The Dark Side of White Flint, Part 47
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
Lerner Enterprises plans to close the ring road inside the former White Flint Mall property, and also a 150' pedestrian walkway that connects residential neighborhoods around White Flint Park with the White Flint Plaza shopping center. This would eliminate a walking route for residents who use the path to reach the stores and restaurants at White Flint Plaza, which will soon add an Aldi grocery store. Losing the path will also hurt the businesses at White Flint Plaza, as residents forced to use their cars might decide to patronize other grocery and retail stores within a short drive, once they're behind the wheel.
Residents have asked the Montgomery County Council to intervene, but no Council member has stepped up to block the proposal. That isn't surprising, as Lerner has made campaign contributions to many on the Council, including Gabe Albornoz (D - At-Large), Andrew Friedson (D - District 1), Evan Glass (D - At-Large), and Hans Riemer (D - At-Large).
Glass, who received at least two checks from Lerner in the last election cycle, wrote a noncommittal response to one resident who sought his help. Promising to "monitor" the issue, Glass did not state that he would vigorously oppose Lerner on the matter. "While Lerner is taking actions they believe to be the most appropriate," Glass wrote, "I will continue to work with Lerner, the County Executive, my colleagues, and members of the community to explore solutions that balance the needs of the property owners and our pedestrian safety goals." Friedson, who currently represents the area on the Council, has received several checks from Lerner, including $1250 from Mark Lerner in 2020.
The supine posture of the Council on the walkway brings to mind how different things go on Lerner's Fairfax County properties, by comparison. An empty site in Tysons Lerner plans to develop has hosted a variety of live entertainment over the last few years, including drive-in movies and a circus. The similar White Flint Mall site over those same years has hosted...nothing. Here's a look at the current state of the property, where only the vacant Lord & Taylor building remains, and the rest of the mall has been long-demolished:
 |
| Walkway running along fence |
Residents have asked the Montgomery County Council to intervene, but no Council member has stepped up to block the proposal. That isn't surprising, as Lerner has made campaign contributions to many on the Council, including Gabe Albornoz (D - At-Large), Andrew Friedson (D - District 1), Evan Glass (D - At-Large), and Hans Riemer (D - At-Large).
 |
| A resident walking to White Flint Plaza from the park on the walkway |
The supine posture of the Council on the walkway brings to mind how different things go on Lerner's Fairfax County properties, by comparison. An empty site in Tysons Lerner plans to develop has hosted a variety of live entertainment over the last few years, including drive-in movies and a circus. The similar White Flint Mall site over those same years has hosted...nothing. Here's a look at the current state of the property, where only the vacant Lord & Taylor building remains, and the rest of the mall has been long-demolished:
Why in the world they found it necessary to cut down the vegetation that had grown across the fenced off, razed footprint of the mall is beyond me. The area had the nascent look of actual nature. Perhaps the idea is simply too obscene for a property developer to countenance.
ReplyDeleteThese pictures are the very definition of moribund, incompetence and failure.
ReplyDelete6:18 probably to avoid the expense of having to clear cut a legit forest by the time redevelopment occurs. Lerner should be financially punished for what he's done to White Flint. MoCo should institute a blight tax like DC did and punch Lerner in the wallet every year he sits on the property and does nothing other than drag down the surrounding neighborhood. It's insanity that they still haven't begun redevelopment.
ReplyDeleteWhite Flint was such a great mall..so many great memories.
ReplyDeleteLord and Taylor best store ever.
This is heartbreaking.
Is Lerner actually going to do something with the property now, or are they just fencing off the rest of it while it continues to sit dormant?
ReplyDeleteThis property is going to sit like this for the next 5-10 years. The permit/approval process alone for new structures will take years. Then factor in the construction time which will take years. Any substantial positive effects to the area from this property being developed are probably 20 years away from today. Disgusting. The Lerners should be heavily fined for allowing this property to become blighted.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what they're waiting for. At a minimum there's strong and obvious residential demand for the area. There's also some level of office demand, as Pike & Rose has successfully proven, but even if Lerner doesn't want to risk the office/hotel market right now they should at least be building out residential portions of the site plan. Or sell to a developer who is actually in the business of making money.
ReplyDelete7:13: They've given new meaning to "fumble the ball." Imagine if, rather than get greedy, they had simply started building around the mall while still getting the revenue from the mall tenants operating. And Wegmans could and would have taken over the grandfathered footprint from the vacant department store space. With "White Flint," Lerner had the name the area was known by, and their own named subway station!!
ReplyDeleteNow they're back at square one. What is the retail tenant they can bring in that would draw a crowd? Walmart is banned by Montgomery County, there's already a Target nearby, and Wegmans dropped them for BF Saul up the road.
I imagine this is why the Amazon HQ2 was so high-stakes for them. Lerner has shown they can run a very successful mall, but they've put themselves behind the eight ball unnecessarily here. Federal Realty had the field to themselves for a decade at Pike & Rose, can now turn their attention to several nearby properties they own, and it's going to be very hard to catch to them.
Well said Robert. They really messed this up big time. I'm not sure what tenant(s) they could actually bring in now. It's going to be very difficult to compete with Pike & Rose. Perhaps a Hotel/Casino would do well here? It seems ridiculous, but I don't know what else would come here/do well in terms of a business.
ReplyDeleteWe'll still be having this conversation in 10 years.
The path was reopened for a few weeks but this morning (5/31/2022) they fenced it off again. Too bad. People in the neighborhood have enjoyed being able to walk to the shopping center there from the neighborhood via that path, which has been open for decades. Isn’t there some legal precedent for keeping access to a right-of-way that has been actively used by the public for so many years? From this article It looks like people have tried but have failed to keep it open because they don’t have enough political or financial influence or clout. I would think the owners of the businesses in that shopping center would try to do something, since clearly they have the most to lose. For me, it’s just not practical to drive there, so I’ll just shop somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteAny updates on reopening? https://bethesdamagazine.com/2022/09/06/county-white-flint-mall-property-owner-reach-tentative-deal-on-reopening-shortcut-through-property/
ReplyDelete