A prime St. Elmo Avenue retail space at the Bainbridge Bethesda apartment tower hasn't been a lucky spot for the short-lived bakery and coffee shop that have leased it so far. Perhaps the rent being asked for is too high, but there haven't been any takers since the coffee shop closed in August 2021. Now the space has been turned into a billboard for the rental apartments above.
Bainbridge has fared better with its retail spaces that front onto Fairmont Avenue, holding onto pet store and gadget repair tenants there. But dreams of sidewalk cafe activity, or something that might animate the area around the building after dark, have failed to materialize almost a decade after the building opened. There's plenty of potential here on St. Elmo, but something is standing in the way of realizing it, and it should be diagnosed soon.
What's the problem here? It's not a good look for downtown retail, particularly when JBG Smith was able to attract A-list tenants like Trader Joe's and Orangetheory Fitness to an even-lower traffic area at 8001 Woodmont. Perhaps the arrival of the future St. Elmo Apartments next door will help boost the fortunes of the Bainbridge.
4 comments:
"something is standing in the way of realizing it, and it should be diagnosed soon."
It's 20 feet from an active construction pit. It's not hard to see why no sidewalk cafe has leased the space. Hopefully in a couple years that'll happen.
Apart from Harris-Teeter, Trader Joe's and Orange Theory, the retail in the mixed-use buildings in the Triangle has been disappointing. Starting with the Lionsgate.
Depends on the building. Sure, the Lionsgate HOA BoD appears to purposefully try to attract low-foot traffic businesses or keep their spaces vacant, but adjacent buildings bring in far more interesting concepts. e.g. 7770 Norfolk w/Anthony's and Medium Rare, Marriott w/Hip Flask and Seventh State.
I would assume the rent is the issue, because Clove & Cedar was always busy. Maybe not line-out-the-door like Quartermaine on a weekend, but there were always people in and out.
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