Building Begins for Capitol Yards

On a barren patch of land near the Capitol where a strip club once stood, blocks from the new baseball stadium, a tower is about to rise.

The $90 million, 13-story tower at 909 New Jersey Ave. SE will house 237 luxury apartments and 6,000 square feet of retail space. Last week, officials including Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) attended a groundbreaking ceremony at the site.

The tower is one of four luxury apartment buildings -- two will include retail space -- that Texas-based developer JPI plans to put up in a two-block stretch near the ballpark. The stadium is scheduled to open in April.

The four-building, $500 million project, called Capitol Yards, will add about 1,300 luxury apartments and 35,000 square feet of retail space to the area. Residents will have a view of the Capitol and the stadium and be within walking distance of a Metro station, JPI said.

Construction of the first two buildings is scheduled for completion next year, JPI said. The tower is scheduled to open in 2009, and the fourth building is to be completed in 2010.

"Rather than slowly building one tower at a time and gradually changing the neighborhood, JPI believes that by designing and building multiple distinct projects we can create a critical mass making an almost immediate transformation," said Aaron Liebert, area managing partner of JPI in the McLean office.

Liebert said the land previously contained a strip club, a towing lot and junkyard and, many years ago, a freight yard.

"It was certainly a neglected neighborhood," Liebert said. "You're so close to the urban core and water, and it was overlooked for decades."

Allan Lengel covers commercial real estate. He can be reached atlengela@washpost.com.