7900 WISCONSIN AVENUE BUILDING, SIDEWALK BLOCKED OFF (PHOTOS)

7900 Wisconsin Avenue, an office building slated for demolition in the coming months, has been barricaded with cones. The structure will be eliminated to make way for The JBG Companies' 7900 Wisconsin mixed-use project, featuring luxury apartments and anchored by a Trader Joe's grocery store.

Fitness First remains open on Wisconsin Avenue, but 7900 is vacant with a blank lobby directory.

It is unclear if this is a step towards placement of construction fencing, or to what extent the Wisconsin Avenue sidewalk will be impacted by the demolition and construction ahead. The cones are greatly reducing the sidewalk right-of-way. With the newspaper boxes in place, the open width does not appear to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements. Even walkers were having difficulty passing each other on the sidewalk Tuesday evening. Adjustments should be made to address this.

One other trivial point - the cones are labeled for Aldon Management, which operates several buildings in the Battery Lane area of Bethesda, including the venerable 8200 apartment tower on Wisconsin.

You can see how much of the sidewalk
is taken up by the cones and
newspaper boxes; not very
pedestrian or ADA-friendly

Now-vacant lobby of 7900

When all else fails, duct
tape is the answer

Aldon Management is a
hometown company

The lights are on, but
nobody's home