The new, mixed-use development replacing the Mazza Gallerie mall at 5300 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Friendship Heights has signed its first retail tenant. It's a familiar name at this address: TJ Maxx. The discount department store closed at the mall last December ahead of its demolition. Its return signals the property owner is under no illusions about the downward demographic shift that has taken place in this once-ritzy Chevy Chase shopping district over the last decade. The flight of the rich to lower-tax jurisdictions in the region gutted what was once described as "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive" on the Maryland side of the line, leaving empty storefronts and downmarket replacement tenants in its wake.
18 comments:
It’s quite amazing how you can spin this incredibly good news into a negative comment about the demise of hyper expensive retailers. Retail and restaurants that everyone can afford and enjoy is exactly the right thing to do to help Friendship Heights to thrive.
A lot of changes going on in FH. That area is going to be pretty nice in a couple years when the bulk of (re) development is completed. Can't wait!
The biggest loss is AMC Theaters, particularly with no multiplex in downtown Bethesda.
The apartment signage up at Mazza shows a man and woman watching Netflix in their apartment...in what was the AMC. Sign of the times?
Take it easy with your "flight of the rich" narrative. Plenty of rich still live here. The challenge is that Friendship Heights has never had much foot traffic, and all the high-end jewelry, clothing, and art galleries that rely on it were never positioned to succeed. The other service businesses that used to keep FH retail afloat, high-end travel agencies, real estate agencies, ticket brokering services, etc. have all been disrupted by the Internet. These service industries literally don't exist anymore physically.
The flight of the "Rodeo Drive" narrative is really pretty silly too. Original "Collection of CC" retailers like Ralph Lauren (14.7M Instagram Followers) or Jimmy Choo (12.9M IG Followers) have all moved their marketing dollars online. They do not need to invest in flagship locations anymore when they can create so much more reach and distribution online. This isn't a flight of the rich, this is the brands recognizing that physical retail is no longer cost-effective in a world where the Internet exists.
The sweet spot for developers today are Target, TJ Maxx, Whole Foods, etc. which can afford to take up significant square footage and are destinations for frequent physical purchases. They cater to any demographic needs, including the sizable elderly population in Friendship Heights. We should be cheering on more high-frequency retail destinations signing on to serve this area. Go to Whole Foods on the weekend or Chipotle during the lunch rush, etc.- they're packed. People want convenience and they want affordable.
The location-driven "Rodeo Drive" concept is dead in the Internet age where physical location is no longer a factor and high-end customers can research online, be targeted by influencers online, and make the purchase online. I suspect developers understand this and the next generation of high-frequency shops will better serve the community.
"Its return signals the property owner is under no illusions about the downward demographic shift that has taken place in this once-ritzy Chevy Chase shopping district over the last decade."
This take makes zero sense. TJ Maxx has been at this location for 30 years, it's in DC - not MoCo, and DC has become a far wealthier city over those 30 years. Saying NW's "demographics" are "downward" is supported by exactly zero evidence. If that were true the area wouldn't be seeing a boon of redevelopment $$$ pouring in.
11:10 AM
I imagine the owners of the eight screen Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema would disagree with your comment that there are no multiplex cinemas in downtown Bethesda. I have noticed that they are now screening quite a few popular main-stream and blockbuster movies, and not just “art films”.
TJ Maxx is low-end. What's coming up next? Dollar Store? Dress Barn? How about a check cashing place that also sells lottery tickets?
8:19: My take makes all the sense in the world. First of all, many people don't seem to be aware that the Friendship Heights area on both sides of the state line has been supported by wealthy residents from the Montgomery County side. As a result, the departure of many of the ultra-rich from the Maryland side has impacted businesses on both sides of the line. TJ Maxx is certainly a fine middle-class retail chain, but not exactly what you expect to be on the ground floor of an expensive luxury apartment building.
11:28: The flight of the rich is real, and is borne out by the statistics that have shown which jurisdictions the rich have left Montgomery County for, and the amount of tax revenue they took with them.
The impact of this flight is more broadly seen in the ongoing structural budget deficit Montgomery County government has - the Council is about to pass two major tax increases to make up the amount.
Former County Council staff member Jacob Sesker gave a very informative presentation to the Council years ago, in which he explained how just 25 very wealthy residents moving out of the County can take a major chunk of revenue out of the County budget. The Council ignored him, and we've seen the result.
The suggestion that Rodeo Drive bricks-and-mortar shopping is "dead" is immediately disproven by the Jimmy Choo boutique that is still open...on the real Rodeo Drive in California. Even during the pandemic, it was reported that high-end retailers were opening pop-up physical stores in places like the Hamptons, to cater to wealthy people who had relocated to vacation homes and prefer window-shopping in-person.
Bottom line...it's OK to admit your elected officials aren't the sharpest tools in the drawer, and that they've failed. In fact, admitting we have a major problem in Montgomery County is the first step in fixing it.
Accepting reality is better than the response of the Council, which is to pretend that the flight of the rich hasn't happened, and that we just need more luxury apartments to solve the problem.
Seems highly likely TJMaxx allowed redevelopment in exchange for continuing their lease within the new building. That or they view the area positively enough they're willing to pay significantly higher lease rates to reopen. Either way, it's a weird thing to to try and spin into a negative.
I note that there are no Jimmy Choo retail stores anywhere in Virginia. So I guess "the ultra-rich are fleeing moribund NoVA" as well.
The four stores that "fled" the Collection (way back in 2014) relocated in CityCenterDC, in the even more highly taxed District of Columbia.
The Saks Men's store which had been one of Mazza Gallerie's anchors, consolidated in their store on the Maryland side.
11:46: You just moved the goalposts - you said that physical high-end luxury stores were "dead." In fact, retailers such as Jimmy Choo are still operating many stores nationwide. Many more than four stores departed The Collection, and many, many more than four stores and restaurants have departed Friendship Heights over the last decade. DC is not more highly-taxed than Montgomery County.
11:43: I simply pointed out that the target audience for Friendship Heights is slipping downmarket, and that TJ Maxx being the first tenant on board reflects that. Our elected officials aren't as talented as they - and the Washington Post editorial board - told us they were. It's ok to admit this - it's going to be OK!
It seems the vision for Friendship Heights is something akin to Arlington's Ballston Quarter. Though hard to imagine, I think targeting a younger demographic is the right move for the economic viability of this neighborhood. It's also an added boost for MoCo, whose students are graduating and fleeing their sleepy, bedroom communities for places like Arlington by the droves.
Wow, Jimmy Choo maintaining a flagship store on Rodeo Drive (check out the taxes they are paying in LA County) is your argument?
Stop using MC and FH interchangeably. County dynamics are different than what is going on here. FH is contending with the end of malls in America (Mazza Gallery and CC Pavillian), the end of brokerages (travel, real estate, event tickets) due to the Internet, WFH (developers aren't building new office space when existing buildings are struggling), regrouping from a pandemic which kicked out small retailers/restaurants, and an elderly population that is in save vs. spend mode.
The above are all MUCH bigger challenges to overcome than the silly "flight of the rich" narrative that you seem to keep peddling.
When I was buying my clothes at Walmart, TJ Maxx was for the rich. Appreciate your civil discussion on the internet about this issue. TY.
I like the amenities that living near the rich bring. We all benefit. Maybe the planning folks have made mistakes, but at least we don't have a Walmart sucking everything dry around it.
3:00: Yes, the fact that brands like Jimmy Choo maintain boutiques in many other wealthy location disproves your claim that the rich have abandoned bricks-and-mortar shopping.
You are following a typical Montgomery County elected official pattern of redirecting attention away from the specific problems to national issues. Rodeo Drive is the same thing as a mall. Ultra-high shopping is trend-proof. The customer never stops buying, regardless of the economy. Until the customer moves to another state or county, as happened here.
The flight of the rich is well-documented, as I have reported in detail. It's gaslighting to suggest otherwise.
- Jimmy Choo has closed >50% of its stores in "The Americas" region over the past 5 years. The only area of growth for its physical retail locations is in its outlet locations (+22 locations). Yes, outlets!
- "Rodeo Drive is the same thing as a mall" - is an absolutely disqualifying comment. Have you spent any real time in Beverly Hills? Do you even understand how ludicrous it would be to compare to FH? Do you understand the concept of flagship locations? Do you understand how retail how evolved over the past decade? Do you see malls surviving? Do you understand that there are many more dynamics at work here than the tax code? There are plenty of rich ready-to-support needed products and services- but will give you a hint, those things are not found in malls, Jimmy Choo, or Ralph Lauren stores- which have all become pretty generic, mass market, and frankly tacky.
The flight of the rich is just a silly conservative narrative you've picked up and decided to amplify. I guess when you lose elections, the blame must be placed somewhere.
10:16: The problem is, if Jimmy Choo is still open on Rodeo Drive, then it should still be open on "Montgomery County's Rodeo Drive." It isn't. That's because, unlike Beverly Hills, too many of the rich have decamped to support it.
That was actually a typo regarding the mall comparison - I was trying to say Rodeo Drive is NOT the same thing as a mall. You were making the comparison of the nationwide decline of malls as being the factor in FH. That's why I was saying they are not the same thing as a Rodeo Drive-type retail environment. And you are back at it again talking about malls.
The flight of the rich is a factual phenomenon for which I have posted supporting data in the past, down to the exact dollar amount in revenue that was lost to each receiving jurisdiction at MoCo's expense. The County cartel's problem is that it wins elections, but isn't very skilled at governing, and doesn't have a clue about retail or how business works.
Tell us about all the Jimmy Choo stores in Northern Virginia. I can't seem to find any.
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