then head over to
Axiom at Capitol Yards at 100 I (Eye) St SE and Onyx on First at 1100 First St SE. Draw playing cards at each location and, in traditional Washington, DC style, barter, trade and negotiate with others for the best 5-card poker hand to enter a raffle and win an iPod Nano. Beverages and snacks will be available at the venues as well."
It's free and open to the public. Hours are 6 pm to 10 pm on Friday and Saturday (the 13th and 14th) and 2pm to 6 pm on Sunday the 15th.
Artomatic 2009: Not Yet Announced, But....
Dec 15, 2008 2:19 PM
I mentioned last week that an ANC 6D commissioner said that
Artomatic could be coming to Near Southeast in 2009; there's still no official announcement, but a message was just sent out to the Artomatic mailing list inviting people to a Dec. 20 party at
Onyx on First: "Gear up with the Artomatic squad for the inside scoop on Artomatic 2009 and find out how you can be involved." The party is from 1 pm to 3 pm, and the e-mail also says that "after the volunteer party we'll head over to
Axiom Lounge for the 1st annual Capitol Yards Chili Cook-off." (First I've heard of that event, so I don't have any particulars on it.) One might think it strange that they'd be doing these events in the neighborhood if it weren't going to be Artomatic's home in 2009.
The e-mail also mentions RSVP'ing for the Dec. 20 happy hour
on Facebook (which requires you to be logged in)--however, if you visit the event page or the
main Artomatic Facebook page and you're not logged in, much of the text appears to be in Norweigan or Finnish or some similar language. Or else I really need new glasses.
JPI Renting Out 70/100 I Units for Inauguration
Nov 13, 2008 10:19 PM
Now
here's some quick-thinking: "With high-end hotels completely booked and District residents renting out their homes to tourists, JPI has joined the inauguration rental frenzy and will rent unleased apartments at two of its recently delivered projects near
Nationals Park. The Dallas-based developer will require a three-night minimum stay at the
Axiom at Capitol Yard and Jefferson at Capitol Yards. The company did not release pricing information, but said it will offer guests a choice of furnished one or two-bedroom units. They also will receive access to 24-hour concierge service and conference rooms, gym facilities, free wireless Internet access in common areas." (
WBJ)
UPDATE: Per Ed's
link in the comments, the prices are $750/$1,000 per night for 1 and 2 BR units (with that three night minimum). Here's
the Craigslist post.
Although the leasing office has been open for a few weeks now, I only just visited
Onyx on First this past weekend. They're still putting on the finishing touches (their certificate of occupancy came through not too long ago), so I was only able to see the main floor and one of the model units, but at least now I do finally have
photos from the inside of the building (scroll down if the link doesn't jump you down the page). I also got a couple shots from the roof, but things aren't quite completed up there, so I didn't get a photo of the pool. And since they're now open, I've moved Onyx to "completed" status.
The
Axiom apartment building at
100 I has been open for a little while, but I hadn't gotten myself in there since a pre-occupancy construction-dust tour back in June. That has now been rectified, and I've posted
photos of the common areas and one of the model units. (Didn't get back to the roof, though.) You can also see my interior photos from sibling
Jefferson/70 I, to see the warehouse vs. modern differences in the designs.