With the Friendship Heights retail and restaurant market cratering under the moribund Montgomery County economy, flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions, and pandemic restrictions, one property owner is crying uncle on a significant portion of its retail space. The ownership of The Shops at Wisconsin Place is seeking permission from Montgomery County to convert existing retail units into medical clinic and medical office uses.
Under the proposal, Wisconsin Place would convert up to 13,385 square feet of existing retail space into 5,037 square feet of medical clinic use, and 8,348 square feet of medical office use. If approved, the landowner would retain the ability to maintain, or revert back to, the original retail use if the market improves. With the Montgomery County Council not changing the policies that have led to the collapse of many longtime Friendship Heights businesses, that's unlikely to happen without the replacement of several councilmembers in the 2022 election.
The Montgomery County Planning Board will consider the request at its virtual meeting on Thursday, January 14, 2021 at 9:00 AM. Planning staff has recommended approval of the Preliminary Plan Amendment with one condition, which isn't really a condition, but merely a restating of how many square feet can be utilized for each use.
4 comments:
Actually the Montgomery County side of Friendship Heights is much better off than the DC side. Have you been in Mazza Gallerie or the Chevy Chase Pavilion lately?
"One property owner is crying uncle on a significant portion of its retail space...
Under the proposal, Wisconsin Place would convert up to 13,385 square feet of existing retail space into 5,037 square feet of medical clinic use, and 8,348 square feet of medical office use."
That sounds like just one or at most two small store sites. For a sense of perspective, the Amazon Books in Bethesda is about 6,000 square feet, whereas the Anthropologie/former Barnes & Noble site is 30,000 square feet.
The owner of the Chevy Chase Pavilion (on the DC side) wants to turn the entire interior of the mall into medical offices. That's a lot more than 13,385 square feet.
In the opinion of a friend who lives in that area, the planners misunderstood the wants of
that demographic. They aren't that keen on high end shops. Lord and Taylor's though will be missed.
Learning
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