Why is Friendship heights shopping district so ... unsatisfying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rumor is the Giant in FH is closing in January, but there's a covenant in the lease or something that says that space must always offer a full-service grocery store so something else is taking its place ASAP.

Aldis please!!!

+1.

[Anonymous]

Just saw on local news that J. Crew is leaving Chevy Chase Pavilion. Is there anything else left in there now?

Plus this is interesting: https://www.retaildive.com/news/this-dc-neighborhood-used-to-be-synonymous-with-high-end-shopping-now-its/610322/

[Anonymous]

It feels soulless and generic to me. I’ve never really liked it either though I end up there running errands sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Mazza Gallerie is being redeveloped.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2021/05/mazza-gallerie-will-be-redeveloped-as-apartments/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rumor is the Giant in FH is closing in January, but there's a covenant in the lease or something that says that space must always offer a full-service grocery store so something else is taking its place ASAP.

Aldis please!!!

+1.

It is an Amazon Grocery now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rumor is the Giant in FH is closing in January, but there's a covenant in the lease or something that says that space must always offer a full-service grocery store so something else is taking its place ASAP.

Aldis please!!!

+1.

Nobody around there wants to shop at an Aldi's.

[Anonymous]

It could be so much more. If Bethesda Row, Pick and Rose, Georgetown, and City Center are a success, Friendship Heights should be a slam dunk. First of all, it has Metro. That's huge. It's also a large area and has highly successful medical offices, the best Whole Foods in the area, Bloomingdales, Saks 5th Avenue, Tiffany's, Brooks Brothers, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, commuter and street traffic, and multiple large wealthy neighborhoods surrounding it (built in consumers). The area also has the movie theater space, and tons of empty retail, large and small. The streetscape definitely needs to be improved: updated, more cohesive and attractive, more greenery/landscaping, improve pedestrian friendliness with more outdoor seating (cafes) and meeting/hangout spots. It certainly has endless potential for popularity and success if done the right way, but they need to hurry and get on it.

[Anonymous]

Amazon killing retail?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rumor is the Giant in FH is closing in January, but there's a covenant in the lease or something that says that space must always offer a full-service grocery store so something else is taking its place ASAP.

Aldis please!!!

+1.

Nobody around there wants to shop at an Aldi's.

I do. I’d be there daily. And believe you me, so many others as well. The closest aldi from here is in Rockville and in DC at least 20 -30 min each way. An aldi here would be a hit. But as this is an old thread, and an Amazon grocery has already opened, I’ll keep my dreams of aldi for when the Amazon grocery that just opened last year finally closes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mazza Gallerie is being redeveloped.

https://wtop.com/business-finance/2021/05/mazza-gallerie-will-be-redeveloped-as-apartments/

I wonder if this is happening anytime soon. And no word on the Lord and Taylor block or the empty parking space between L&T and Mazza. Never mind whatever the landlord at Chevy Chase Pavilion intends to do… It’s so depressing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rumor is the Giant in FH is closing in January, but there's a covenant in the lease or something that says that space must always offer a full-service grocery store so something else is taking its place ASAP.

Aldis please!!!

+1.

Nobody around there wants to shop at an Aldi's.

I do. I’d be there daily. And believe you me, so many others as well. The closest aldi from here is in Rockville and in DC at least 20 -30 min each way. An aldi here would be a hit. But as this is an old thread, and an Amazon grocery has already opened, I’ll keep my dreams of aldi for when the Amazon grocery that just opened last year finally closes.

The one at Georgia and the Beltway is way closer than Rockville.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amazon killing retail?

High rents and over-leveraged commercial landlords killing retail, more like it.

[Anonymous]

Pike and Rose is managing to survive- why feels different about that place? (Agree that FH is so depressing!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pike and Rose is managing to survive- why feels different about that place? (Agree that FH is so depressing!)

Pike and Rose doesn't have a divided 6 lane road running through the middle of it. You get there and then it's easy to walk to the different stores. While Pike and Rose isn't as metro accessible, it's a lot easier to walk around once you are there. I think of it more like an outdoor mall than anything else.

Friendship Heights also has an odd mix of stores. One of the PP mentioned them all together, but Bloomingdale/Saks/Tiffany/Brooks has a different base than TJMaxx/Marshalls. That's snooty-high-end and bargin-low-end, but not much in the middle. The places at Pike and Rose largely fill the gap between those categories, with stores where wealthy-but-not-super-rich people want to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pike and Rose is managing to survive- why feels different about that place? (Agree that FH is so depressing!)

Pike and Rose doesn't have a divided 6 lane road running through the middle of it. You get there and then it's easy to walk to the different stores. While Pike and Rose isn't as metro accessible, it's a lot easier to walk around once you are there. I think of it more like an outdoor mall than anything else.

Friendship Heights also has an odd mix of stores. One of the PP mentioned them all together, but Bloomingdale/Saks/Tiffany/Brooks has a different base than TJMaxx/Marshalls. That's snooty-high-end and bargin-low-end, but not much in the middle. The places at Pike and Rose largely fill the gap between those categories, with stores where wealthy-but-not-super-rich people want to go.

+1. They need to really focus on redeveloping Mazza, the triangular parking lot, the lord and Taylor site, the bus terminal, and the street behind the bus terminal with the radio station office. That could allow for some pedestrian friendly streetscapes.