
Monday, September 29, 2008
Forensics Lab Delayed?

Government Employees Use BlackBerry

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Waterfront Station Gets Construction Financing

Monday, September 22, 2008
Update on SW Waterfront Project

2009: Design process to begin
2011 - 2013: Construction of phase I (the central part of the site where hotels, office, and residential will go)
2013 - 2015: Construction of phase II (the northern part of the site near the fish market and where most of the retail will go)
2015 - 2017: Construction of phase III (the southern part of the site closest to the existing residential neighborhood, where there won't be as much activity)
The rendering is from the development team's website.
Friday, September 19, 2008
October Issue of The Southwester is Available
Here's a link to October's issue of The Southwester, a monthly newspaper dealing with local SW issues and events published by SWNA (Southwest Neighborhood Assembly).
Thursday, September 18, 2008
MLK Memorial Creators to Apply Next Week for Building Permits

What Bloggers are Saying About Southwest
- DCMetrocentric dreams about people living at L'Enfant Plaza. JBG plans about 200 apartment units at L'Enfant Plaza. They also wanted to bring the National Children's Museum to the site, but National Harbor was able to snag the museum, as well as another SW landmark - The Awakening statue. A part of the plan for L'Enfant Plaza is to bring retail to ground level. Who knows when all of this is supposed to happen, though.
- Imagine, DC wants Buzzard Point to get developed. Akridge has a nine-acre parcel at Buzzard Point and plans to develop a campus-like complex - most likely for a government agency. A few blocks away, the Coast Guard has its headquarters building, but since the Department of Homeland Security has plans to move to the St. Elizabeth's campus in Anacostia, the owners of the HQ building could either find a new tenant or redevelop the site.
- JDLand reports some movement at 1345 South Capitol Street. I saw some equipment there a few days ago and wondered if construction would begin on the apartment building that Camden Property Trust is planning at the site. My sources tell me construction is supposed to begin in the next few months, but then again, it was supposed to start last year.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Street Closures for The Nation's Triathlon

5 am – 1 pm
Rock Creek Parkway at Virginia Avenue to Ohio Drive
Independence Avenue from 14th to 23rd Streets
Ohio Drive to West Potomac Park
Ohio Drive to East Potomac Park (Haines Point)
Constitution Avenue from 15th to 17th Streets
15th Street from Constitution Avenue to Maine Avenue
Parkway Drive from Rock Creek Parkway to Lincoln Circle
6 am – 1 pm
Rock Creek Parkway from Connecticut Avenue/Calvert Street to Virginia Avenue
East Basin Drive
Maine Avenue from I-395 ramp to Independence Avenue split
17th Street from Constitution Avenue to Independence Avenue
Madison Drive from 7th to 14th Streets
Clara Barton Parkway from Glen Echo to Chain Bridge (Route 123)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Walking Town Comes to SW
On Saturday, September 20th and Sunday, September 21st, Cultural Tourism DC will bring back Walking Town DC, Fall Edition to the streets of DC. There will be six tours on Saturday featuring sites in SW, including DC By Foot: Monument Tour, The Southwest Waterfront, The National Mall: What the Memorials Don’t Tell You, Capital Sites by Bike, The Secrets of Federal Center, SW, and Washington Waterfront. On Sunday, there will be three tours, including two DC by Foot: Monument Tours and Bike Tour of the South West Gateway Art Installation. For more information, see the schedule.
Safeway Task Force Expanded
I attended Monday's ANC 6D's business meeting, and one of the agenda items was the Safeway Task Force. Some of the issues the task force are trying to tackle include increasing safety in and around Safeway, opening more check-out lines during peak times, opening restrooms to customers, and properly labeling items with the correct prices. The ANC commissioners unanimously approved a measure to increase the number of members of the Safeway Task Force from three to ten. The current members of the task force include Commissioners Sobelsohn (6D 02), McBee (6D 03), and Siegel (6D 07). The seven other members will be comprised of citizens that live within the boundaries of ANC 6D - one person representing each of the seven single-member districts. Two people have already been appointed from 6D 02 and 6D 03. If you are interested in serving on the task force and live in one of the districts not yet represented, contact your ANC Commissioner.
MLK Memorial Design is Approved

Sunday, September 7, 2008
ANC Business Meeting
The next meeting of ANC 6D will be tomorrow at 7pm at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church. The agenda isn't available on the website yet.
Safeway Wants to Redo All DC Stores
An article in this week's Washington Business Journal (paid subscribers only), describes how Safeway is in the process of redoing their stores across the city as "urban concept" stores. From the article: "The newest Safeway, at the CityVista condo complex at Fifth and K streets NW in Mount Vernon Triangle, exhibits all the features of its 'lifestyle' format, which Steve Neibergall, eastern division president, said represents the company’s commitment to fresh perishables and customer service. Safeway began the makeovers nationwide four years ago, and nine of the D.C. stores have been redone, he said, refashioned for between $2 million and $6 million apiece, sometimes to include pharmacies, floral departments and in-store Starbucks cafes. 'We want to be a place where you go to get more than groceries,' Neibergall says. All 17 stores in D.C. will be done by 2011, including completely rebuilt stores at the former Waterside Mall in Southwest and an 18th as part of new development at the Fort Totten Metro." As mentioned in my post from earlier this week, the new 55,000 SF Safeway at Waterfront Station is currently under construction and is anticipated to be complete in 2010. The new one can't come soon enough, as the current Safeway is run down and its shelves are understocked. I haven't shopped there since Harris Teeter opened on Capitol Hill a few months ago.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Cantina Cup Washington DC Regatta
Cantina Marina is hosting the first annual Cantina Cup Washington DC Regatta on Saturday, September 27th. From Cantina Marina's website: "Register your two person crew to race on the Potomac River in FJ Sailboats provided by DC Sail. All participants must be 21 or older. Entry is $50 per team, 100% of which goes to DC Sail, a branch of NMHF, a 501(c)(3) non-profit promoting adult education and sailing in the District of Columbia. Skipper bags will be provided by Mount Gay Rum and Cantina Marina." The regatta starts at 2pm.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Progress at Waterfront Station
In Wednesday's Real Estate Bisnow, the feature story is the progress at Waterfront Station, the redevelopment of the Waterside Mall at 4th Street and M Street. According to the article, the massive hole in the ground as seen from this web cam will reach grade in the next couple of weeks. So far, Safeway and CVS have signed long-term leases and the development team is working with Bank of America. Those same three tenants are the only ones that currently exist at the site. CVS and Bank of America were moved to temporary trailers in the parking lot in the wake of construction, while the Safeway is in a separate building that will be torn down once the new 55,000 SF urban concept Safeway opens in 2010. Demolition of the old Waterside Mall occurred on November 1st, 2007. Here is a photo of the stripped interior of the Mall the day of demolition:
Here's a photo of the gold-painted wrecking ball taking down a portion of the east side of Waterside Mall:
The first two office buildings that will house two DC Government agencies (the Office of the CFO and DCRA) are expected to open in 2010, along with two residential buildings. The residential buildings will be created from reskinning and retrofitting the existing office towers that once was home to the EPA. A reopened 4th Street will also run through the middle of the site.
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