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Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield

Survey: Van Ness Retail Wants And Needs

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by Marlene Berlin

BF Saul will need new retail tenants once Park Van Ness rises up in Van Ness Square's place.

BF Saul will need new retail tenants once Park Van Ness rises up in Van Ness Square’s place.

Both BF Saul and the University of the District of Columbia are looking for retail tenants: BF Saul for the ground floor level of the Park Van Ness development at the current site of Van Ness Square; and across the street, UDC for 4200 Connecticut Avenue, which houses the David A. Clarke School of Law.

The community can play a critical role in this search. ANC 3F chairman Adam Tope asked Mark Furstenberg to consider Van Ness for his new bakery, and look what happened.

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Let’s tap into our creativity and come up with some out-of-the-box ideas. Who knows, they just might work. Think about the neighborhood’s current amenities and ideals: Rock Creek Park, hiking, sustainability, green, international (embassies), food, and don’t forget mushrooms. If Logan Circle residents could get Whole Foods to open a location on P Street back in December of 2000, we can put our talented community to work to get the retail we want in the ‘hood.’

So, please ponder what you want and need at Van Ness and help BF Saul and UDC come up with specific ideas for tenants by taking the survey below (or click here if the survey isn’t showing up in your web browser). We will collect responses through November 1st, and report on the results by mid-November.

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Comments

  1. That stretch of Conn Ave is such an assault to my system that I try to avoid it at all costs. It is a “concrete jungle” of less than noteworthy stores and restaurants. I cannot figure out why good restaurants and more upscale stores cannot create a vibrant commercial landscape in that space???

  2. We love that a bakery is coming to Van Ness UDC! We’d love to see a fish market come in to the area. We used to live in East Cambridge, MA and there were many fish markets, some even had a small restaurant attached.

  4. I have wondered for years why the strip between Van Ness and Albemarle was so ugly, given that the neighborhood was relatively upgraded relatively to the services offered there. I use the services there as much as possible, mainly on week-ends. I like the nail salon and would gladly support a high quality shoe valet or a tailor if it was located there. I am thrilled about the upcoming bakery near Albemarle. I would love for Burger King to disappear. We eat at Tesoro from time to time and we love Calvert Woodley.

    • There is a tailor in the ground floor barber shop at the corner of Albemarle and Conn. Ave., southwest corner with all the pretty landscaping. The tailor is the wife of the barber, both of whom are from Italy.

  5. We would love a Whole Foods to offer a better alternative to the Giant. Some local Bodegas are SORELY needed also. Family owned restaurants always give vibrancy to a neighborhood. A local hardware store and clothing stores (men’s and women’s) also would be welcome additions and would add rich uniqueness to the neighborhood.

  6. Bring in Urban Barbecue (or Rocklands if Urban can’t won’t open here).

    See if one of the hot 14thStreet chefs would like to have a branch here — like Mike Isabella’s fabulous G sandwich shop

    Ask Strosniders to open a real store so we don’t have to go to the dark/understocked hardware under Best Buy.

    • I find Ace Hardware on Wisconsin helpful and friendly. They most often have what I want. And they have ordered for me stuff that was not in stock.

  7. No more 7-11s or chain restaurants, please! Bring on the family owned, single shop dining establishments. Maybe we can entice some of DCs food trucks to come visit Van Ness more often.

  8. Looking forward to Breadline’s arrival. At our house we’re 4 of many who would love for Shanghai/Rai Pong and his family to return to our midst.

  9. I want Office Depot back. That was the store I visited most often up there.
    The second I visited most oftten was Pier One, which I understand is going to Cathedral Commons. I leave the rest up to the residents. Yes, a hardware store would be nice.

  10. I think Office Depot should return here and also we could use a hardware store. When I moved here, there was a Jeleff’s and a hardware store; I used to get keys made there.

  12. I agree the area is very ugly and most unappealing. I wouldn’t mind the Giant staying if it could have a more interesting and appealing facade – more greenery, pots of flowers and hanging baskets would not go amiss along that stretch. I would also like to see charming cafes with seating outside for the summer.

  13. Unfortunately the whole section around Van Ness of Connecticut Ave. is simply repulsive. Traffic on Conn Ave due to the insane and borderline abusive light patterns is unbearable and reasonable parking is non existent. The architectural quality is consistent with random concrete structures dropped without any consideration of human beings who would actually spend time in the area. I believe it is not an accident that better quality retail and restaurant business always struggled here.

  14. Agree that we need Office Depot or Staples. No chain restaurants, though — small, independent and varied cuisines all welcome and needed.

  15. I agree that an office supply store, medium priced family restaurants with
    open, attractive fronts and some greenery would be welcome.

  16. I would like to see a family style soup and salad restaurant/cafeteria with adjacent parking. We have plenty of sit down resturants but lack less expensive casual dining options..

  18. Types of businesses it would be nice to have: Trader Joe’s, Broad Branch Market, an ice cream or frozen yogurt shop, toy store, more family-oriented restaurants, consignment/antiques shop(s). Please, no more drive-thru banks, drugstore chains, or fast-food joints. One thing that is desperately needed in this neighborhood is a safe teen/tween-friendly rec center or gathering spot. Interestingly, Bloo Moo is filling this niche in Tenleytown.

  19. To those itching for a hardware store, there’s already an Ace at Tenleytown and in Woodley Park, so it would be a hard sell to convince another retailer that there would be enough demand to justify another hardware store in Van Ness. A grocery store would have similar problems, with the Giant already here, and the Safeway and Whole Foods in Tenley. Also, the square footage requirements for a grocery tenant, even a Trader Joe’s type specialty grocer, would far exceed the retail spaces that BF Saul is putting in this development.

  21. I had been told the space was for more condos, so I am pleasantly surprised to hear otherwise. I try to go to the farmer’s market in front of UDC, so a store with organic food (yes!, or whole foods) gets my vote.

  23. As a commuter and not a resident, I would be interested in quality lunch and/or happy hour establishments in the vicinity. For lunch options, some healthy options would be nice.

  24. I’m only in the area for lunch. I hit Pot Belly or subway almost every day. A quick, tasty sandwich shop would be a good asset.

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