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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Just wandered around after a dentist's appointment earlier this week.   Wow.   So now DSW and TJ Maxx (and all the Mazza Galleria stores) and the "Chevy Chase Design Center" (or whatever they called the store in the old Saks Jandel space across from Saks) are all empty too, plus the entire Chevy Chase Pavilion but for one lonely T-Mobile shop.   Ten years ago Friendship Hts was one of the biggest and liveliest shopping hubs in DC, and now it's just mostly Bloomingdales, a weird Saks (whose basement is like a warehouse), Brooks Bros, Tiffany, Marshall, and a handful of chain restaurants.  Oh yeah, and that weird big usually-empty Gap/BR.  And WF and Giant.   And a lot of empty stores.     All the empty storefronts are honestly a bit eerie - it's feels like there was a toxic gas or chemical leak and everything needed to be evacuated.   It might make sense if FH were in a declining area, but homes in the areas around FH are some of the most desirable (and fastest appreciating/selling) in the entire DMV.   Chalk it up to landlord greed, I guess.   I can't even imagine how angry I'd be if I paid some premium for a house to be within walking distance of the supposed amenities of Friendship Hts and within 2-3 years it turned into a ghost town.    [/quote]
Great post. My now DH and I lived in one of the apartments there after we graduated from law school in the mid 90’s. It was a nice mix of swanky and normal. We loved the Houlihans.  Seems like it has some of the same problems as Georgetown now. I’m always willing to go with greedy landlords as the major problem, but am curious if there are other explanations. [/quote]

I’d guess that in addition to greedy landlords and internet shopping, the change in the mix of stores led to a change in shopping patterns. 
The “Rodeo Drive” stores were a major mistake. While shoppers long supported pricey stores, they tended towards investment shopping vs the more trendy if even more expensive offerings of the now-closed shops in the Collection.

For me, losing Borders changed a lot. I’d typically go to Borders, almost always buy something, then pick up something to eat — so, at least 2 stops. If I needed an umbrella, shoes, cookware, an interview outfit, a quick gift, a trip to the pharmacy— all of that was easy to do, with multiple options within a 2 block walk or less.  I’d come out of the Metro and stop at World Market or CVS. So, I shopped frequently as a matter of course.  I’d make multiple small purchases, and occasional big ones — without leaving the neighborhood.

Now, there’s no normal grocery store or pharmacy; no good option for shoes; no place to quickly pick up basic clothing items except for Banana Republic. So the neighborhood lost both shopping options for daily essentials as well as quite a lot of the specialty shopping. The TLDR is that once I have to go to another neighborhood anyway, I tend to do more shopping there. So even the things that I can still buy in FH, I’m more likely to buy in stores in the neighborhoods I have to go to for essentials that I can’t get in FH.  I’ll add though, that I think greedy landlords and venture capitalists are the root of the destruction of a once thriving destination shopping area.

- Shift: Many older posts complained about having a street run through the neighborhood as an impediment.  The northern Metro exit had multiple exits, so anyone who preferred could go from the East side of Wisconsin Ave to the West side quite easily.  I hope this is maintained as the area gets redeveloped.

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