First Johnson's, now Sullivan's! Who is the landlord behind this?

[Anonymous]

This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

[Anonymous]

Or, just maybe, the Sullivan's management was not able to keep up with the times to maintain a viable business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are over 1500 housing units under construction right now 1 to 2 blocks south of that site. Yet you say that Tenleytown needs more, more, more.

By the way, how many of the units at City Ridge and at 4000 Wisconsin will be truly affordable? Yeah. But that is the Smart Growth pretext for allowing laissez faire development in DC.

the housing under development is all matter of right. next time, support laws that force developers to make more affordable units available rather than just flexing into 'no new development' mode.

Not really true. City Ridge needed a very crucial public space permit to create the new truck ramp and parking access from Wisconsin Ave. DDOT’s stated policy is to disfavor additional access points on major arterials like Wisconsin, and indeed the new access will make an already congested part of the Avenue significantly worse. This was a critical leverage point for the DC government, but the mayor, DDOT and the Office of Planning chose not to demand more affordable housing units as a condition for granting this very valuable access. Speaking of “flexing”, is it any wonder that they all bent over to the developers’ wishes, particularly considering that the developer had boasted at public meetings of his downtown connections?! What’s very clear is that affordable housing isn’t really that much of a policy priority for the Bowser administration, but they use it as a pretext for making the regulatory changes that their developer friends want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

You read the part where AU decided to lose money on purpose to try and keep Johnsons viable, right? No one was forcing them to do that but they did anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are over 1500 housing units under construction right now 1 to 2 blocks south of that site. Yet you say that Tenleytown needs more, more, more.

By the way, how many of the units at City Ridge and at 4000 Wisconsin will be truly affordable? Yeah. But that is the Smart Growth pretext for allowing laissez faire development in DC.

the housing under development is all matter of right. next time, support laws that force developers to make more affordable units available rather than just flexing into 'no new development' mode.

Not really true. City Ridge needed a very crucial public space permit to create the new truck ramp and parking access from Wisconsin Ave. DDOT’s stated policy is to disfavor additional access points on major arterials like Wisconsin, and indeed the new access will make an already congested part of the Avenue significantly worse. This was a critical leverage point for the DC government, but the mayor, DDOT and the Office of Planning chose not to demand more affordable housing units as a condition for granting this very valuable access. Speaking of “flexing”, is it any wonder that they all bent over to the developers’ wishes, particularly considering that the developer had boasted at public meetings of his downtown connections?! What’s very clear is that affordable housing isn’t really that much of a policy priority for the Bowser administration, but they use it as a pretext for making the regulatory changes that their developer friends want.

What a nutty response - you can't leverage a run of the mill public space permit request to negotiate for more affordable housing - it is very unlikely anyone above DDOT's public space team was even aware of the request.

I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of this design but live nearby and bet the McLean Gardens folks would have protested loudly about trucks going around the back though you are right that that would be better for the corridor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

And unless you work in AU's real estate management division you have absolutely no idea if what you are alleging happened or if AU's rent was even a factor in the store closing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

And unless you work in AU's real estate management division you have absolutely no idea if what you are alleging happened or if AU's rent was even a factor in the store closing.

A very Trumpy Smart Growth spin on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are over 1500 housing units under construction right now 1 to 2 blocks south of that site. Yet you say that Tenleytown needs more, more, more.

By the way, how many of the units at City Ridge and at 4000 Wisconsin will be truly affordable? Yeah. But that is the Smart Growth pretext for allowing laissez faire development in DC.

the housing under development is all matter of right. next time, support laws that force developers to make more affordable units available rather than just flexing into 'no new development' mode.

Not really true. City Ridge needed a very crucial public space permit to create the new truck ramp and parking access from Wisconsin Ave. DDOT’s stated policy is to disfavor additional access points on major arterials like Wisconsin, and indeed the new access will make an already congested part of the Avenue significantly worse. This was a critical leverage point for the DC government, but the mayor, DDOT and the Office of Planning chose not to demand more affordable housing units as a condition for granting this very valuable access. Speaking of “flexing”, is it any wonder that they all bent over to the developers’ wishes, particularly considering that the developer had boasted at public meetings of his downtown connections?! What’s very clear is that affordable housing isn’t really that much of a policy priority for the Bowser administration, but they use it as a pretext for making the regulatory changes that their developer friends want.

You posted this exact thing already in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

They cut a deal to keep Johnsons and Johnsons left anyhow.

We have no idea if they raised the rent on Sullivans or not. Most likely, not. But again, you seem to have no issue telling other property owners how to handle their affairs.

How about you put some money together and buy the property and then lease it however you wish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




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So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

And unless you work in AU's real estate management division you have absolutely no idea if what you are alleging happened or if AU's rent was even a factor in the store closing.

A very Trumpy Smart Growth spin on it.

Please go take your meds - you live in Cleveland Park and can afford them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

There are over 1500 housing units under construction right now 1 to 2 blocks south of that site. Yet you say that Tenleytown needs more, more, more.

By the way, how many of the units at City Ridge and at 4000 Wisconsin will be truly affordable? Yeah. But that is the Smart Growth pretext for allowing laissez faire development in DC.

the housing under development is all matter of right. next time, support laws that force developers to make more affordable units available rather than just flexing into 'no new development' mode.

Not really true. City Ridge needed a very crucial public space permit to create the new truck ramp and parking access from Wisconsin Ave. DDOT’s stated policy is to disfavor additional access points on major arterials like Wisconsin, and indeed the new access will make an already congested part of the Avenue significantly worse. This was a critical leverage point for the DC government, but the mayor, DDOT and the Office of Planning chose not to demand more affordable housing units as a condition for granting this very valuable access. Speaking of “flexing”, is it any wonder that they all bent over to the developers’ wishes, particularly considering that the developer had boasted at public meetings of his downtown connections?! What’s very clear is that affordable housing isn’t really that much of a policy priority for the Bowser administration, but they use it as a pretext for making the regulatory changes that their developer friends want.

You posted this exact thing already in this thread.

In reply to Ward 3 Vision or some such deflecting again with the same disingenuous talking point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not enough kids in upper NW DC to support a toy store. They can't even fill their schools there. That's why they need to have such a high number of out of bounds students at Wilson and Deal and Janney etc.

Janney is overcrowded and only in bounds students. People scramble to own a house in Janney's boundaries. Deal also overcrowded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is from 2018, posted on local listservs and social media from American University as it related to Johnsons



AU Statement on the closure of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers’ Washington, DC location


American University wants to correct and clarify statements that have been made in connection with the tenancy of Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers at the University-owned property at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. We also are sharing a timeline and some basic facts that led to Johnson’s recent decision to close its Tenleytown location at the end of its lease in January 2018. We have decided to share this information now to accurately detail the University’s actions in this matter.

•Johnson’s has been a tenant of AU since the University purchased the property located at 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in 2000. It occupied 16,256 rentable square feet of Indoor Retail Space on the ground level in the building and 27,108 square feet of Outdoor Space.

•In 2014, when Johnson’s and AU attempted to negotiate a ten-year lease for a term to start in January 2015, Johnson’s first expressed concerns about the viability of its Tenley location.

•As a result of Johnson’s desire to limit its financial exposure and to postpone its decision whether to stay in Tenleytown for the long term, Johnson’s requested, and the University granted, a short term (three-year) extension, which is unusual in commercial leasing, so that Johnson’s would have the opportunity to better evaluate the viability of the location. Johnson’s asked for the extension specifically to (a) seek DC Government approval to use property adjacent to the Outdoor Space for commercial purposes; (b) consider the restructure of its business operations at 4200; and (c) explore the relocation of its business at 4200 Wisconsin to another site in the Tenley neighborhood.

•During this three-year period, the University not only worked with Johnson’s owners to create a sustainable business model for the unique space it occupied at 4200 Wisconsin, but the University paid from its own funds half the cost of consultants retained by Johnson’s to evaluate the long-term viability of their Tenleytown operations.

•In the fall of 2016, anticipating the expiration of the short-term extension, the University and Johnson’s agreed to begin negotiations on a long-term (ten-year) lease. In February of 2017, both parties signed a Letter of Intent (LOI). The University then sent a lease reflecting those LOI terms to Johnson’s for its signature.

•As mutually agreed, the LOI reflected below-market rent and the full amount of real property taxes for the Outdoor Space which the parties had agreed was appropriate since Johnson’s would continue to have exclusive use of the space for the greenhouse and customer parking.

•In the summer of 2017, Johnson’s requested significant material changes to the LOI terms including additional financial concessions and changes to operating agreements that would affect other building tenants (exclusive use of a loading dock) or that were not within the University’s power to grant (allowing parking in the fire access lane). In sum, Johnson’s wanted about $2,000,000 more in financial concessions over the term of the lease beyond what they had agreed to in the signed LOI, as well as operational changes the University could not provide.

•The additional demands could not be met by the University. The University renewed its offer to abide by the terms that the parties had set forth in their signed LOI, but Johnson’s declined.

•In August of 2017, Johnsons notified the University that they would be moving out at the end of the current lease (January 31, 2018). Johnson’s waited until January 3, 2018 to publically announce that they would close their Washington, DC location on or before January 14, 2018.
The University took significant and reasonable steps to try to accommodate Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers. It spent its own time and money to try to work with Johnson’s on a financial arrangement that would work mutually. While acknowledging that Johnson’s has been a valued tenant and the neighboring community benefits from Johnson’s services, our fiduciary responsibility to be good stewards of limited University resources dictated that we could not agree to an arrangement with terms substantially below market value for the location.

We hope that this information is helpful in providing additional perspective for the surrounding community on the good faith discussions that took place regarding Johnson’s tenancy.




----


So just maybe, AU wasn't the bad guy then, and isn't the bad guy now?

There is a crazy amount of available retail along Wisconsin Avenue and AU has some already including under used classroom space - it really makes no sense that AU would have raised their rent or otherwise run them off. Maybe they are closing for the reason that there is a lot of available retail elsewhere which is that store front retailers are struggling everywhere to compete with Amazon.

As a partner and presence in the community, AU needs to stop treating their neighborhood real estate as just another portfolio asset where the sole investment driver is always the highest return. A reasonable return is important, yes, but as a nonprofit AU also needs to consider the needs of the community in which it is situated (including its students and faculty who are business patrons) and not take decisions that effectively drive out smaller, independent, neighborhood-serving businesses.

And unless you work in AU's real estate management division you have absolutely no idea if what you are alleging happened or if AU's rent was even a factor in the store closing.

Not the PP and yeah, no idea and don't care. I do know that two precious independent businesses have exited AU properties. The buck stops with AU. They need to try harder.