BRADLEY SHOPPING CENTER ADVERTISING AVAILABLE RETAIL SPACE

The former Kae Robin Gifts space at 6910 Bradley Boulevard remains vacant in the Bradley Shopping Center. Now the shopping center is advertising the 1920 square foot retail space as being available for lease.

Featuring 2 bathrooms, rear alley access, a prime downtown location, and heavy customer traffic to other popular businesses in the strip, it's surprising it has been on the market this long.

It should also be considered a contender for the second USPS post office, although I have yet to hear whether the postal real estate folks have decided just which zip code(s) they are searching in. This spot would allow surface parking by the door, but not drop boxes such as those popular at the now-demolished Arlington Road post office.

Rent could be an issue, though, as USPS real estate specialist Richard Hancock vowed he would not overpay for space earlier this year. Costs would likely be lower in the 20816 zip code.

I'm sure everyone within walking distance of the shopping center would like to see a) a nice restaurant/food shop, b) an interesting and/or useful retail store, or c) a convenient post office lease this space.

Any takers out there in the DC area?

GNC LEAVING WESTWOOD SHOPPING CENTER - BETHESDA RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE

Don't cry over spilled Muscle Milk.

Customers of GNC will be sorry to hear the nutrition store will be leaving its space in the venerable Westwood Shopping Center on Westbard Avenue.

But nearby residents can be optimistic:  the 1500 square foot space is now available for lease.  Could the Westbard area finally get a real, sit-down family restaurant?

I grew up near the shopping center, and can tell you that it is one of the most stable strip malls in the DC area.  Tenants stay for the long haul, and their loyal customers keep coming back.  The last major upheaval was in the 80s-90s, when Farrell's, Crown Books and the hardware store all closed.

Farrell's was the only sit-down, family restaurant in the neighborhood.  Today, there is a bar (Bowlmor), a Chinese restaurant, and Yirasai Sushi along the Westbard commercial strip.

Any smart, enterprising restauranteur - with a high-quality product - could make a lot of money opening a real restaurant in the GNC space.  There is a whole new wave of young families in the surrounding neighborhood, who don't have anyplace to spend their money right now.

The Shops at Sumner Place has Praline - why not a real, white (or checkered?) tablecloth restaurant for the Westbard area?  It's long overdue.

Of course, the spot would also make a great 20816 U.S. Post Office, with ample parking and drive-along sidewalk frontage, for drive-up drop boxes.  That's assuming the USPS would forgo 500 square feet of the 2000' it claims to currently be seeking in 20816.

The options are few, as the only other space currently available is an ample nearly-3000 square foot vacancy on the fourth floor of Westwood Cennter II.  That has plenty of free parking, too.

Can a nearly 30 year wait for a real restaurant on Westbard finally be near an end?  Stay tuned!

SUMNER PLACE, WESTWOOD CENTER II LIKELY SITES FOR SECOND BETHESDA POST OFFICE

The second big postal story yesterday was the announcement that USPS is seeking space for a post office in the 20816 zip code of Bethesda.

A 2000 square foot space requirement has been cited.

Place your bets on The Shops at Sumner Place first (Sangamore Road), and the Westwood Center II (Ridgefield Road at River Road) as potential homes for the new post office.

Frankly, there is no other appropriate space in the zip code.

Both offer ample, free surface parking.  And both currently have vacancies.

Sumner Place has a vacancy between Starbucks and the future Passion Fin sushi restaurant.  Its largest available space is 2361 square feet, well over the 2000 requirement.  Another space is just under 2000.

Neither site is convenient for downtown Bethesda residents, but may offer some relief for senior citizens and the disabled, who have virtually no access to the new post office at 6900 Wisconsin Avenue.

Both sites are also accessible via Ride On Bus 23 (Friendship Heights Metro to Sibley Hospital).  And both are adjacent to apartment communities.

The 20816 post office won't solve the downtown Bethesda post office fiasco, but that part of Bethesda would certainly benefit from the convenience.