Bethesda news, restaurants, nightlife, events and openings, real estate, crime reports and more - the way only a lifelong Bethesda resident like Robert Dyer can bring it to you. Everything you want and need to know about Bethesda, plus special investigative reports you won't find anywhere else. The must-read blog for breaking Bethesda news, when you want to be the first to know.
Showing posts with label White Flint Mall demolition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label White Flint Mall demolition. Show all posts
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
Where the grand White Flint Mall once stood on Rockville Pike is only a pile of rubble. Where shoppers might this week have navigated the jammed parking lots in a scramble for last-minute holiday gifts...where they might have dined at fine restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's after completing those tasks...and where they might have taken in the latest blockbuster chapter in the Star Wars saga...sits a pile of rubble.
I'll conclude on behalf of the mall that thrived until the owners pulled the plug with the words of Bill Shakespeare:
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
What's left of White Flint Mall is coming down fast, including some of the most iconic interior features like the futuristic elevator shaft. The famous front facade glass is leaning backwards.
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
After destroying the parking decks surrounding the legendary mall, construction crews are now demolishing White Flint Mall itself. As you can see in these photos, the iconic entrance of the dead mall is demolition central right now, with piles of debris surrounding it.
Now that the recent court decision has vindicated the arguments both I and Lord & Taylor have been making for years, expect the demolition and posturing to continue by mall owner Lerner. All the threats you've been hearing about the development being unable to go forward is simply an attempt to influence the public, the media, elected officials - and ultimately the courts - to absolve them from their $31 million in legal obligations to Lord & Taylor. I salute Lord & Taylor for their continued willingness to fight, and for their loyalty to the patrons of their store and of the mall itself. Imagine trying to run that store when everyone is under the impression that the whole property is closed, and in direct violation of the agreement signed by both parties.
The question of whether or not Wegman's has lost interest in building a store on the grandfathered Bloomingdale's footprint is the actual issue that theoretically would be of most concern to Lerner. Long rumored, a Wegman's would have certainly been used by Lerner to deodorize the "town center" it intends to replace the mall with from public criticism. Without a coveted anchor like Wegman's, it will be far more challenging to draw traffic from the multiple other town centers that will be operating in the Pike District - and many more are on the way.
Certainly, some of these town centers will be successful. But is fully urbanizing the area going to be sustainable for 9 or more individual property owners, each having restaurants and stores that need to pay rent fighting for the same audience?
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
I found an interesting video searching for "White Flint Mall" on YouTube. Videographer Mike Purks somehow was able to get inside the wreckage of White Flint Mall, and fly a drone over and through the gutted structure, as well. The result is an impressive trip through a temporary monument to greed and the urbanization of the suburbs.
Among the recognizable objects you'll notice during the flyover and fly-through: the iconic and stylish center elevator, escalators, and a few letters that remain in place over the entrance to the now-obliterated Turbo Theater at Dave and Buster's.
I do wonder how it was possible to film this. In the experience of other sincere fans of the mall I've spoken to, it's been nearly impossible to get any photos of the mall exterior in recent months. The minute you enter the parking lot and pause for even a second, a security guard aggressively drives right toward you.
In contrast, check out a few interesting moments in the Mike Purks video. Notice that white Dodge Charger patrolling near the mall structure in the opening scenes? That's the usually-aggressive security vehicle.
Yet, you'll notice he doesn't bother Purks, even as he proceeds to place a drone on the ground and - one assumes - operate it to lift off toward the mall. I find this incredible. They've been trying to stop people who just want to take a cellphone picture for posterity of the mall from a safe distance in the lot, but they let somebody actually operate a drone through the mall structure itself, a sealed-off demolition zone, to boot?
Also, look carefully when the camera approaches to actually enter the mall structure at 0:56 - in the right glass panel, you can see a person reflected in the glass. So some of this was filmed by someone actually walking on or through parts of the mall? How? Wouldn't that be extremely dangerous, as well as illegal at this point?
I just wonder if he had some kind of clearance or permission from Lerner to do this, given the apparent time it would have taken to film all of this.
However it was done, fans of White Flint Mall are glad for what is likely a final photographic record of this great mall.
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful, wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
White Flint Mall's doors have been locked since the first week of January, and now the actual demolition process of the officially-dead mall is underway. The mall structure has been fenced off, and a number of windows have been smashed out. They appear to be working on the interior of the building at this point.
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful,
wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
BuzzFeed, Gawker, British newspapers and other outlets horning in on the demise of White Flint Mall will be interested to know - White Flint Mall has closed its doors. Literally.
The mall entrance doors are now locked. P.F. Chang's was celebrating its final night of operation last night, but no one could enter the doomed mall itself. Lord & Taylor remains the sole operating business now on site, and one can expect demolition of the mall to begin at any time.
It's the end of an era, as the unique and impressive architecture, crowded parking lots and restaurants, and a destination that defined a space between Rockville and Bethesda give way to nostalgic memories, and the risky unknown of replacing a successful mall with an urban "town center." How will Lerner's entry stack up against the 8 or 9 competing "town centers" that will be operating nearby, and vying for the same limited number of wallets? We're about to find out.
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful,
wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
If you're a fan of White Flint Mall like me, and the P.F. Chang's restaurant there, you'll want to stop in for dinner soon. The restaurant says it will close for good on January 4, 2015.
Gil Fornaris, Market Partner with P.F. Chang's China Bistro, said that the White Flint restaurant is thankful for the many patrons who have supported it over the last 15 years. He said those customers, who made P.F. Chang's one of the most popular dining destinations in the mall, are welcome at the chain's Chevy Chase location at 5406 Wisconsin Avenue after January 4.
In the meantime, service will continue as always at the White Flint Mall location through January 4.
Even after mall owners had made the risky bet to pull the plug on the fully-leased retail center, and redevelop it as an urban town center, P.F. Chang's remained a mainstay along with Lord & Taylor. The latter owns its mall space, and will not be included in the pending demolition. P.F. Chang's was one of several dining draws that made it difficult to find a close parking space on weekends at the mall even just a few years ago. Will that crowd return for the new development?
Although the upscale mall and its impressive architecture will be gone, P.F. Chang's is one tenant that plans to return as part of the new development on the mall site. Alas, most other tenants will not be back, having closed for good or moved to other locations. There is currently no official date for the opening of that future P.F. Chang's at the mall site.
Welcome to the Dark Side.
Go down the rabbit hole and explore the Dark Side of White Flint:
Welcome to The Dark Side of White Flint, an ongoing series about the not-so-wonnerful,
wonnerful, wonnerful side of urbanizing the suburbs of Montgomery County.
In the game of musical chairs at White Flint Mall, the music has stopped, and everyone has lost. The mall has removed all benches and chairs, leaving nowhere for mall patrons to sit. One elderly person seeking relief was propped up on a marble shelf.
Wikipedia has a couple of relevant notes on Musical Chairs that might apply to White Flint Mall and the area's future. "The player who is left without a chair is eliminated from the game." It is the paying customer who has been eliminated at the mall, first by the closure of virtually all stores and restaurants, and now through the final indignity of having no place to rest. That also reflects the risk the mall's owners are taking, in driving away a huge customer base who will have gone elsewhere (downtown Bethesda, Westfield Montgomery Mall, Pike & Rose and Rio/Washingtonian Center, to name a few) long before any new "town center" opens on the current mall's property. "Playing musical chairs...can also refer to a condition where people have to expend time searching for a resource, such as having to travel from gasoline station to gasoline station when there is a shortage." Sounds like White Flint and downtown Bethesda after all of the gas stations have been redeveloped into luxury condos.
In other White Flint Mall news, no, the horses outside of P.F. Chang's were not vandalized. Rather, they have been turned pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They are using the hashtag #PaintPFChangsPink.
_1.jpg)
_1.jpg)
