Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Nationals Park to Remain an Island For Some Time

Not surprising, but no less depressing for folks hoping that the Nats' new stadium would anchor a vibrant business, residential, and commercial district any time soon:

A slowing economy and the collapse of credit markets have halted the much-anticipated development of retail, restaurants and other projects in the area around the Washington Nationals' new stadium in Southeast . . .

. . . Along M Street Southeast and to the east and north of the ballpark, shovels have not hit the ground on several vacant plots. Plans for new office buildings, including 250 M St., 401 M St. and 1111 New Jersey Ave., are on hold while developers who once were able to build without a single signed tenant now must show a large stack of executed leases in order to obtain financing . . .

. . . The struggles of office developers may not directly impact baseball fans, but the lack of new workers in the area has slowed the development of the retail and restaurants that fans are eager to visit on game days.
Things are tough all over.

3 comments:

Alex Brissette said...

No crack at the Nats being a lousy team/franchise?

Craig Calcaterra said...

I beat dead horses, but I draw the line at decomposing ones.

Or maybe I just didn't have a crack ready. I'm not sure myself.

Eric Toms said...

The Cards' mixed use / ballpark village development may finally get off the ground ( last I read ) but it is way, way, way behind schedule. I think the same of the proposed development around the Rangers' ballpark. Fremont's mixed use development for the A's the same....on a smaller scale the Atlantic League's Newark franchise is bust and the development boom around it promised by the proponents of public dollars for the stadium never materialized.....

We all know there are loads of examples.

It's far too late but I think the era of public dollars for private stadiums ( read the book! ) is ending. The Yankee's scamming of NYC residents is bringing national attention to the subject, again too late.