How boring is Cleveland Park?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went for a long walk in DC and ended up on Connecticut Ave in the Cleveland Park area. All I saw was a bunch of second-rate looking restaurants and chain looking stores. Couldn’t even find an independent coffee shop - just a Starbucks or two.

Might as well be a suburb.

What am I missing?

I think you are missing that the people who live here don’t go to the places you went. It’s about leafy and tony living. Convenience of schools. Convergence of mindsets. Easy access to downtown for better restaurants

So, in others words, you all leave the neighborhood to have fun. Meaning the neighborhood itself is boring.

For apartment renters? Probably? Who cares?

[Anonymous]

It’s way less exciting than the Chipotle and Framebridge in Logan Circle. There’s also no Lululemon.

[Anonymous]

If you saw a Starbucks it sounds like you were by the zoo. Did you go all the way up to the Cleveland Park commercial strip? I don't think it's a destination location, but it's nice to live near. Like someone mentioned, it has the essentials.. dry cleaner, library, post office, two grocery stores, Target, train station.. it packs alot in a small space. Plus there is a good variety of food places that are not chains.

[Anonymous]

different strokes for different folks.

but the real issue is the cleveland park metro station and surround areas are zoned for significantly less housing than many other DC and suburban metro stations. it just can't be that 'vibrant'. like the parking lot on top of the metro station is zoned 'historical' and cannot ever be touched.

this is in contrast to places like silver spring, bethesda, and ballston. those are much more dynamic urban places with significantly higher density and pedestrian traffic.

[Anonymous]

Keep it. Density and vibrancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you saw a Starbucks it sounds like you were by the zoo. Did you go all the way up to the Cleveland Park commercial strip? I don't think it's a destination location, but it's nice to live near. Like someone mentioned, it has the essentials.. dry cleaner, library, post office, two grocery stores, Target, train station.. it packs alot in a small space. Plus there is a good variety of food places that are not chains.

Yes I walked all the way to the strip. Not impressive.

[Anonymous]

It’s so boring. Ideally, don’t come here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We used to live in Cleveland Park (Kennedy Warren). The OP is right. Not much in terms of restaurants. To get variety, you have to go to elsewhere like Bethesda where we now live.

Do you like Bethesda more? We are considering ditching a "nice" NW neighborhood for Bethesda

We ditched CCMD for Bethesda. Much happier.

We ditched CCMD (the part that borders DC) for Bethesda. Much happier.

Can you say more? I am excited to turn the dial. I hope we have nice neighbors. There is a community club, which I imagine would be a way to meet people. And I also imagine walking the dog and waving and stuff like that. I imagine a lot, LOL. For some reason, Bethesda Bagels keeps featuring and I don't even eat breakfast. I am going to miss the restaurants on Wisconsin, but my husband points out we are still on Wisconsin and allowed to visit them haha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:different strokes for different folks.

but the real issue is the cleveland park metro station and surround areas are zoned for significantly less housing than many other DC and suburban metro stations. it just can't be that 'vibrant'. like the parking lot on top of the metro station is zoned 'historical' and cannot ever be touched.

this is in contrast to places like silver spring, bethesda, and ballston. those are much more dynamic urban places with significantly higher density and pedestrian traffic.

Mmmm, I don't think that's what's killing DC. The high rents and incentives to large landlords to leave property empty rather then rent to perfectly good tenants (tax write offs) and of course crime are. With a little beautification and the Council/Mayor disincentivizing the empty storefront phenomenon all of these main streets would be humming. Plus move the homeless and MJ smokers along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I lived in WP years ago, I loved walking to CP to catch movies at the uptown theater. Is it still closed? I think the pandemic killed it....

Yes, it's closed. I believe they wanted to turn it into fancy condos, but there is a fight to preserve the space for arts? Maybe a neighbor can say more on that status.
Great theater. The closing of theaters across DC, especially the uptown, has been something that has been a loss-each one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:different strokes for different folks.

but the real issue is the cleveland park metro station and surround areas are zoned for significantly less housing than many other DC and suburban metro stations. it just can't be that 'vibrant'. like the parking lot on top of the metro station is zoned 'historical' and cannot ever be touched.

this is in contrast to places like silver spring, bethesda, and ballston. those are much more dynamic urban places with significantly higher density and pedestrian traffic.

I love how the massive apartment buildings that line Connecticut Avenue immediately north and south of the CP commercial strip -- and also are heavily prevalent on the side streets off Connecticut -- simply do not exist in the minds of people who claim there's no density in CP. It's like they're invisible to the "iT's iLLeGaL tO bUIlD hOUSiNg iN WArD3!" crowd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:different strokes for different folks.

but the real issue is the cleveland park metro station and surround areas are zoned for significantly less housing than many other DC and suburban metro stations. it just can't be that 'vibrant'. like the parking lot on top of the metro station is zoned 'historical' and cannot ever be touched.

this is in contrast to places like silver spring, bethesda, and ballston. those are much more dynamic urban places with significantly higher density and pedestrian traffic.

I love how the massive apartment buildings that line Connecticut Avenue immediately north and south of the CP commercial strip -- and also are heavily prevalent on the side streets off Connecticut -- simply do not exist in the minds of people who claim there's no density in CP. It's like they're invisible to the "iT's iLLeGaL tO bUIlD hOUSiNg iN WArD3!" crowd.

Those are a good example as to why we don’t really want more “density” (vagrancy) in the neighborhood. The voucher program is a scandal.

[Anonymous]

It is boring but the people who live there are fancy. But for some reason they love the dilapidated strip mall. They get mad if any changes are proposed but then they act perplexed and confused why stores keep closing due to a lack of business. It is wild.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is boring but the people who live there are fancy. But for some reason they love the dilapidated strip mall. They get mad if any changes are proposed but then they act perplexed and confused why stores keep closing due to a lack of business. It is wild.

Most of us don’t love it. We just ignore it. There are decent shopping, family dining, fitness options on Wisconsin, and we’re willing to travel for more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very. That’s the point. We lived just north of the Metro close to Connecticut Ave for several years before we had kids. It’s like living in a leafy quiet suburb, but being close to the less boring parts of DC.

You lived in "Van Ness" not CP. Van Ness is indeed boring.