“The Near Southeast is at an important moment in its history. For the majority of the last century, this area that sits along the banks of the Anacostia River and on the doorstep to the US Capitol has been dominated by large industrial and government uses… As recent public and private investments reach nearly two billion dollars in the Near Southeast, the neighborhood is on the verge of a major transformation." - District of Columbia Office of Planning
The wait and the debates are history. Cranes, pile drivers and metal hats are hard at work. A curve-shaped structure rises from the dirt a mile south of the Capitol. All baseball eyes in Washington are on Opening Day 2008.
In downtown D.C., in a boot-shaped part of the city known as “Near Southeast,” construction has begun in earnest on the Washington Nationals’ 41,000 seat ballpark. Blogger Jacqueline Dupree (hereafter known as JD) provides a ton of information and a lot of great insight on the stadium and the surrounding area at her website Near Southeast DC Redevelopment. Culling information from her site, I decided to put down a brief summary about the areas around and near the ballpark.
These locations fall into two categories. The first is a 60-acre Ballpark District nestled around the ballpark to the north, east and south. Plans include promenades, restaurants, bars, retail, a plaza, offices and residential, as well as at least one hotel.
The second area is primarily north and east of the Baseball District. These blocks will also have mixed use. It should be noted several residential and office projects have already been completed in this section of the neighborhood as well at the Marriot Hotel. And as JD notes, the east end, that is, the Navy Yard, was the catalyst for the redevelopment projects.
"Near Southeast" is 346 acres and is defined by the traffic heavy corridors of South Capitol Street to the west (the western border of the stadium), the Southeast Freeway (I-395) to the north and the Anacostia River to the south and east. A good overview can be found at the August 15, 2005 Wasington Post, as well as JD's site (Time is your only enemy!!)
Here is the breakdown of what fans can expect. Please note that not all of these plans have been firmed up with contracts, not all will be ready by Opening Day 2008 and some won't be completed for severals years and then some. Due to the short, two-year time frame, there are even concerns that the ballpark will not be ready. By most accounts, however, the work is on schedule.
Ballpark District
Half-Street District
Location: North of the ballpark
Size: 10 Acres
Streets: Capital and First. M and N.
Planned: Mixed use.
Start/Complete Date: Several of the projects may start in early 2007
From the looks of it, this will be the primary hangout area before and after the game. Fans getting off at the metro will arrive at the corner of M Street and Half Street. The park footprint is one block away. One hopes for some good food and drink choices here but then again, the owners will want you to buy at the park. Personally, I'd love to see a Panera but so far they're only in the burbs here.
The Yards (Southeast Federal Center)
Previously known as Southeast Federal Center, this area was renamed “The Yards” by the developer. The reference is to the history of the Navy Yard that ran along the Anacostia River.
Location: Northeast of the ballpark
Size: 42 acres
Streets: First and Second, M and N
Planned: 2,700 residential units, 1.8 M square feet office, 300,000 sf retail and a 5.5-acre riverfront park. Some of the historic Navy structures will be restored as riverfront loft and condominiums.
Start/Complete Date: First construction (400 residential units) to begin in early 2007. To be completed in three phases over 10-20 years.
Already here: The Headquarters for the Department of Transportation in the northwest quadrant, is scheduled to open in early 2007. Plans include transportation history exhibits.
The western edge of this area will face the ballpark and give fans a second hangout area. My guess is once they see how "popular" the Half Street metro stop is, some game goers will choose to exit the metro from the New Jersey Ave end and walk down First Street along that western edge of The Yards. One hopes for more food and drink options here, in a place that might not be as popular. But really, I am only speculating.
WASA
Location: East of the ballpark
Size: 4.6 acres
Streets: First Street and N Street
Planned: Forest City and Western Development negotiating for development rights. 800 units planned.
Start/Complete Date: ??
This is one of the few surviving structures in the Baseball District. Unfortunately, it’s the Water and Sewer Treatment plant.
JD notes that “the Ballpark District Development Strategy indicates that approximately 4 acres of the WASA site will most likely be given over to development, so that some of 1st Street right across from the stadium will have mixed-use offerings."
She also writes that “odor control” will be included as part of a rehab for the pumping station. With the site east of the stadium, that should help under normal wind conditions. On my three walks past this place, I did not get any whiffs.
Earth Conservation Corps
It's a small red building by the water, used by a nonprofit organization. They provide environmental education, job training and community service programs for disadvantaged youth between the ages of 17-25 years old.
Public Plaza
Size: 39,000 sq feet.
No firm plans that I could find.
Florida Rock
Location: South of the park
Size: 5.8 acres
Streets: Potomac and South Capitol
Planned: Two office buildings, one residential, 235 room hotel.
Start/Complete Date: Early 2008
I wrote that the Anacostia River is the southern border for the ballpark. Actually, this small patch of land between the river and the park is.
The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative lists water taxis and a dock for this area but no firm plans are in place. A recent Washington Post article mentioned the service could bring in fans from National Harbor and Old Town Alexandria.
The AWI also talks about “The First Street Landing.” It would also have retail and restaurants and would be right where the water taxis arrive.
Areas Beyond the Ballpark District
North of the Ballpark District
Office and residential, mixed use, possible hotel.
New Jersey Corridor
Located between the freeway and M Street is the New Jersey Avenue corridor. Already built are the Marriot Hotel and Capitol Hill Tower. This street leads to the Capitol South metro stop, an alternative to what is sure to be a jam-packed Navy Yard stop.
Capper/Carrollsburg Projects Redevelopment
Mixed income development in a very pleasant, tree-lined part of the area.
Navy Yard
About five blocks to the east of the ballpark is the historic Navy Yard. The HQ for the Naval District Washington is located here, along with the Navy Museum.
As JD notes:
“In 2001, more than 4,100 Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) employees were relocated to the Navy Yard. This can be looked at as the first move in the revitalization of M Street and the Near Southeast Anacostia Waterfront; office buildings were built to house NAVSEA contractors, the city spent money on rehabbing M Street's landscape, and developers began to eye the other empty or blighted properties in the area...."
South of Florida Rock
South of the ballpark, on the other side of the Anacostia River, lies a patch of Federal land known as Poplar Point. President Bush is expected to sign the legislation that would give the District control of the 200 acre site. D.C. United is planning to build a new soccer stadium here and the rest will be housing and retail.
Waterfront
When the subject of the ballpark orientation came up, Mayor Baseball, outgoing Anthony Williams, wanted it to be looking out to the river. The traditional SW to NE won out but it seems like part of the decision was that the Anacostia River is not very attractive right now.
There are plans, however, major plans, for its revitalization. They include 20 miles of trails and river walk, a new Waterfront Light Rail Line, a new tunnel under the river, replacing the South Capitol Street Bridge and the 11th Street Bridge. Destination plans include new museums and memorial sites.
Transportation options
The metro stop is very convenient but it’s going to be very crowded. The good news is the stop will be made larger for OD 2008 (from 5,000 riders per hour to 15,000) and Metro already has and is adding new eight car trains.
For the SUV Brigade, there are plans for 8,000 or so spaces but it’s not in one central area like at RFK. There’s been talk of specific parking slots for season ticket holders. Also in a briefing to local residents, JD said the developers “plan to provide temporary surface parking lots until their developments are further along.”
Planned water taxis will help to alleviate some of the crowding and traffic, but it probably won’t be ready the first year. There are also plans for streetcars but this too is in the early phases.
As far as buses, one would hope that the owners and the city work something out. The Nats did that last year, taking fans to lesser crowded parts of the Metro. They didn’t do it every game but they need to make that their policy at the new park.
Additional information:
A note about the team “Near Southeast.”
JD certainly popularized this term. I did a Washington Post search. There were some articles in the 70s using it as near Southeast. A Jan 18, 1980 article referred to as “the near Southeast area” and Capitol Hill. Then at the end of the article it uses the term Near Southeast. From there, you begin to see the term used more often in ANC action briefs as Near Southeast but some article still have it as near Southeast. It’s interesting that the popular maps don’t use the term and at least one key documents say it’s the “Navy Yard area of Southeast.. and “is also known as Near Southeast.” (Ok, whatever!).
What about the areas west of the park?
There are redevelopment plans. Maybe in a follow-up, I will provide more info.
What about the 1200 parking spots for the luxury box owners, owner and players?
The DC Council approved legislation to build parking garages just north of the park and in the stadium footprint. The Washington Post seemed to think that without having retail with the building, it was bad news. But as JD noted several times, there's already plenty of spots planned.
And if you've gotten this far, you now have an idea of what that is!
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