Having shopping or dining that is a draw will be essential to the success of the overall project, as the plaza both towers share is currently underused and undertrafficked. One thing that has proven true downtown is that out-of-the-way spaces can be a success with a big name restaurateur. Star chefs like Peter Chang and Mike Isabella have been able to generate foot traffic, despite moving into spaces that either had already failed or were shaping up to fail.
4500 East-West Highway is a great location for office tenants close to Metro, but was not going to work for a no-name restaurant. Chang was recruited by developer Carr Properties, and disaster was averted. The Solaire Bethesda is a bit of a jog from Bethesda Row on loud and busy Wisconsin Avenue. Washington Property Company recruited True Food Kitchen, which opened to rave reviews from ordinarily Bethesda-hostile dining critics.
The same approach - a celebrity chef (Spike Mendelsohn or David Chang, for example), or a trendy chain not yet in Montgomery County (i.e. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, or Astro Doughnuts & Fried Chicken) - could activate the plaza here into the public space originally envisioned. Already overdone in MoCo: burgers, salads, and lobster rolls, Which cuisines are still criminally-underrepresented in MoCo? We desperately need a German restaurant, and some additional Russian/Eastern European options around here.
8 comments:
Too far from Norfolk. Way too far from the Metro. Way, way too far from Bethesda Row. The retail in this area will struggle until a more dense critical mass of vehicular and pedestrian traffic can be established. Even several hundred residents living above and next to a restaurant will not keep it alive. Low density of offices in the area will not help the lunch crowd.
Thousands of folks drive by Chang’s and True Food every day, and many think, hey let’s go here tonight. Kapnos is actually in the edge of the Bethesda Row development. Too bad the glass is so dark. You can never tell if it’s buzzing or empty.
I suspect the Gallery II retail will need to be service related for awhile. Office supplies, dry cleaners, art galleries, maybe a small cafe. Perhaps a nice donut shop for the police.
I wish it was a better outlook, but even a great destination restaurant needs better exposure.
"Way too far from the Metro."
Agreed. 0.6 miles from Bethesda, 0.7 miles from Medical Center - well out of the Coveted Walk Shed of 0.5 miles maximum. This is Dumb Growth. Where was Dyer when this was proposed?
"Way, way too far from Bethesda Row."
Given the current moribundity of Bethesda Row, that's actually a plus.
It is a good thing that business went to Prince William. The average salary of $75,000 would have made it very difficult for employees with families to find affordable housing in Montgomery County.
Thoughtful reporting. (More of this please and less of the tin-foil invective)
I fully agree with 12:37. I think Donohoe will struggle to fill the retail here with quality tenants. This is the least active corner of W. Triangle and I'm not sure that all of the new development - Gallery 1, Gallery 2 , the police station, Brightview - can enliven it that much.
The pedestrian experience is particularly bad. Del Ray already feels like a dark depressing alleyway thanks to the block-long, 16-story "Bethesda wall." The Gallery towers aren't nearly as oppressive but still contribute to that overbearing feeling.
"We desperately need a German restaurant"
What's wrong with Tyber Bierhaus?
8:36: Nothing, but compare their menu to the depth of this one - I don't think Tyber Bierhaus is trying to be this kind of German restaurant:
http://schmankerlstube.com/menu/dinner-entrees/
Why drive 60 miles to Hagerstown when you can have a delicious, authentic German meal, and excellent service, at Old Europe in Glover Park, less than 5 miles away?
@ 4:02 PM - Because Africa begins at Western Avenue.
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