Western Portion of South Capitol Mall- Still Doable
Placing the 1345 South Capitol Street real estate project on hold helps maintains the feasibility of building the western portion of the South Capitol Mall; illustration above and following are reverse flips of the 2003 NCPC proposal

The hopefully canceled 1345 South Capitol Street project

Building the western portion of the South Capitol Mall maintains an easier feasibility of building a South Capitol corridor tunnel connecting to the I-395 Center Leg (3rd Street Tunnel).

2003 US NCPC South Capitol Mall- East proposal

This 2003 proposal would have required moving the St Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, and aborting the Nationals Baseball Stadium, or constructing it some 250' eastward.

Doing the reverse flip of the western portion avoids St Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church and Nationals Stadium, and would displace dwellings that are nonetheless anticipated to be removed anyway for the sake of new real estate development.

Taking Heed?
1345 South Capitol Street demolition special real estate development project in conflict with western South Capitol Mall on hold

http://wwwsouthcapitolstreet.blogspot.com/2007/10/demolition-to-begin-for-new-demolition.html

Photos by Jacqueline Dupree

Project's cancellation would free up a portion of the west side of the South Capitol Mall.

South Capitol Street- NCPC 2008
"'Continuing' The Legacy"

South Capitol Commons with Nationals Stadium

Planning shows all of the buildings along the western side of South Capitol Street replaced.

Why not then instead build the western portion of the South Capitol Mall across the street from St Vincent de Paul Church and Nationals Stadium?

National Capital Framework Plan- Continuing The Legacy

Jesuitical "Environmentalist" Clique That Ignored the South Capitol Mall To Stop Poplar Point Stadium/Development

From Marc Fisher:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/28/AR2008052803101.html

The Earth Conservation Corps, the Anacostia and Potomac Riverkeepers, the Sierra Club, D.C. ACORN and the Friends of the Earth have teamed with an arm of [Jesuit Order run] Georgetown University's law school to take the first step in a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service, the Navy, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Architect of the Capitol and the D.C. government to halt any move toward developing 40 acres of national parkland along the Anacostia River into the $2.5 billion retail, office and sports complex that the D.C. government envisions for the site.

"We're looking to use any method possible to preserve that land for people," says Glen O'Gilvie, president of the Earth Conservation Corps, a District-based group that advocates for the river and trains Washington youths to do environmental work.

With Polar Point part of a swath of hundreds of acres of parkland, one has to ask why none of these "environmentalist" groups would even mention the placement of Washington Nationals Stadium's blocking of the South Capitol Mall. As DC Rad of the Anacostia Now blog notes:

http://anacostianow.blogspot.com/2008/06/development-at-poplar-point-please.html

The Washington Business Journal has a front page article this morning on how a variety of groups from the other side of the Anacostia River (not our side) are teaming up to try to "save" Poplar Point from being developed.

Pretty ridiculous, as the one thing that both Washington generally and Anacostia specifically has in complete abundance is waterfront parkland. The thing we do not have enough of is waterfront development. Also, Anacostia desperately needs to be reconnected to the water, not remain disconnected as it is now thanks to Interstate 295.

I guess we can consider this the start of a new campaign:
Yes! to Development at Poplar Point!

The area has 110 acres, of which 40 would be developed with 70 being parkland. However, this Georgetown set clique wants 0 development- just as they seem to want close to 0 parkland on the northern side of the river with their non concern over the South Capitol Mall (and apparently even its greatly scaled back remnants of the South Capitol Commons, and the South Capitol Square).

Nor apparently have any of these "environmentalist" organizations made any effort to advocate covering the Anacostia Freeway, despite their successful efforts at stopping the SE Freeway extension to RFK, and later the Barney Circle Freeway.

Anacostia Now- Poplar Point

Washington Nationals Stadium White Elephant

According to a Marc Fisher article in the Washington Post

(excerpt)

Paxten and his friends loved to wander around the mostly abandoned Nationals Park and the ruins of the entertainment complex, despite reports that coyotes had a den in the Nationals' former bullpen. The park had been neglected since Major League Baseball dissolved Washington's team in the second wave of contractions to hit the sport.

I call that a demolition special, much as were the administrative buildings that once sat on the National (West) Mall.

Beside the [Misplaced] 'Diamond' a Lump of 'Coal'

from The Washington Post, April 28, 2008

Theodore Lerner's 20 M Street office building
directly behind the St Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church

Comments to this article include a notation that the baseball team's owner's (Ted Lerner's) office building -- 20 M Street -- blocks the view of the Capitol dome from the stadium.

dlietz wrote:

After attending my first two games at Nationals Park this Fri. and Sat., I can say that I was not troubled at all by the concrete plant. What was troubling was the Lerner's office building that blocks the view of the Capitol from many of the seats. That building is your real "lump of coal" next to the diamond.

4/28/2008 10:10:48 AM

http://dcmetrocentric.com/2008/05/07/stadiums-capitol-views/#comment-1587

As I point out:

DouglasWillinger wrote:

That Lerner office building was placed directly behind the St Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church, and may have been a political deal by Lerner to gain that structure's masters support for being selected to purchase the Nationals franchise in a sale that was no auction.

http://wwwsouthcapitolstreet.blogspot.com/2006/07/physical-reality-only-structure-along_22.html
http://wwwfreespeechbeneathushs.blogspot.com/2006/10/20-m-street-by-lerner-enterprises.html

4/29/2008 1:46:03 AM

By so placing his office building, Theodore Lerner blocks the sensible relocation of that church structure that would have accommodated the South Capitol Mall.

Relocated St. Vincent de Paul Church with South Capitol Mall

Papal Mass April 17, 2008

Just Days After Inaugurating the mis placed Stadium

Nats Roundup: No Joy In Natville

At 4-10, the Nationals currently possess the worst record in the National League, and are tied with the Tigers for the worst record in baseball. The season is still young, but some disconcerting trends have already developed. Ryan Zimmerman is currently batting .211, and Austin Kearns is batting .217. Not exactly the numbers you want from your three and five hitters. Tim Redding, pitcher, is hitting a surprising .200. Unfortunately, that ties him with Paul Lo Duca, Felipe Lopez, and Ronnie Belliard. It is too early to put much faith in these numbers, but the Nationals are last in the National League in team batting average, and 13th in runs scored. The changes last off season were suppose to bring offense, and that has not happened yet. Where is Everybody?

The biggest concern for this team has to be the attendance so far this season. The Nats have averaged 28,214 tickets sold after 7 home games. That puts them 20th out of 30 teams in the league. more

WMATA's 'Mass Pass' ad ended with Pope on the Aborted South Mall


Perhaps they did not like this inadvertent reminder of their role in aborting what would have been Washington, D.C.'s South Capitol Mall?

St. Vincent de Paul Church- the sole building along South Capitol Street saved by the South Capitol Mall's cancellation

Mark Tuohey of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, who sat on the Board of Trustees of Catholic University with McCarrick, and upon that of Gonzaga HS and Washington Jesuit Academy


The 2002 stadium study indicating St Vincent de Paul Church as the sole surviving building on the east side of this stretch of South Capitol StreetMajor League Baseball: the entity that insisted upon cramming this stadium along South Capitol Street, by making the specific location a condition of allowing the establishment of the Washington Nationals franchise

2008 is the last year he can throw the 1st ball as U.S. President

More on this custom of the U.S. President throwing the 1st ball:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/baseball/

Covington & Burling-
the Pennsylvania Avenue law firm that represented MLB
in this stadium desecration of the NCPC Extending the Legacy South Capitol Mall

"W" Stadium

Blogger Douglas A. Willinger Ambushed, Arrested (while carrying his Verizon cell phone)

"W" Stadium
GW Bush Expected to throw the 1st ball

Mark Lerner said [reported here] that barring a national crisis, President Bush will be throwing out the first pitch. "He's been warming up since December, I understand," said Mr. Lerner.

This is perhaps something he has been looking forward to for some time, more ...

Nationals "Park"

Photo from Jacqueline Dupree's web site

Notably, the highway signs use the word "park" rather then the more specific terms "ball-park" or stadium, given this mammoth structure's intrusion upon NCPC's South Capitol Mall.

Yes "park" is a shorter word, but that leaves the space for adding the "W" (for Washington, or the current US President).

South Capitol Commons Dead?

NCPC 2005

The 2005 NCPC South Capitol Street report featured the traffic oval/park -- the "South Capitol Commons -- that was essentially the replacement for the aborted promenade showcased by U.S. NCPC's 1997 "Extending the Legacy: Planning America's Capital for the 21st Century."

Yet the more recent model illustrated at the url below shows South Capitol Street WITHOUT it.

http://www.arkitera.com/v1/haberler/2004/02/14/anacostia.htm

NCPC 2005

NCPC 2005

South Capitol Street EIS Released
May Eliminate proposed South Capitol Commons (traffic oval)

South Capitol Street EIS- official site

OFFICIAL PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ENDS MARCH 31, 2008

Alternative 1
(no South Capitol Commons)

Alternative 2
(with South Capitol Commons)

Both eliminate the northbound flyover ramp to I-395, replacing it with a traffic light intersection.

Both ignore the proposed South Capitol Square at M Street.

Incredibly, the South Capitol Commons -- the drastically scaled back vestige of US NCPC's previously showcased Extending the Legacy South Capitol Mall -- is NOT guaranteed.

Square at M Street

South Capitol Commons

2005 NCPC study
with South Capitol Commons and the Square at M Street

This 2005 NCPC study curiously shows the St Vincent De Paul Church removed, even though the 2003 ULI study that proposed the Square, shows it with that church structure.