Nats Neighborhood Still Needs Work

WASHINGTON -- Nationals fans shouldn't expect the neighborhood around the new ballpark to be completely finished when they head to games in about two weeks. Missing sidewalks, half finished buildings and dirt lots still adorn the Southeast community where the stadium has risen.

"It won't be pretty," D.C. Council member Tommy Wells tells WTOP. "We are going to have a lot of mud, a lot of construction."

Construction crews are scrambling to get some of the major pieces of the neighborhood in order. One of those, the Navy Yard Metro Station will be the main gateway to the ballpark. Lead pipes and other building materials are stacked up at what will be the main entrance of that station.

Above the Metro Station is a building that is half finished. Plastic tarps flap in the wind from the upper levels that are exposed. The building is under construction by Monument Realty, and the company says the building will not be completely finished until Opening Day next year.

On Half Street, which is expected to become the main entryway to the ballpark, jackhammers rattle, cranes and bulldozers grumble.

Fences enclosing empty lots are scattered throughout the neighborhood. Some streets do not have sidewalks.

"It will be a bit of a construction zone, but it is going to be cleaned up. It's going to be well lit," says Gregory McCarthy, vice president of the Nationals.

He also says there will be staff on hand to direct fans which way to walk, and advise them on the best route.

The team says it will monitor the situation and make tweaks where they are needed.

Take a look at the neighborhood:

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