The end is nigh for the Westwood Center II mini-mall at 5110 Ridgefield Road in the Westbard area of Bethesda. Notices have been posted at the property indicating that demolition permits have bee requested. Most tenants are now out of the building, most having relocated in the area. An assisted-living development and a realigned Westbard Avenue will take its place in the coming years.
Westwood Center II has always been an underrated building, but struggled with a lack of high-profile tenants and questionable decisions regarding parking. It seems like the building should have been extended down as far as possible towards River Road, so that a better configuration of garage parking could have been designed. Instead, there was a small, cramped surface lot and a small, cramped garage. The architecture was quite nice, however, with the interior often aping classic American indoor mall designs on a smaller scale.
Westwood Center II opened in 1983. Original tenants included The Candy Bar, Chase Gifts, Chelsea Florists, Citizens Bank, Gallery Petalouth Ltd., Kenwood Jewelry, Kenwood Custom Tailors, Pier Donati of Roma, the Adjustable Bed Co., Laurie's of Westwood, The Lemon Twist, Martin Design Group, Nita's, Razi Studio, Sunshine Hair Studio, VIP Travel, West River Deli, the Spa Lady and the Safe Depository of Washington.
Notable past tenants in the office spaces included a local Burger King franchisee, and Dynasty Construction, which gained notoriety as an absurdly-unexpected bit player in the scandal of Backstreet Boys/N'SYNC mogul Lou Pearlman. Domino's Pizza was the biggest name in the building's history, until its recent closure. Other memorable tenants were the once-ubiquitous video rental store, Kim's Yirasai Sushi (which will reopen in Park Potomac next month), Westwood Cleaners (which has relocated to the Collection at Chevy Chase in Friendship Heights), and the West River Deli that closed in 2013.
The atmosphere at Westwood Center II was always one of unrealized potential. Or a red flag that there just isn't much demand for retail in that spot. New property owner Regency Centers appears to have taken it as a warning sign that retail on that site isn't viable, handing it off to an assisted-living developer. Let's take what might be our last look at this classic building in these photos and video:
The atmosphere at Westwood Center II was always one of unrealized potential. Or a red flag that there just isn't much demand for retail in that spot. New property owner Regency Centers appears to have taken it as a warning sign that retail on that site isn't viable, handing it off to an assisted-living developer. Let's take what might be our last look at this classic building in these photos and video:
6 comments:
Remind us of the plan here unless I missed it. Is the master plan that you have reported in the past still moving ahead? That would transform that entire sector which is greatly needed.
Wow, that's quite a bit of history! Thanks for posting. Hopefully the new retail located on the Westbard project will create a more centralized and compact village center around the proposed central green space and market, instead of flanking a busy road.
I'm still amazed that the old Giant was built with its loading and service areas facing the street, and a large parking lot and retail entrances on the back side. Perhaps the worst urban planning concept one could imagine.
Really nice posting. Brings back memories of some of the earlier retail there. And I agree with much of the analysis why this place didn't work.
The existing building and parking lot already extend well into the Willetts Branch flood zone & buffer area. It should have been set further back, so the creek could have served as more of a public amenity. The proposed Willett Branch Stream Valley Park is planned to provide such a public amenity and hopefully the new building plan & design will be done in a way to maximize this amenity.
In the 90's there was a place on the top floor where one could rent and play videogames. Robert, do you happen to remember the name?
5:24: No, I was trying to remember the name for this article but couldn't. I was unable to find any mention of it in Google, either. I don't think it was Potomac Video, because that was at Little Falls Mall.
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