The Limestone Façade

A limestone facing upon a concrete and steel building, which provides the look as a façade, would be essentially cosmetic and easiest to be added later.

The Washington Post has mentioned this issue at least onces:

By Thomas Boswell D.C.'s Diamond In the Rough
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/14/AR2006031401902.html

Wednesday, March 15, 2006; Page E01

(Excerpt) Will Washington get its iconic anchor in Southeast with walls of glass rather than metal panel, with exterior walls made of limestone or precast concrete rather than cheap, ugly ground-face cinder block?

A bit more on this appears in Jacqueline Dupree’s Near Southeast DC Redevelopment site:

• The New Stadium Needs an Owner (4/7/06 07:43 AM)
In today's Washington Times, "Nats, City Officials Long For Owner" discusses how the lack of a new owner for the Nationals is impacting not only the team, but construction of the new baseball stadium:

City officials are particularly anxious for an owner to be named because of several upcoming decisions related to the new ballpark, to be located along the Anacostia Waterfront. Construction of the stadium could begin this month, and officials would prefer owner input about aspects of the ballpark design, including the location of an adjacent parking garage.

In addition, architects and the construction team would like to consult the owner about changes to the design of the ballpark and the materials used to build it. The sports commission has required the construction team to build the ballpark for no more than $320 million, and efforts to stay under that cap have forced some more expensive materials and design aspects to be removed.

In other words, get a new owner, and maybe there might be limestone instead of concrete made to look like limestone...