Even Shadow Senator Paul Strauss had a car in the parade. And a classic one, to boot.

UPDATE: We’ve now gotten word from intrepid boy reporter Kriston Capps that the D.C. Council’s Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation voted to table Bill 16-734, in a motion brought by At-Large Councilmember Carol Schwartz, which carried 3 to 2 with Marion Barry, Schwartz and surprise vote Vincent Gray against Kathy Patterson and Phil Mendelson. What does this mean for the future of Williams’ library plan? Hard to say. Tabling a bill is usually a pretty good way to kill it without technically doing so, but it’s certainly conceivable that incoming Mayor Adrian Fenty, who has expressed his support for the new library in general terms, could resurrect his own version of the plan at a later time. For now it seems those in favor of preserving the Mies building can rest easy for a while longer, though allow us to be the first to chime in that the pressing issue at hand — the fact that this city desperately needs an improved main public library (not to mention all the will-they-ever-open-again branches still in limbo) — ought to be a top priority for the new mayor and council.

Condo developer Archstone-Smith and real estate firm Hines announced that their development plan for the old convention center site has received approval. From the press release:

The approval was granted by the District of Columbia Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development, on behalf of Mayor Anthony Williams, and follows an intensive community outreach process which commenced in July 2005. Through public meetings with diverse stakeholders and community design workshops, input to the proposed master plan was received from more than 20 organizations. These organizations included Advisory Neighborhood Commissions 2C and 2F, the Downtown Cluster of Congregations, the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association, the Sierra Club and the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District.

With construction anticipated to begin in 2008, the project will include 275,000 square feet of retail space, 300,000 square feet of office space, 772 condo and other housing units, and 1900 parking spaces. You can check out more photos and details of the plan here. What do you think?

The District has also reserved approximately 110,000 square feet of land on the site that includes the location of a new central library. As we write this, the D.C. City Council is meeting to mark up Bill 16-734, the “Library Transformation Act of 2006,” Mayor Williams’ plan to lease out the current Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library building, designed by famed modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and construct a new central library facility at the old convention center site.

Filed Under: adrian fenty, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, anthony williams, As, Business and Development, Business Improvement District, carol schwartz, city, City Council, club, construction, convention, convention center, d.c. council, Deputy Mayor, design, district, downtown, Downtown D, economic development, education, Federal City, Greater Washington, Greater Washington Board, greaterwashingtonboard, housing, Jr., kathy patterson, Kriston Capps, library, Ludwig Mies, marion barry, Martin Luther, martin luther king, martin luther king jr., mayor, mayor adrian fenty, Mayor Anthony Williams, Mayor Williams, Memorial Library, news, office, parking, Penn, penn quarter, phil mendelson, photos, public library, real estate, recreation, sierra club, The District, the future, vincent gray, vincentgray, washington,