Hundreds of people working 12 hours a day have transformed a 21-acre muddy hole along South Capitol Street into the makings of a 41,000-seat ballpark, slated to welcome its first fans on Opening Day 2008.
Buoyed by unusually warm late-year weather, the framework for the new Washington Nationals stadium in Southeast came together nicely in 2006 and so far is on schedule and within the capped $611 million budget, according to the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission.
“The pace of construction and the exemplary workmanship has been everything we could hope for and probably more,” said Allen Lew, commission chief executive officer.
After a well-attended ceremonial groundbreaking in May, featuring the new Nationals’ ownership group led by developer Ted Lerner, work was ramped up on the excavation of 340,000 cubic yards of soil.
By mid-October, contractors with the team of Clark/Hunt/Smoot had pummeled 2,600 14-inch-thick concrete piles deep into the ground. Steel trusses were lifted into place, and pre-cast concrete bleachers were set along the first base line.
The progress required subcontractors in excavation, piling, concrete foundations, cast-in-place concrete, structural steel, precast concrete seating, waterproofing, mechanical/plumbing and electrical to work in tandem.
Through November, the project had consumed $262.6 million, a little more than 40 percent of the overall budget, according to a monthly status report prepared by the commission.
One problem: Hazardous material cleanup has cost $6 million more than expected — $15.2 million as opposed to the $9.3 million budgeted.
While stadium construction moved smoothly ahead, the big battle of the fall was over parking.
The city wanted costly underground garages that would allow for revenue-generating development above.
The Nationals’ owners sought less expensive, easier-to-build above-ground garages.
In the end, the council refused to bust the $611 million cap, and two above-ground garages, costing about $36 million, will be built on the north side. Excavation is scheduled for January.
“I’m not totally happy with what’s happening with the north side parking, but the north side parking isn’t that big a deal,” Mayor Anthony Williams said recently. “The overall area’s development will ensue when people over there come to their senses and do the right thing.”
The District, meanwhile, is being sued for breach of contract by developer Herb Miller, whose Western Development Corp. had struck a deal to build a mixed-use development of garages and condominiums on the site.
