DC CFO’s Financial Report Estimates Ballpark Cost At $667M

The latest report from DC CFO Natwar Gandhi indicated that the price of the proposed Nationals ballpark near the Anacostia River “has risen to $667[M], $78[M] more than the city’s budget of $589[M],” according to a front-page piece by Nakamura & Heath of the WASHINGTON POST. The estimate includes all infrastructure and bond financing costs. DC Mayor Anthony Williams in a statement said that the city “would borrow from Wall Street no more than the $535[M] approved by the council last year.” The report also found that moving the ballpark to a site near RFK Stadium would cost only $606M. But Gandhi noted, “One possible outcome is that [MLB] will not agree to a move to RFK and will leave the District for another location.” The DC Council on December 20 will vote on the 30-year ballpark lease agreement between the city and MLB (WASHINGTON POST, 12/13).

DEVELOPING PICTURE: Four companies have been selected to lead the ancillary development around the ballpark. A DC-based team led by Forest City Washington and Western Development “will direct development of a roughly six-acre site” southeast of the ballpark, while DC-based Monument Realty and Baltimore-based Cordish Cos. will develop three acres to the north (Tim Lemke, WASHINGTON TIMES, 12/13).