If I've told you about the
latest below-ground happenings, and the
latest above-ground happenings, I might as well come full circle and mention a few things happening right at ground level.
First, at the large open space along 1st Street south of M that I've taken to calling
Spooky Park in honor of the
former inhabitants, the beginnings of the new foot paths through what will eventually be green space on the northern end of the block are in evidence, as is the new parking lot in the southwest corner, closest to the ballpark. (Not quite so obvious at the moment is that the southeast corner, at New Jersey and Tingey, is slated to be the new home for the trapeze school.)
These spaces are temporary uses for the site, which is expected to eventually be where the bulk of The Yards's office space inventory will be situated, perhaps as much as 1.5 million square feet.

Meanwhile, a few blocks to the north, a lovely sidewalk was laid down recently on the south side of the new one-block stretch of I Street between 2nd and New Jersey, which remains fenced off while WC Smith continues work on its
Park Chelsea and
800 New Jersey apartment buildings.
Wouldn't it be keen if this lovely sidewalk could be opened for pedestrians and cyclists even while waiting for the stretch of road to come open? Especially for, say, all those neighborhood bloggers who are getting really tired of having to walk down to K Street and then back up to I Street while being tormented with the view of a fenced-off cut-through? Who will think of them??
Finally, it's nice to see
a covered walkway being built along the Half Street frontage of the
909 Half Mystery Building construction site. Wouldn't it be keen if one could also be built on the north side, along I Street? (
Dock 79 also gets props for its new covered walkway along Potomac Avenue, one I'm sure will be used by tens of people each week, but rules are rules.)