Ground was finally broken on the massive, $700 million CityCenterDC development on the site of the city’s old convention center this afternoon, a project that’s spanned three mayoral administrations and countless starts and stops.

CityCenter DC development schematic model courtesy Hines|Archstone Hot news from the Washington Business Journal this morning on the long-stalled CityCenter DC project. Tierney Plumb reports that mega-law firm Skadden has signed a letter of intent to lease 350,000 sq. ft. of office space at the yet-to-be constructed project planned for the old convention center site. The lease is a key development in getting the long-stalled project off the ground. CityCenter was originally scheduled to…

There was supposed to be a big press conference for the new D.C. Trapeze School this afternoon, complete with an appearance from the mayor, but the rain kinda put a damper on that parade. Perhaps you’ve already read about the school being put together in the Washington Post, but when we went by the old convention center site today, it did indeed look like they’re ready to start classes this weekend. Check out the…

Back in December we reported that BoltBus and Megabus had moved their stop from 11th Street NW just above G Street to around the corner on G Street NW between 9th and 10th, right next to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. The move sparked a little bit of controversy, as it wasn’t clear whether the location was any better in terms of interrupting traffic, and some customers were reportedly uncomfortable with its…

Image of the Old Convention Center site redevelopment schematic model courtesy Hines|Archstone The Washington Post is reporting on Mayor Adrian Fenty’s announcement today that the city has scrapped any plans to build a new main library at the old convention center site, and instead has reached an agreement with a developer to construct a four-star, 400-room hotel. The agreement dooms forever former Mayor Anthony Williams’ proposal to close the current Martin Luther King Jr….

DCist, admittedly, was not in love with the first ArtWalk, the large installation of murals on the old convention center site at 10th St. between New York Ave. and H St., NW. The third edition of ArtWalk opened this afternoon, and while we still have many of the prior complaints about the space (Astroturf is unnecessary, and the backstops with tarps that make up the walkway are far from aesthetically pleasing), the artwork itself…

The Examiner ran a story on Monday about Bloomingdale’s recent round of talks with the city regarding opening a new store in downtown D.C. Along with the recently approved development at the Old Convention Center site, sources in the Fenty administration told Michael Neibauer that the talks have included the controversial Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 9th and G Streets NW as a “possible option” for the store. The library, as you’ll recall,…

Good morning, Washington. We hope not too many of you were making your way into the city from Montgomery County this morning, as two separate water main breaks forced road closures in Takoma Park and kids to get the day off from school in Germantown. We’ll admit it — we’re pretty envious of the students at Fox Chapel Elementary School, who get to spend the day doing whatever they please while we had to show…

Good morning, Washington, and welcome to September. After what was quite possibly the most beautiful weekend in the history of late summer weather in this city, we’ve finally arrived at the date many of us still associate with “back-to-school” — the Tuesday after Labor Day. So sharpen your pencils, polish your lunchbox and make sure you have the right Trapper Keeper as we check out today’s headlines. At Least Four Weekend Killings: The Examiner…

Editor’s Note: We’re trying out a new end-of-the-day feature this week, affectionately called Go Home Already, which gives us the chance to point out any important headlines we might have missed during the day, great posts from the local blogosphere, a fun photo, and of course, remind you to get the heck out of your office because there are enough workaholics in this city as it is. It’s just a trifle, but we’re sure you’ll…