Some neighbors have been wondering what ANC 3F’s Van Ness Vision Committee (VNVC) has been up to.
The answer is: A lot. The VNVC and UDC’s JAZZAlive have teamed to host an outdoor UDC Jazztet performance this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in front of Acacia Bistro. Next Tuesday, November 18th, architect Travis Price will reveal a new design and purpose for the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and Windom Place. This will take place at ANC 3F’s November meeting at Forest Hills of DC (formerly The Methodist Home) at the corner of Ellicott and Connecticut.
The committee also promotes the area to restaurants and retailers at every opportunity. Here is an example:
Last week, ANC Commissioner Sally Gresham, who is an active member of the Van Ness Vision Committee, saw an item in the Washington Business Journal about Wegmans’ on- and off-again efforts to open a smaller “urban format” store in Tysons Corner at the McLean Metro station. The negotiations, it seems are off again. Her eyes must have lit up at the possibilities for Van Ness. Gresham alerted fellow ANC Commissioner and Vision Committee chair Mary Beth Ray, who quickly composed a pitch to Jo Natale of Wegmans:
[box]”We’re hoping that Tysons Corner’s loss is Van Ness’s gain! As an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and Chair of the Van Ness Vision Committee in Northwest Washington DC, I’d like to personally invite you to visit our commercial corridor along busy Connecticut Avenue.”[/box]
Ray lists three possible locations. The first one is the Van Ness Giant, “a lackluster store that has missed the boat when it comes to fulfilling customer demand.” The second is Fannie Mae’s building at 4250 Connecticut, which is for sale. And the third is the former Intelsat headquarters. Its new owners are looking for tenants.
Ray lists all the reasons area residents would “love” to have a Wegmans, which has generally preferred big-box locations in outer suburbia, but is now designing smaller stores for the urban landscape. Those reasons include Wegmans’ reputation as an employee-friendly company and its healthful, ready-made meals.
And she spells out the benefits to Wegmans:
[box]“Our neighborhood demographics will work for you:
- high incomes (median income $91,622)
- advanced degree educations
- Van Ness Metro steps from the stores (Red Line is DC’s busiest)
- daily traffic count 37,300
- people who support healthful food choices and locally-sourced food where possible.”
[/box]
She closes the letter by evoking a Van Ness that is ready seize its potential.
[box]“Van Ness is on the verge of exciting changes. In addition to the Metro, we have excellent walkability and parking. We have an abundance of offices, apartments and multi-million dollar homes. We are at the heart of the international community, with over 30 embassies including China, Israel and Austria. We have engaged world-renowned architect Travis Price to design a new Van Ness hub to draw in retail and cultural opportunities. We are an engaged, active community, working hard to make our neighborhood more beautiful and more vibrant, and we welcome your interest and your presence.”[/box]
Stay tuned for the reply.
Livia Bardin says
Maybe there’s room for a Wegman’s in our neighborhood, but there’s no need to knock our local Giant. It supplies many basics not available at upscale places like Wegman’s and serves thousands of neighbors and workers whose incomes are not upwards of $90,000. Lots of people will happily forego”lustre” in exchange for lower prices and friendly service!
Denise Warner says
This customer supports our “underground Giant” and appreciates the competitive pricing and convenience to our many other merchants in the neighborhood. Imagine life without the ability to walk, metro, bike or drive a very short distance to shop for essential food items….
Thank you, Giant!
Christine Demick says
Not everyone earns $90k. Our neighborhood is a mix of individuals – students, fixed income seniors, etc. The Giant serves us well don’t knock it.
KC says
I’d love a Wegman’s as much as anyone, but as a young professional I chose to rent in the neighborhood in a large part because of access to the Giant. It’s a far better supermarket than you will find in most metro accessible parts of the city, and the best supermarket access I’ve had since living in DC.
That being said, I love Wegman’s, and hate the Intelsat building, so that’s a fantastic idea.
Andrew says
I think the Giant in Van Ness is “okay” but not exceptional. If I need to pick something up before or after work, I’ll stop in, but I don’t do my weekly shopping there. I go to the Giant in Bethesda on River Road instead, which has better inventory. I had been more a fan of the Van Ness Giant until I had a really awful experience. I wanted pork shoulder and asked the butcher if he had any. He went in back and cut me a “fresh” piece, wrapped it and I purchased it. Upon opening it at home later that night, it smelled funny (pork shoulder shouldn’t smell); I turned it over and it was greenish. I can’t imagine he wouldn’t have noticed this, given that he’s presumably a meat expert and had just handled it. I took it back to the store, but they only refunded me part of the purchase price, since I had already discarded the receipt and the package label got mangled when I opened it and you couldn’t read the price. The whole experience was really frustrating, and since then, I won’t do my regular shopping there. That said, I don’t think a Wegman’s is really what we need either, since we already have Whole Foods in Tenleytown. I’d love to see more specialty markets in the area, such as Asian, Latin or European markets. Avid cooks like me don’t have easy access to the types of ingredients such markets carry, since most of them are in the suburbs.
Lise Kupke says
I love the idea of a Wegmans, but please don’t compare it to a pricey Whole Foods. Wegmans is popular in the burbs because it offers a huge variety of foods and at reasonable prices. It would be in the Giant price point with Whole Foods typed food and wine offerings.
James says
Maybe the soon-to-be-closed Walgreens at Connecticut and Veazy would make a good Wegmans location. The building is pretty new and it would be a waste to leave it empty now that Walgreens is closing.
Matt says
Why would Wegmans open in Van Ness when it’s going to be opening a store a mile away at the Fannie Mae complex on Wisconsin?
Tracy J. says
A better question is: Why is the Google plugin showing stories that published almost 4 years ago (which is how I gather is you came across this oldie)? I’ve removed it for the time being. Thanks for helping to bring it to my attention. – admin