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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I heard a rumor that the Chevy chase pavilion building is shifting away from retail and going to become a medical building/docs offices.

I was so sad when H & M closed.

Not a rumor. The Pavilion's owner is actively trying to do this and is trying to change the zoning without any public input:

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2019/04/24/chevy-chase-pavilion-faces-opposition-on-medical.html

And the Zoning Commission promptly swatted down this request so it is no longer an active request.

The Pavilion really screwed up 10 years ago when they spent 35 million renovating the property. They jacked up the rents on a bunch of businesses that had been there for years including the Sport and Health that used to draw in a bunch of people from the neighborhood every day who would then spend money at Starbucks and CVS - some of the retail spaces they raised the rents on were never filled. And they had two Voltaggio businesses that were failures in short order.

Still the Starbucks, CVS,World Market & Cheesecake Factory all do very well there and the office tower and hotel in the complex are both very successful so the only explanation I can come up with is they are just asking for too much rent.

For the life of me I will never understand the mind of commercial landlords. They keep shooting for the stars in rent and end up with empty buildings for years.

[Anonymous]

^ive read they do it because buildings are valued in multiples of the monthly rent, so any reduction in asking rent is a huge write down for their portfolio.

Personally I think the taxes on commercial properties that have been vacant for too long should be jacked up so high that taking the write down is the more profitable option. These empty storefronts are a blight on the city

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My opinion on this is that it's too car oriented. Personally I like to walk around retail areas that have narrower, slower roads going through them. At FH I feel like I am always 6 lanes of traffic away from where I want to be.

This. The places I like to go (Nordstrom’s Rack, L&T and J.Jill) are far from one another and across busy roads. It’s rare that I have enough time to go to more than one, and when I do, it’s a schlep back to my car if I buy anything.

[Anonymous]

All the stores I used to go to moved to Bethesda or Tysons, so I don't shop at any of them anymore. No one has time to deal with they nightmare traffic in those areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the stores I used to go to moved to Bethesda or Tysons, so I don't shop at any of them anymore. No one has time to deal with they nightmare traffic in those areas.

Bethesda is right on top of a Metro station, and Tysons is right next to one (more or less). No nightmare traffic involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My opinion on this is that it's too car oriented. Personally I like to walk around retail areas that have narrower, slower roads going through them. At FH I feel like I am always 6 lanes of traffic away from where I want to be.

Of course the tradeoff is that you end up with log jams like M St in Georgetown, but as a person who walks more than they drive, it doesn't bother me.

You make it sound like crossing Route 7 in Sterling. FH is an urban area with closely spaced traffic lights, and walk signs.

[Anonymous]

I love friendship heights but am increasingly worried. I hope the lord and Taylor can hold on! I wish DC would put some resources toward attracting and keeping retail alive there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the stores I used to go to moved to Bethesda or Tysons, so I don't shop at any of them anymore. No one has time to deal with they nightmare traffic in those areas.

Bethesda is right on top of a Metro station, and Tysons is right next to one (more or less). No nightmare traffic involved.

Friendship is above the metro too and one of the main lines and not one of the bleak, cross the river super treks that is the Silver/Orange lines. Tysons is about as walkable as Springfield

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love friendship heights but am increasingly worried. I hope the lord and Taylor can hold on! I wish DC would put some resources toward attracting and keeping retail alive there.

I'm not sure I can think of a worse use for tax dollars than subsidizing Lord & Taylor.

Far more people now live EOTP, and they now have many more options for shopping that aren't so far away. Even if the richest DC residents are still nearby, the balance of purchasing power that keeps stores in business has shifted. Meanwhile, NIMBYs prevent nearly anything from changing in nearby neighborhoods.

If people near Friendship Heights want nicer things, they should allow more homes to be built WOTP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ive read they do it because buildings are valued in multiples of the monthly rent, so any reduction in asking rent is a huge write down for their portfolio.

Personally I think the taxes on commercial properties that have been vacant for too long should be jacked up so high that taking the write down is the more profitable option. These empty storefronts are a blight on the city

Yes this is exactly what’s happening in Manhattan too, and revising the tax structure has been discussed as one solution. Of course, that’s how you wind up with shitty pop-ups everywhere, in an attempt to evade penalty taxing by filling storefronts with any business that can pay $100.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a fan of Amazon -- I need to touch and feel and try on before buying, plus Amazon's labor practices are appalling. I can walk to FH, but agree with OP that it's dismal, so I never shop there -- just get on Metro to go to work. I also hate driving and malls. So, basically, I never buy clothes here, unless I have no other choice. But when I go to Chicago for work -- every month or so for a couple of days-- I love walking up Michigan Avenue and over to the Near North Side, where I can shop at all the same stores that I'd find in FH or Tysons or Westbrook Montgomery (aka, the ghost town near Cabin John park). When I was in Chicago last month, I had two hours to myself and shopped at Patagonia and Madewell. With more time, I would have stopped in at Uniqlo and Reformation too . . . I'll definitely hit those next time. What makes that area more inviting is the street feel -- the architecture, people-watching, and pedestrian-friendly street grid.

You just described Georgetown where you can shop at all the same stores you mentioned in a nice cute town setting. Since Georgetown isn't really that far NWDC, people probably prefer to go there for the nicer walking experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My opinion on this is that it's too car oriented. Personally I like to walk around retail areas that have narrower, slower roads going through them. At FH I feel like I am always 6 lanes of traffic away from where I want to be.

Of course the tradeoff is that you end up with log jams like M St in Georgetown, but as a person who walks more than they drive, it doesn't bother me.

I feel the same way about Tysons, i'ts even scarier to walk around there, who actually does this? Tysons is where you drive from one mall to another, park and walk around indoors. Do people really take metro to go shop there? It's heart attack inducing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love friendship heights but am increasingly worried. I hope the lord and Taylor can hold on! I wish DC would put some resources toward attracting and keeping retail alive there.

I'm not sure I can think of a worse use for tax dollars than subsidizing Lord & Taylor.

Far more people now live EOTP, and they now have many more options for shopping that aren't so far away. Even if the richest DC residents are still nearby, the balance of purchasing power that keeps stores in business has shifted. Meanwhile, NIMBYs prevent nearly anything from changing in nearby neighborhoods.

If people near Friendship Heights want nicer things, they should allow more homes to be built WOTP.

Adding hundreds of micro apartments in millennial dormitories isn’t relevant here, GGW. No one needs an Orange Theory and SweetGreen every 50 yards.

[Anonymous]

I always considered FH a place where you drive and park, even when I lived on the red line and needed to visit one of the department stores. It's pretty much a semi urban shopping mall collection. You drive to a specific department store and park in its lot to walk right to its entrance, like you do in any suburban shopping mall. Then you usually just either go home or drive to another store and park there, you don't just leave your car in the parking lot and spend hours hanging out there and walking around from place to place. That's why they built places like Reston and Mosaic for suburbanites to park for several hours and walk around from place to place. If you don't make it a town center that's human scale friendly either real like Georgetown or Downtown that were not built around the car, or the fake ones like Reston/Mosaic where you park and walk on narrow "town" streets without having to cross busy streets or parking lot areas, then you don't get street life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love friendship heights but am increasingly worried. I hope the lord and Taylor can hold on! I wish DC would put some resources toward attracting and keeping retail alive there.

I'm not sure I can think of a worse use for tax dollars than subsidizing Lord & Taylor.

Far more people now live EOTP, and they now have many more options for shopping that aren't so far away. Even if the richest DC residents are still nearby, the balance of purchasing power that keeps stores in business has shifted. Meanwhile, NIMBYs prevent nearly anything from changing in nearby neighborhoods.

If people near Friendship Heights want nicer things, they should allow more homes to be built WOTP.

Adding hundreds of micro apartments in millennial dormitories isn’t relevant here, GGW. No one needs an Orange Theory and SweetGreen every 50 yards.

Then don't complain when your stores close.