July 12, 2006
D.C. approves garage plan; Nats disapprove
The D.C city council unanimously approved selling a plot of land near the new Washington Nationals stadium for $61 million to developer Herb Miller, who would build the parking-garages-wrapped-in-condos development that Mayor Anthony Williams wants. (Guess councilmember Carol Schwartz decided she could live with voting for a bill she didn't like. Again.)
Nats president Stan Kasten has derided the Miller plan as "speculative," which is code for "we want our parking spaces ready on time, by gum, and we don't care whether they're above or below ground or wrapped in condos or in pastrami." (You may doubt me about the pastrami, but who's the one who knows how to read code here, hmm?) It's hard to see why he's worried, though: D.C.'s contract with the Nationals requires the city to provide 1,225 parking spaces by the time the stadium opens, so Kasten will get his asphalt one way or another; the Washington Post reports that the city is considering "[paving] over some of the land to create temporary surface-level parking that would give Miller more time to finish, if necessary."
Have we hit $700 million yet?
