The first pitch in D.C.'s proposed baseball stadium is at least three years away, but its future neighborhood is already seeing a land rush, chronicled in exhaustive detail online by Jacqueline Dupree, The Post's intranet editor. Dupree and Post real estate reporter Dana Hedgpeth took reader questions on the area's radical changes.
A transcript follows.
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washingtonpost.com: A Transformed Neighborhood Awaits Stadium (The Washington Post, August 15, 2005)
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Jacqueline Dupree: Hi everyone, thanks for tuning in. Send in your questions about everything going on in the neighborhood around the new baseball stadium.
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Madison Heights, Mich.: "Near Southeast" is such a boring name! What do you think of "SoCHill" (South Of Capitol HILL)?
Jacqueline Dupree: I'm always up for anything that lessens the number of letters I have to type. Let's start a groundswell.
Dana Hedgpeth: I tend to agree, near Southeast is boring. Maybe the city should run a naming contest. Do you have suggestions?
Jacqueline Dupree: I hope the Mayor is tuned in!
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Bozeman, MT: Is it likely that any of the redevelopment in Near Southeast will include any housing for lower income residents, or will those people be squeezed out of the area entirely?
Jacqueline Dupree: The Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg redevelopment has 700 public housing units in it, replacing the 700 public housing units being demolished. Here's the official breakdown: 1,562 rental & ownership units, including 525 affordable rental units, 330 market rate homes, and 855 additional moderate/market rate units. As for affordable housing in future developments, I imagine the city will certainly encourage developers to include some units.
Dana Hedgpeth: It will be interesting to see if folks get squeezed out by the higher-end development that's coming. One thing to consider here, is that the city -- separate from the development in near SE -- is considering doing inclusionary zoning, which would require developers to offer more affordable housing. So depending on how that's implemented, it will effect who lives in near SE as well.
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Alexandria, VA: Naming Contest? How about just plain South Cap?
Jacqueline Dupree: We've got a naming contest started....
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Names: How about "Ronald Reagan"?
Ba-dum-bum.
Jacqueline Dupree: Spoken like a true Washingtonian.
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Washington, DC: What are the plans for the Florida Rock site just south of the Stadium? Will it be privately developed or will the DC Government try to buy the land?
Dana Hedgpeth: Florida Rock has extensive plans, which they are expected to take before planning officials in December. Their plans include some 1 million square feet of a mixed use development. Check out our map for more details.
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washingtonpost.com: The map is online here .
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Capitol Hill, DC: Jacqueline, I am just now discovering your Near Southeast site - it is incredibly detailed!
Do you know whether the plan is to have the new stadium abut the river or be set back a bit to incorporate the Anacostia riverwalk? Also, has HOK Sport indicated when they will release preliminary sketches of the stadium?
Thanks!
Dana Hedgpeth: If I could throw out a compliment to Jacqueline here. Yes, her site is awesome!
Jacqueline Dupree: Careful, my head is swelling.
The stadium ends at Potomac Avenue, just a tad north of the waterfront. (Florida Rock owns the land between Potomac Ave. and the river). I know there's hopes for a park down there of some sort, and of course the riverwalk.
As for HOK Sport, I had heard rumors of August for unveiling designs for the stadium. We'll see.... (perhaps they don't realize that nothing is supposed to be done in DC in August.)
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Solomon's Island MD: Will the architects insist on a view of the Capitol Dome, and are there any plans at the federal level to move or clean up the appearance of the Capitol power plant which is situated between the ballpark and the Hill?
Jacqueline Dupree: The decision has been made it appears to have a northeast opening of the stadium, because to open it to the northwest to allow for a Dome view would put the sun in players' eyes, which is an MLB no-no.
As for the Capitol Power Plant, given all the construction and improvements going on there, it doesn't look as though the Capitol folks are planning on moving out of there anytime soon, but perhaps they'll tidy up a bit.
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Capitol Hill: Jacqueline -- great job on your web site. I've been following it since the Voice of the Hill article. Question for you both -- given the crazy amount of money being thrown around by developers, are DC officials concerned about exceeding the land acquisition cap for the stadium? No one really seems to be talking about this but it strikes me as a huge issue that could potentially thwart some of the redevelopment. Thanks
Dana Hedgpeth: This is a good point about the price of land the city is offering to land owners on the stadium footprint. But the city will argue that they are offering fair market value for what the land is worth without the stadium. That's how the law on buying land works. But on the other side, an argument could be made that because of the landrush, with the stadium, the land on the site should be more valuable. One thing is for sure, some of those owners on the stadium site are trying to fight it but whether they can win against eminent domain is unlikely.
Jacqueline Dupree: One way to look at the question of value--yes, their properties are worth a lot with a stadium going there, but if they were to successfully fight the city and prevent the stadium from going there, the values of their properties would drop considerably. So there's a balancing act in there.
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19th & K: A suggestion for a name - I love Wrigleyville, which is what we could only dream that our new neighborhood will become - how about Nattyville?
With all the different development corporations throwing money and plans around, what is the city doing to ensure that there is a coherent plan to all the development that preserves green space, quality views of the Cap dome from the stadium, keeps gameday traffic manageable, protects the waterfront and makes it into public space, etc.?
Jacqueline Dupree: The Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (headed by Andrew Altman) is supposed to be unveiling its Master Plan within the next few weeks, which I imagine will address many of the concerns. There was already a large amount of planning that went into Near Southeast even before the stadium was announced to keep things balanced, such as Washington Canal Park, and a big riverfront park at the Southeast Federal Center, and the Anacostia Riverwalk. So stay tuned.
(If we named it Nattyville, would we all have to dress up all the time?)
Dana Hedgpeth: Interesting Nattyville name. I like it.
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Silver Spring, MD: Do you know how far west this development will spread? Has there been or will there be any activity going west past South Capitol Street, on Half Stree SW for example? If so, how far South do you expect this to extend?
Dana Hedgpeth: This development wave that's coming will eventually spread into Southwest and all the way down into Buzzard's Point, that's for sure. The unknown still is when. And the answer for now, is that it will likely spread out from the core of the stadium and reach into these other areas.
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Washington, D.C.: Ms. Dupree,
I'm a big fan of your website. Thanks for taking the time here with us. Why do you think revitalization efforts in Near Southeast have been so successful? Even before the stadium plans appeared, Near Southeast was well on its way to rebounding. What has made it so successful, while other neighborhoods also targeted for revitalization, such as Historic Anacostia or Brookland, continue to languish. What was the "tipping point," if any, for this area? Thanks.
washingtonpost.com: Blog: 'Near Southeast' DC Redevelopment
Jacqueline Dupree: Hi, thanks for your kind words.
I think a big reason that this neighborhood was already well on its way to revitalization was its proximity to the Capitol--it really is just a half-mile south of the Capitol building. New Jersey Avenue is a great promenade up to Capitol Hill, and you've got the Navy Yard Metro station, and easy access.
Also, a lot of credit should go to Eleanor Holmes Norton and Mayor Williams's planning crew for their vision that this area could be more than just a "concrete canyon" of offices, and that the riverfront provides a lot of opportunity as well.
Dana Hedgpeth: Jacqueline's right here. Eleanor started it in some ways with the coming of more Naval operations in the mid to late 90s at the Navy Yard and then government contractors wanted to be near them so office buildings like 80 M street started popping up. And now it is all rolling along with the coming of the stadium. This, in theory, is how economic development is to work.
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Clifton, VA: Anyone willing to give odds that the stadium is built in Se/SW DC in the next 10 years and within 20% of budget? If I was the new owner I would insist on complete control of the project to manage costs and institute and right to work to try to keep costs in line. I wouldn't have a problem with hiring DC residents etc as long as I could use non union help. No show and no work jobs kill a budget.
Dana Hedgpeth: Good points. I can't even think of a stadium that's been done on time and on budget.
Jacqueline Dupree: I think it'll beat your projections, but back when it was announced I posted on my web site that I'd bet anyone a dollar as to whether the stadium would be ready for the 2008 season. No one took me up on it :-). DC did get MLB to remove the penalties for not having the stadium ready by 2008, though. And potential team buyers also seem to be recognizing that an additional season or two at RFK might be in the cards.
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DC: You know, I think people just assume that there are going to be thousands of poor families displaced by the stadium. I have been to the area in question a few times and there really doesn't seem to be much housing at all. Do you know for a fact roughly how many occupied residences will be affected?
Jacqueline Dupree: In the actual stadium footprint (N to Potomac and South Capitol to 1st), there are I believe 6 residences. The rest of the properties are all industrial uses or the gay nightclubs that have been in the area for years.
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Washington, D.C.: Some have long felt the SE/SW freeway sort of drew a dividing line in this area of the city - and an especially negative one for areas south of the elevated highway.
Do you think that will hinder future development in any way?
Jacqueline Dupree: In the dreams of city planners, the SE/SW Freeway would be demolished and replaced with an underground freeway and a wide glorious Virginia Avenue boulevard.
I hope to see that before I shuffle off, but I don't know....
Certainly it does create a huge dividing line, but that line in SE might also have had something to do with the huge differences in the neighborhoods north and south of the freeway. Perhaps with all the changes planned, the freeway won't feel so much like the Berlin Wall.
Dana Hedgpeth: Yes that freeway does really create a barrier. Much like the river is making economic development from the stadium spread very, very very slowly to Anacostia.
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Chesapeake Beach, MD: Isn't the South Capitol Street and the Douglas Bridge the weak link in this whole project? The exit from the Freeway to what will be the Stadium is messy merge through a number of lights and homeless squeegie guys. The bridge itself is kind of tricky with basically 3 turns > 45 degrees just to cross. It is often crowded and the addition of 10,000 + cars to see a baseball game is a pretty frightening.
Why isn't a new bridge first on the list of improvements?
Jacqueline Dupree: There is a huge South Capitol Street Corridor project that the National Capital Planning Commission has been spearheading (link below), of which a huge portion is a new South Capitol Street bridge. The recent transportation bill passed by Congress included $123 million for the project, and Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland is a big proponent of rehabbing the bridge and all of South Capitol Street. As to whether it'll all be ready by the time the stadium is open is up for debate, but they are working on it.
NCPC's New Vision for South Capitol Street
http://www.ncpc.gov/publications_press/s_cap/NCPC_SouthCapitolSt.pdf
Dana Hedgpeth: Yes Jacqueline is right when the bridge will be ready is still out. But there are talks going on to get it going. In fact there's meetings going on now on this.
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Washington, DC: Near the Southeast area is a development site called The Waterfront, located on 4th and M, SW. The plan to develop that area includes 2 million sq of office space, 100,000 sq feet of retail space and 400 residential units. When will construction begin on that site and when is the expected open date? Thanks!!
Dana Hedgpeth: Yes that project , I believe you're refering to the Waterside Mall project that Kaempfer and Forest City are involved in. That project is still in the works but hit a bit of a snag when Fannie Mae pulled out of being the major tenant there.
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Centreville, VA: It would be really nice if they allowed the residents in Southeast DC to have more of a say in whats happening. I feel like the city has sold out its residents for development. I'm not anti-progress but if its not inclusive of the people who are already there and made the sacrifices to be there then i see it as problematic.
Dana Hedgpeth: This is a terrific point. The city should and I think in theory wants to hear from residents and just people in general. Keep close watch on the Anacostia Waterfront group that former planning director Andy Altman is heading now. They are the most likely ones to offer public forms for insight into how the stadium area will be developed and what people want to see happen there. Altman is working this summer on his master plans for the area and I'm sure part of it will be having public input. So SPEAK OUT!
Jacqueline Dupree: There have been at least two public meetings about the stadium and South Capitol plans, and the residents of Capper/Carrollsburg were met with on multiple occasions as plans got underway. I try to let people know on my blog when meetings are upcoming.
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Washington, DC: What condominium and apartment projects are proposed/under construction in the area? What are the prices/rental rates?
Thank you,
Dana Hedgpeth: There are lots of condo and apartment projects planned. Check out our map. The only one that has listed prices so far is the Valhal project at NJ and M. Prices there are roughly high $200,000s for one-bedroom. About $400,000 for two bedrooms.
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New York, N.Y.: From the pictures you have put up at your website, there doesn't seem much in economic activity, save for the occasional scrap metal business and such. If/when new people move in, who would be able to service their needs? Where would new stores, shops and groceries be set up?
Jacqueline Dupree: Right now there is very little in terms of services. Both the Southeast Federal Center and Capper/Carrollsburg plans include retail in their plans, and the city is very big on making sure that the areas around the stadium are enticing to visitors even when there's no baseball. And a few food places (Five Guys burgers, Subway, Sizzling Express), and a bank and drugstore have already moved in. Most of the office buildings planned in the area include ground-floor retail.
But speaking as a close neighbor, a grocery store would be fab.
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Wildwood NJ: Would the designers consider using the townhouse style frontage that the residential streets of Washington are so noted for, like those found around Lincoln Park or up in Petworth?
Jacqueline Dupree: The Capper/Carrollsburg development is being done by Eakin-Youngentob, which always does a great job of incorporating neighborhood architecture into its projects. My web site has some of the drawings, as does EYA:
http://www.eya.com/nc_accr_welc.html
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Cap Hill, DC: Are there going to be any parking lots built for this area? (for the inevitable crush of cars arriving during baseball season, etc)
Jacqueline Dupree: I believe the stadium itself is required to have about 1,500 parking spaces, which would include parking for players, staff, etc. And if all of the big buildings go up that are being planned, there will be lots of underground parking, but there's also no denying that city officials are depending on Metro to get the bulk of people to and from the stadium area. (Hopefully they will run shuttle buses from the stadium to L'Enfant Plaza before and after games to allow people to get directly to the Orange and Blue lines without having to get on at Navy Yard.)
Dana Hedgpeth: On the parking, the city is "working" on this now they say. Two sites that are likely to be considered for parking are the lots just north of the stadium on N Street -- much of the land on them is owned by Monument Realty LLC currently. And the land the city is trying to get from WMATA on the bus lot could also be for parking.
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Atlantic City, N.J.: Do you think that the ballpark should go at the location it's supposed to go to?
Dana Hedgpeth: Sure it should be the site. It actually will bring along a neighborhood that really needs a spark under it. The rest of the city is well beyond economic development and being revitilized so I think it does make sense to go there.
Jacqueline Dupree: When the city was looking at four different locations for a stadium, I always thought the Near Southeast location was by far the best, but figured they'd never possibly choose the one that made the most sense. How nice to be proven wrong! Given its proximity, the availability of Metro, and the spark it can provide to a neighborhood, it's a great location.
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19th & K: One of the intriguing aspects of this development is that there are some very attractive housing developments that will go up in the neighborhood - including the Valhal one (just looked at their Web site, there is a slideshow that includes a pic of the small brick store you mentioned being dwarfed by the huge apartment building).
Has there been any sort of move on these apartments/condos yet? I'd think that the prices are comparatively very low right now, just what the DC housing market needs, but that they are probably selling slowly given that people have no idea how long it will take for the area to develop into a fully-functioning neighborhood (with things like grocery stores and stuff).
Dana Hedgpeth: One of the reasons the prices are lower is exactly what you said and what the story points out -- these are the first residential projects there in years. So the pricing is still being tested. Also, co-ops which are not done too much in the city, compared with condos, are a bit untested. Especially building new ones. And the retail stuff will come quickly with the Forest City project and there will soon be a Harris Teeter in Capitol Hill , not far.
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Washington, DC: How much of this revitalization can be correctly attributed to the new stadium as opposed to the locations close proximity to downtown and the expanding presence of the federal gov't?
Jacqueline Dupree: I think you can look at the revitalization of the neighborhood in stages--in 2001 the Navy Sea Systems Command was moved to the Navy Yard. Contractors wanted office space close to them, so 300 M and 80 were built. At the same time, Eleanor Holmes Norton was engineering the transfer of the Southeast Federal Center land into a public/private partnership for development, and DOT picked the SFC land for the new HQ. And then the Hope VI grant to revitalize Capper/Carrollsburg was granted. All of these things came before the stadium, but it's the stadium arrival that has really ignited the interest in the area now, rather than waiting until some of these other projects were completed, and is helping to extend the plans for development over to South Capitol Street.
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Washington, DC: Is there any thought to coordinating the look of the entire area that's being redeveloped? I would think that giving the area a unique look (for example unlike all the other rowhouse, Old Town looking developments) would make it even more successful. It would be great to see the developers work together to create a architectural languate that is maybe very modern or possibly takes cues from the Navy Yard. Sounds like the stadium is not going to be a rip off of Camden Yards, so maybe this is an opportunity to do something really interesting and different.
Dana Hedgpeth: Yes Andy Altman at the Anacostia Waterfront group is working on just that. Plans to make it have some sort of look that will give it a real sense of place instead of being hodge podge development. The city and the developers who are buying down there are working together to make the designs look good and really give it a unified feel, not something just thrown together at random.
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Washington DC: Plans call for a good amount of mix-use development retail and residential, are plans for a grocery store in the Ball park area?
Jacqueline Dupree: There have been rumors of a grocery store being part of the 800 New Jersey Avenue development that William C. Smith is eyeing, but there's no timeline on when that would get underway. Perhaps another grocery store will sneak in, but right now there's been no word on one.
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Chandler, Arizona: What does this mean for the southern edge of Capitol Hill? Does this sort of shift the balance in property values southward, as in homeowners down on F and G streets can now say they're in "Capitol Hill/Waterfront"?
Jacqueline Dupree: I imagine that houses on the south edge of "Historic" Capitol Hill just north of the freeway, who will soon be able to walk six blocks to a riverfront park on the Anacostia or eight blocks to a baseball stadium and tons of restaurants and entertainment destinations, might be in even higher demand, although I'm not sure that's possible given the current state of Capitol Hill real estate.
Dana Hedgpeth: I think this means nothing but a solid rise in property values for anything within throwing distance of the stadium in both Capitol Hill and near the stadium. Unless the economy goes to pot, things will likely be strong.
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SW DC Resident: Will all the development around the stadium site start to kreep its way down to the southwest waterfront? The Waterfront Mall project seems dead in the water. Will this development rush help kickstart it?
Dana Hedgpeth: Waterfront Mall is getting passed over a bit because of all of the development around the stadium. But that deal at Waterside fell through because Fannie Mae pulled out. It is interesting to see how SW is getting leapfrogged in terms of development really taking off in SE.
Jacqueline Dupree: Poor Southwest, they keep coming up snake-eyes in the redevelopment dice game in this city. But planners are continuing to work on plans for the SW Waterfront, and hopefully the new Waterfront/Waterside Mall can find a tenant to replace Fannie Mae.
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Upper Marlboro, MD: It seems that the District is passing on its problems to other communities to entice a group of elite, wealthy newcomers. Do you think there is a direct relationship between the "pushing-out" of low-income families in the District and the increased rate of violent crime in P.G. County.
Dana Hedgpeth: Hmm. You bring up an intersting point that I hadn't thought about. But I think there's a lot larger problems of families that came out of Arthur Capper projects, like job commitment, families and I could go on and on here. But you do raise a good and interesting question that maybe city officials and social leaders should look at.
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Alexandria, VA: When will a tentative design/stadium plan be released to the public? When do we see the models?
Jacqueline Dupree: Any Minute Now. :-)
As I said earlier, I had read rumors of an August date for HOK Sport to release designs. But haven't heard anything concrete. They are supposed to pick a construction management company within the next few weeks, though.
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Washington, D.C.: Alot of development we know is happening on the Anacostia, but on the west side. What about the east side? Yes I know the mayor asked metro to move to Anacostia station and there are talks of changing poplar point, but as far as I have seen the only thing soild is the new DC department of transportation headquarters. The rest is still wishful thinking typical of our city.
Dana Hedgpeth: YOu're right there is still much to be done on the east side of the river in terms of economic development. And developers are not jumping up immediately to do stuff there as they are near the stadium.
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Washington, DC: So what's going to happen to the gay and other hardcore clubs down in that area? Is the city planning to buy them out and pay a fair value? Are the owners planning to move back to better located neighborhoods? Will the city even allow that to happen?
Jacqueline Dupree: The Post had a long story about this a while back:
DC Gay Clubs' Vanishing Turf
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Washington, DC: Anything happening further down towards Buzzard Point?
Dana Hedgpeth: Yes , Akridge just bought a nine acre parcel from Pepco in Buzzard's Point and will eventually turn it into some sort of mixed use project.
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Washington, DC: Some of the complaining I am seeing/hearing, at least what I have learned from the Post, seems to be coming from people who purchased property in the stadium zone, so-to-speak, long after there was serious talk about putting the stadium there. It occurs to me that if any of these people bought their property sometime in 2004 for somewhere in the neighborhood of $250,000, and now have been offered as much as $1.5 million, but have refused(that's not enough profit)- these people are trying to rob the city! Just my $.02, but I'd be interested to hear yours, or anyone else's opinion.
I might have sympathy for a person who might have been living or doing business in such a location(within the "stadium zone') for years, and didn't desire to move without getting especially well compensated, but this seems like price gouging, and should not be allowed/tolerated.
Jacqueline Dupree: I think you might be referring to the gentleman in Monday's story with the auto repair shop. His shop is not actually in the "stadium footprint", so the $1.5 million he referred to is not from the city, but from developers who would like to have his land.
Within the next few weeks the city should be making its offers to landholders within the stadium footprint, and it will be interesting to see the differences in opinion between what the city offers and what the landholders believe their property is worth.
Dana Hedgpeth: My response to this one is it's business. Don't take it personally --- whether you're a buyer or a seller. I wouldn't feel sorry for the sellers. These are smart folks who bought there and held. They know what they're doing and whether they sell or stay, I predict most will retire just fine.
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At home: I thnk many people envision the new BB stadium to be like that in San Francisco , where Barry Bonds can hit home runs into the water. But it appears that the stadium tract is not waterfront. So the uniquenss of having a waterfront park will be gone. Am I correct?
Dana Hedgpeth: The stadium is not going to be directly on the water. You're right. The city and others can get higher and better -- rather more money making -- projects to be built on the river. Like high end condos or office buildings. So putting a public/private stadium right on the waterfront could be seen as wasting land that could make more money.
Jacqueline Dupree: Hopefully when the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation's master plan for the neighborhood comes out within the next few weeks we'll have a better idea for what they envision to be happening on the waterfront by the stadium. I think they may try to have some sort of boat slip there so that water taxis could bring people to the stadium (wouldn't that be cool!).
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Zip 20003: Hey JD, love your web site
Do you think our big ego DC City Council members will continue to try and kill this stadium deal to -save- us taxpayers money... or is it pretty much a done deal? (Except for their kick-backs, of course?)
Jacqueline Dupree: Thanks! (shameless plug, my web site about Near Southeast is at http://www.jdland.com/dc/ )
As for the city council, Barry, Fenty, and Catania continue to make their displeasure with the stadium known. I'd like to say that it's a done deal (especially with the city moving forward to get some $240 million in private financing in a deal with Deutsche Bank), but anyone who's lived in DC for any length of time knows that no decision is ever really "done"!
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Washington, DC: The Washington Post described the Near SE area recently: "A sewage pumping station and fleet service center squat nearby, abutting a trash transfer station and a gravel company. The summer breeze sometimes carries the whiff of rot." Is anything being done to improve the smell?
Jacqueline Dupree: Three of the four you mention--everything except the WASA pumping station--are within the stadium footprint, so they will be long gone by the time baseball is being played. However, the WASA land does apparently have a bit of fragrance to it (I've actually not noticed), and I've seen studies that are being worked on to decide what to do. (Really big fans? :-) )
Dana Hedgpeth: WMATA and Forest City are working on trying to get rid of that smell now. WMATA , according to Forest City, is doing some sort of tests to figure out how to get rid of it. It's still a bit of a work in progress for now.
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Washington, DC: Why is this new stadium so necessary?
Jacqueline Dupree: I think anyone who has attended a game at RFK since the Nationals arrived would tell you that it's kind of fun in a retro way to go there, but only because you know that a new stadium is on the horizon. And, from owner/MLB points of view, the fact that it can't be retrofitted with those all-important skyboxes that bring in the $$$$ is probably why RFK stood no chance of being renovated.
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Springfield, VA: Will there be a dedicated exit off of 395 north that will make it easy for Northern Virginia fans to get to the stadium and the surrounding amenities?
Jacqueline Dupree: There already is--the South Capitol Street exit off of I-395.
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Capitol Hill: With the rush to buy land near the stadium and escalating prices, is the stadium development already a success? At the very least it shows the mayor and good council members who voted "yes" were not blinded by their desire to just have a baseball team, because all the private developers converging on the area feel apparently feel it is a good investment.
Dana Hedgpeth: True, at first blush it does seem that things are going quite well. But the skeptics say it won't be a measured success until these planned projects are actually coming out of the ground. So we should all stay tuned to make sure they actually start, as Valhal's project has.
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Anacostia, DC: In terms of economic development, what do you think the impact of the stadium will be to residents east of the Anacostia River? Could there be business expansion over there?
Dana Hedgpeth: In theory, there should be development spreading across the river into Anacostia. But again, the development that the stadium is going to spur will likely start closest to the stadium and then spread out from there. My prediction is it will go into SW first and then down to Buzzard's Point before going into Anacostia. The river is wide and deep if you know what I mean. And I've been working on another story about economic development there and it still has a ways to go, and people in Anacostia don't really feel connected with the stadium. They see it as a "over there" project.
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Arlington, VA: Any idea what's happening with the DC United stadium that was supposed to be going in across the river at Poplar Point?
Jacqueline Dupree: Last I heard was "still in negotiations," although I believe I also read that Marion Barry (whose ward includes Poplar Point) is hoping for a grander plan for development there. It certainly would be neat to have stadiums facing each other across the river, with a new "promenade-type" Frederick Douglass Bridge connecting them.
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Jacqueline Dupree: Note: We've lost Dana temporarily, she should be back in a minute.
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Oakton, Va.: Hi Dana..great article.. any info on what the SE federal Center will look in the future
Jacqueline Dupree: Hopefully soon Forest City will release more designs as to what they're envisioning for the Southeast Federal Center, but I have a few of their drawings at my web site:
http://www.jdland.com/dc/sfc.cfm
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nw wash: Good work!
I want to buy an apartment in this district since I work at the Wash Navy yard. Should I start looking now or wait until they start building on the waterfront. What is your thought about the choicest property to look for
Jacqueline Dupree: There isn't much to buy right now, the Capitol Hill Tower project is the only one currently under construction. JPI is planning to start some apartments and condos on I Street in 2006, with delivery in 2008, and I imagine there will be some other residential projects being announced with similar timelines. Just keep watching.
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Union, N.J.: What is your view about the public transporation in the neighborhood, in terms of access, egress and ingress, cost and reliability?
Dana Hedgpeth: there is the metro close by to the stadium so it appears to be pretty good actually.
Jacqueline Dupree: And WMATA says that it plans to increase bus service in the area as well. And there is talk of running light rail down M Street some day:
http://www.dctransitfuture.com/
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19th & K: How do these development plans tie into the plans to put a soccer stadium just over the bridge for DC United? One of the most unique features about Pittsburgh's beautiful PNC Park is that you can park downtown and then walk over the Roberto Clemente bridge, which is closed to car traffic, to the stadium. If we were able to park at DCU's stadium, tailgate, and then walk over the bridge to the Nats' stadium (a much longer walk, I know, and that bridge can't be closed to traffic, either), it would preserve the great RFK tradition of tailgating.
What's being done to enlarge the Navy Yard Metro station? And what about improving access to the stadium via I-295 along the river, will they improve the on- and off-ramps?
Dana Hedgpeth: i don't know about expansions to the navy yard metro but i'm sure the city planners and wmata are thinking of that. on the soccer stadium that has not progressed as fast as the baseball stadium.
Jacqueline Dupree: Metro's plans for the Navy Yard metro station: Currently able to handle 5,000 riders an hour, the west entrance will be modified to serve 15,000 riders an hour; plans include extending the mezzanine to add one staircase and one escalator, increasing the number of Farecard gates and machines, adding a kiosk, and adding new elevators.
I mentioned in a previous response about the plans for the South Capitol Street bridge--there are also plans for better access to I-295, and new on-off ramps (I'm trying to find links about it right now, can't put my fingers on it, check the DC DOT site: http://ddot.dc.gov)
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Washington DC (SW): Hi:
Can anyone tell me more about what, if anything is going on across South Capitol Street as a result of the new ballpark? Is S. Capitol serving as a sort of barrier to development of SW?
Thanks.
Dana Hedgpeth: i don't know that the word barrier is correct. but yes most of the development right now is in the SE part. waterside mall, where fannie mae was going to go will eventually happen. but maybe not with such a large tenant.
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19th & K: The question re: the waterfront stadium is a major one that has not been addressed. I understand the economics of it, but in the end, we will have a stadium that doesn't sit directly on the waterfront, and could be blocked from even viewing the waterfront or having a waterfront park by a big condo development, and have a stadium now situationed in a way that doesn't even give a view of the Capitol dome (that's just stupid, if you ask me).
Is this going to go down as a stadium project that was done completely WRONG?
Dana Hedgpeth: Well, the word wrong, depends on who you ask I suppose.
Jacqueline Dupree: I think we should wait to see the coming Master Plan before we assume that the stadium will be completely blocked from the waterfront. And as I said earlier, it was Major League Baseball that blocked a Capitol Dome view, because that would put the sun in batters' eyes.
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Clifton, VA: Than call it Bawdy House Row since taverns and brothels used to occupy the area when the Navy Yard was a major employer and thriving area.
Jacqueline Dupree: One more idea for naming the neighborhood.
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MD: I suspect no one is worried about the land acquisition cap OR the Power Plant, b/c of the recent ruling granting cities the ability to utilize eminent domain and transfer land from one private owner to another private owner. Those that choose not to sell out now do so at their own financial peril. Just my humble opinion.
Dana Hedgpeth: good points.
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Jacqueline Dupree: We're going to wrap it up, Dana has to get back out on the street to see what's going on in the world, and I have to return to my neglected job. Thanks to everyone who wrote in, sorry we didn't get to everyone's questions, there were a ton of them. Perhaps we can do this again sometime.
And one more shameless plug, if you want to keep up with what's going on in Near Southeast, visit my web site often, I update it with info on developments, public meetings, studies, documents, and whatever other tidbits I can find.
http://www.jdland.com/dc/
Thanks again.
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