– The latest estimate of an opening date for the Waterfront Station Z-Burger from its proprietor is around Thanksgiving. All of the furniture has been ordered and will take between four and five days to install once it arrives. Free food will be given away during the first few days of operation at the new restaurant.
– Lot 38 Espresso, located next to the Courtyard Marriott at 2nd & L streets, SE is aiming for a Dec. 1 opening date. Awnings have now gone up at the building, which is newly constructed and replaces a small red building that did not want to sell to Valhal when the developer originally built the hotel and Capitol Hill Tower co-op.
– Marina Place was approved by the Zoning Commission over the summer. The planned residential project in Buzzard Point next to the marina of the same name will contain 99 units, with a small portion set aside as affordable housing. The land owner is currently looking for a pioneering developer to partner with him on the project.
– Foundry Lofts (301 Tingey St., SE) is currently 43 percent pre-leased and residents are expected to start moving into the building by the end of November. Potbelly Sandwich Works and Kruba Thai and Sushi are expected to begin their build-out on the ground floor in December and open their doors by the first quarter of 2012.
– A new museum is proposed at the site of Banneker Park, located at the southern terminus of Tenth Street, SW. The proposed Museum of the American People has been designed by MTFA Architecture, Inc; however, the museum is still in the concept stage so it will be several years before any significant movement will happen.
– Madison Marquette will soon begin the redevelopment process of the “Blue Castle,” the former streetcar barn at Eighth and M streets, SE, as a retail destination, along with its other holdings near that intersection. The leases for the charter schools that currently occupy the Blue Castle expire in 2012.
– Hoffman-Madison Waterfront is in negotiations with Carr Hospitality and Intercontinental Hotels Group to build and operate a 268-key, four star hotel at The Wharf. The hotel operators are the same ones that operate the Willard Intercontinental Hotel downtown. This new hotel will be located at Ninth Street and Maine Avenue, SW, facing the waterfront promenade. It will be opposite what will be the new home of the Graduate School USA.
– The bridge between Diamond Teague Park and the Yards Park is close to being completed. This connection will allow a continuous waterfront walkway along the Anacostia River from First Street, SE to Eleventh Street, SE.
News from Southwest was adapted from the Southwest…The Little Quadrant That Could blog (www.southwestquadrant.blogspot.com)
and Near SE news was adapted from the JD Land blog (www.jdland.com/dc).