Anonymous
01/09/2024 21:36
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Add back a bookstore, a couple of nice cafes, a few restaurants.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 21:21
Subject: Re:Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:There was an article a few years back that city centre dc sucked all the luxury life from FH--a lot of the stores moved. Honestly, with city centre even more plagued by crime, perhaps they'll all come back. I am devastated that they didn't maintain the Mazza facade--it was weird but interesting--they could have blown out the back with something glass, airy and outward looking. Whatever, I'm sure they'll replace it with something horrendously nonedescript with some luxury condos tacked on. Not sure that will be a big win.
…and yet in 50 years there will be a group of people trying to get historic designation for the “horrendously nondescript” building going up as we speak.
Mazza was just as nondescript as any other modern building…and many buildings constructed 50 or 70 or 100 years ago.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 21:18
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
I think there were two major problems — in addition to things like internet shopping and the impact of COVID. The retail isn’t meeting essential needs of the people who live there — and it’s not special enough to be a destination for people who don’t. The closing of Borders was a critical change, I think. There is no longer a normal grocery store or a normal drug store in Friendship Heights. There are also no options with late night hours. If I have to go outside of the neighborhood for basic essentials and spur of the moment purchases, I won’t typically go out of my way to make a second stop or trip for the few things that I need that I can still find locally in the neighborhood.
I’m truly hoping for a Trader Joe’s in the H & M / Pottery Barn spot. I’d love a good Giant with a pharmacy and a bookstore, but those days are long gone.
Another problem is that FH does a horrible job of promoting the things that it DOES have. There was a pop up bookstore on Wisconsin Ave. near the old Sur La Table space. I didn’t find out about it until I happened to walk by the space —after it had closed. The Heights Food Hall has now been open for a few weeks. I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t been following one specific restaurant. There are thousands of people in Friendship Heights Village alone, many of whom would be thrilled to patronize local business — if we knew that they were open.
FWIW, I love the Amazon Fresh store. It is much better than the Giant it replaced.
That said, the space is too small for a decent-sized store.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 17:14
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
FH never had much residential. I can only hope that all the new development at Mazza, the old Fox 5 and the DSW building which all include a major residential element will allow the new retail to succeed.
It feels like there is a lot of residential stuff when you go West of Wisconsin over the MD border, but that residential trends elderly and it is surprising how far of a walk it actually is when you map those buildings to the intersection of Western and Military.
Friendship Heights Village has a shuttle bus that has stops at the Metro station and in front of Amazon Fresh. Anyone who doesn’t want to walk has a free, and reasonably convenient option.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 17:09
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
I think there were two major problems — in addition to things like internet shopping and the impact of COVID. The retail isn’t meeting essential needs of the people who live there — and it’s not special enough to be a destination for people who don’t. The closing of Borders was a critical change, I think. There is no longer a normal grocery store or a normal drug store in Friendship Heights. There are also no options with late night hours. If I have to go outside of the neighborhood for basic essentials and spur of the moment purchases, I won’t typically go out of my way to make a second stop or trip for the few things that I need that I can still find locally in the neighborhood.
I’m truly hoping for a Trader Joe’s in the H & M / Pottery Barn spot. I’d love a good Giant with a pharmacy and a bookstore, but those days are long gone.
Another problem is that FH does a horrible job of promoting the things that it DOES have. There was a pop up bookstore on Wisconsin Ave. near the old Sur La Table space. I didn’t find out about it until I happened to walk by the space —after it had closed. The Heights Food Hall has now been open for a few weeks. I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t been following one specific restaurant. There are thousands of people in Friendship Heights Village alone, many of whom would be thrilled to patronize local business — if we knew that they were open.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 16:36
Subject: Re:Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
There was an article a few years back that city centre dc sucked all the luxury life from FH--a lot of the stores moved. Honestly, with city centre even more plagued by crime, perhaps they'll all come back. I am devastated that they didn't maintain the Mazza facade--it was weird but interesting--they could have blown out the back with something glass, airy and outward looking. Whatever, I'm sure they'll replace it with something horrendously nonedescript with some luxury condos tacked on. Not sure that will be a big win.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 16:08
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:I live walking distance to FH on the DC side. Young family as are almost all of our neighbors. We'd kill for services we could actually use on a regular basis - a hardware store, bookstore, library, plant nursery, playground, etc. How about Matt Frumin's promised ice rink? Instead it's going to end up more chains and overpriced "modern" apartments that will age badly in 10 years.
Re some of the comments, although there is a ton in the process of being built, there is currently actually very little apartment housing in the stretch between Tenleytown and FH (or north beyond FH), except the two giant old people complexes in FH proper. All of those other buildings are office buildings. Almost all of the housing in the area currently is single family houses.
I too like the stretch on the east side the best because it is low rise. It's more comfortable walking without giant buildings looming over you. But that's the price you pay for having a walkable city with accessible housing.
And for the comments about the Geico parking lot, that's about the only decent place within about 20 minutes drive to learn how to ride a bike or drive a car...
There used to be Borders at FH where Marshalls now resides. I doubt FH could support a bookstore, although I hear now Barnes n Noble is back in fashion as the "local" bookstore. There is an Ace hardware in Tenleytown, and Rodmans also carries a bunch of hardware-like items in the basement...again, I doubt FH could support another hardware store.
The only thing that is possibly different about FH, is that there seems like there is room for a Home Depot or a Lowes. That would be a gamechanger, but would of course doom the Tenley Ace hardware.
There is only one nursery at American Plant in Bethesda. I just don't see a nursery (other than if part of the HD described above) surviving.
BTW, Geico polices their lot nowadays so you can't use it to learn to drive. We tried a couple of times with our current teenagers, to no avail. Actually, found Whitman HS to be a good place to learn to drive.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 16:01
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:I live walking distance to FH on the DC side. Young family as are almost all of our neighbors. We'd kill for services we could actually use on a regular basis - a hardware store, bookstore, library, plant nursery, playground, etc. How about Matt Frumin's promised ice rink? Instead it's going to end up more chains and overpriced "modern" apartments that will age badly in 10 years.
Re some of the comments, although there is a ton in the process of being built, there is currently actually very little apartment housing in the stretch between Tenleytown and FH (or north beyond FH), except the two giant old people complexes in FH proper. All of those other buildings are office buildings. Almost all of the housing in the area currently is single family houses.
I too like the stretch on the east side the best because it is low rise. It's more comfortable walking without giant buildings looming over you. But that's the price you pay for having a walkable city with accessible housing.
And for the comments about the Geico parking lot, that's about the only decent place within about 20 minutes drive to learn how to ride a bike or drive a car...
The closed lane of Little Falls Parkway next to the CCT is a great place to learn to ride a bike...highly recommend!
Anonymous
01/09/2024 15:54
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
I live walking distance to FH on the DC side. Young family as are almost all of our neighbors. We'd kill for services we could actually use on a regular basis - a hardware store, bookstore, library, plant nursery, playground, etc. How about Matt Frumin's promised ice rink? Instead it's going to end up more chains and overpriced "modern" apartments that will age badly in 10 years.
Re some of the comments, although there is a ton in the process of being built, there is currently actually very little apartment housing in the stretch between Tenleytown and FH (or north beyond FH), except the two giant old people complexes in FH proper. All of those other buildings are office buildings. Almost all of the housing in the area currently is single family houses.
I too like the stretch on the east side the best because it is low rise. It's more comfortable walking without giant buildings looming over you. But that's the price you pay for having a walkable city with accessible housing.
And for the comments about the Geico parking lot, that's about the only decent place within about 20 minutes drive to learn how to ride a bike or drive a car...
Re some of the comments, although there is a ton in the process of being built, there is currently actually very little apartment housing in the stretch between Tenleytown and FH (or north beyond FH), except the two giant old people complexes in FH proper. All of those other buildings are office buildings. Almost all of the housing in the area currently is single family houses.
I too like the stretch on the east side the best because it is low rise. It's more comfortable walking without giant buildings looming over you. But that's the price you pay for having a walkable city with accessible housing.
And for the comments about the Geico parking lot, that's about the only decent place within about 20 minutes drive to learn how to ride a bike or drive a car...
Anonymous
01/09/2024 10:52
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
FH never had much residential. I can only hope that all the new development at Mazza, the old Fox 5 and the DSW building which all include a major residential element will allow the new retail to succeed.
It feels like there is a lot of residential stuff when you go West of Wisconsin over the MD border, but that residential trends elderly and it is surprising how far of a walk it actually is when you map those buildings to the intersection of Western and Military.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 10:19
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
I worked in an office building in FH in 2007. The area was not hopping. It was definitely busier than it is now, but it was not on most people's radar. It was hard to even find a nice restaurant at that time outside of the chains, as some would open only to close within a couple of years. But sure, there was some shopping and there was the movie theater, so it wasn't totally dead like it is now.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 08:57
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous wrote:The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
In 2007, I never went to Friendship Heights -- I lived downtown, I wasn't interested in high-end shopping, and there were plenty of other movie theaters. Now I live here, and the shopping still didn't appeal to me before the buildings were torn down (the movie theater did, but covid and AMC's overall travails killed it before the redevelopment plans did). I don't think the retail needs to be a regional destination to succeed; there's obviously an enormous amount of income right in the immediate area, and they'd do better with shops that meet local needs and that aren't tucked away inside a mall but rather easily accessible from the street.
Anonymous
01/09/2024 08:22
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
Anonymous
01/06/2024 22:09
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
*now instead of not
Anonymous
01/06/2024 22:09
Subject: Why is Friendship Heights so empty and lame?
The area was hopping around 2007. Barneys was there, Bloomingdales was brand new. Lots of shopping options in the pavillion. I loved seeing movies at Mazza. (Ward 3 needs more cinemas, but that's another post.)
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.
I think online shopping and covid were the causes. But I'm not sure the new options are going to be much better from a retail perspective. DC used to be the place to go to shop, not people in DC have to go to the burbs to shop.