Is the National Harbor a National Letdown? (Silver Spring, Potomac: home, to buy)

[motoreater]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

NH doesn't have a sense of place yet. Give it 15 - 20 years and it will become a mainstay in the DC area like Tysons, Crystal City, or any other urban core that people visit to shop and have a good time.

Let's keep our fingers crossed. I made a reference to the Riverwalk in San Antonio and the clientele the city caters to; basically, anyone and everyone from anywhere. It is expensive in some places and inexpensive in others but it doesn't distract from the fact it draws people from around the country/world when there and that city crawls with tourists who shop and have a good time. That is what I would truly like to see happen at NH. If it is not utilized to it's full potential what good is it?
The sad aspect of the DMV area is whenever there is any type of event the venue is sold out/over crowded to the point of not being fun. How were the crowds at Cirque? I don't know about this time around but anytime I have tried to go to something like that it seems like the entire area wants to be there as well.

[Joke Insurance]

I think a light rail or metro coming to the area could help it out a lot. For a place like that, public transportation should have been top priority.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

I think a light rail or metro coming to the area could help it out a lot. For a place like that, public transportation should have been top priority.

That is supposed to be the plan but with the state/area being so cash-strapped for transportation projects, its going to be a while before it happens. But what would be a great alternative would be to really ramp up the water taxi service and make it more affordable. If it was comparable to taking the metro that would be a good interim solution.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

I think a light rail or metro coming to the area could help it out a lot. For a place like that, public transportation should have been top priority.

I agree, but it's pretty hard to justify public transportation if they don't have much of argument for it. There are so many places in the state that need public transportation that have the population and/or the jobs to justify it. It is just unlikely that a newer place like this would leapfrog all of those. I think they should have come up with some better alternatives. An example of this, is now they have a shuttle that picks people up in Alexandria and DC. They should have had that since NH's inception. That would have temporarily helped the transportation situation.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by ajsmith365

It appears as though the National Harbor is slowly changing to fit "our" demographic.

I routinely go down there and noticed a few months ago that Swarovski pulled out of the National Harbor. I couldn't tell you why, but obviously it had to be a profit issue as Swarovski is a pretty strong brand and does pretty well in its other stores in the area. Also, the sunglasses place next to Freschii closed down and is replaced by a high-end soap store. The sunglasses store closed a couple months before the Swarovski.

Now, another store has folded; I believe it is the furniture store that was a few doors down from Freschii. In its place...a Sports Zone Elite (sports/shoe store that caters to young adults).

Bottom line...I think the Developers of National Harbor are realizing that the demographic makeup of the surrounding area was not going to succumb to the brands that were being forced upon them and that they were losing revenue. I think they are realizing that the youth - and black youth in particular - have a very influential economic power and their brand preferences will attract other stores, and those stores will attract complimentary brands.

Overall, I am pulling for the success of National Harbor and see its potential. Now, I think, the developers are seeing the potential of the residences of PG County and are changing their position on the prohibition of "urban" stores.

I think this is a little dangerous to put a Sport Zone down there. For starters it's stupid because there is already one in Oxon Hill and Hybla Valley in VA. The other point is though, is this county has a reputation for trying to cater to too many demographics in shopping centers and they begin to lose their identity. That is what happened to the BLVD. I get that they want to attract certain groups of people, but you can't cater this place to everyone. If you have too many young adults/teenagers then the clientele that shops at some of the other shops will be turned off to go there. Again the same thing happened at the BLVD.

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

I think a light rail or metro coming to the area could help it out a lot. For a place like that, public transportation should have been top priority.

But it wasn't a top priority for Tyson's Corner for at least 40 years and it wasn't a top priority for Reston for 20 years.......

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I think this is a little dangerous to put a Sport Zone down there. For starters it's stupid because there is already one in Oxon Hill and Hybla Valley in VA. The other point is though, is this county has a reputation for trying to cater to too many demographics in shopping centers and they begin to lose their identity. That is what happened to the BLVD. I get that they want to attract certain groups of people, but you can't cater this place to everyone. If you have too many young adults/teenagers then the clientele that shops at some of the other shops will be turned off to go there. Again the same thing happened at the BLVD.

Do you have any insight of Atlantic Station(Very similar with the National Harbor Development) in Atlanta, GA which is the same age as the National Harbor???

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by $mk8795

Do you have any insight of Atlantic Station(Very similar with the National Harbor Development) in Atlanta, GA which is the same age as the National Harbor???

I don't know much about it, but it looks like it's a lot further along.

[ajsmith365]

Originally Posted by motoreater

The upscale aspect at NH is laughable to me because I never saw many people who were "upscale" most of the times I went there. That place shoots itself in the foot while trying too hard. I go there with friends who want to see the place or with folks from out of town but it isn't a place I would venture to on my own volition. I know of too many other places in the DC area with better vistas, eateries, bars, and shops than NH. I can spend the money for parking on food.

If anyone wants to be cheerleader for the place, continue, but I see many people have arrived at the same opinion as I after the years the place has been there. The place could be something but it has to be more user friendly for the general populace rather than an expensive convention location before more glowing reviews come in.

Perfectly said. And this was the basis of my previous critiques of NH. Your remark regarding "...never saw many people who were 'upscale'..." says everything. Again, you have to cater to your market. You don't open a rib joint in a predominantly vegan community and expect to be in business long. It's analogous to a television - shows alter their characters and plots based on their viewership and feedback. Similarly, advertisers place TV ads on shows that cater to their market.

I think NH tried to hard to bring Rodeo Drive to Maryland. And, I'm not downing PG county or southern MD. The DC area is a relatively conservative place when it comes to their finances. We like looking fly, but not exotic and not for the prices their stores are pitching. This includes NoVA. People are down their enjoying themselves, but the bottom line is money...And, not unless they are profit sharing the parking money, then the only retail stores (restaurants not included in retail), then the only store making money is probably Charming Charlies.

[ajsmith365]

Originally Posted by pgtitans

I think this is a little dangerous to put a Sport Zone down there. For starters it's stupid because there is already one in Oxon Hill and Hybla Valley in VA. The other point is though, is this county has a reputation for trying to cater to too many demographics in shopping centers and they begin to lose their identity. That is what happened to the BLVD. I get that they want to attract certain groups of people, but you can't cater this place to everyone. If you have too many young adults/teenagers then the clientele that shops at some of the other shops will be turned off to go there. Again the same thing happened at the BLVD.

This may be true, but I am simply pointing out that NH "appears" to be changing their tune on what stores are coming down there. I think that is, also, why it is called Sports Zone Elite so that it appears to differentiate the brand from the regular sports zones.

Rule of business is that you have to cater to demographics. I understand what you are saying, "be a meaningful specific and not an eclectic village of varying brands", right? I agree. But, (I hate cliches) "at the end of the day" it is about profit and loss. Young people will spend money moreso than older folks when it comes to shopping. You attract young people and women and everything else follows. If you create a development and have a bunch of stores that are "Cocoa Blanca" and these fluffy-bourgeois stores, your mall will be closed. If it's not cool, everybody's gonna know about it (yelp, facebook, twitter, etc.) and nobody's gonna visit it. That's why you see presidents going out of their way to play saxaphones on Arsenio, shoot guns, kill a deer/bear, dance like fools on Ellen and talk about hip music they listen to and align themselves with "cool" and "beautiful" people because the public is swayed by this type of stuff.

There's nothing wrong with having independent stores, but they need to anchor it with some type of brand-recognizable stores that aren't cheap, but that cater to middle-class people. Once that is done, then other, complimentary brands will be attracted to NH. You can almost be certain if an H&M or Victoria's secret came to NH, an Ann Taylor or some other nice woman's store will want to be there, too, because the brands compliment one another and brand success begets brand success, etc. Then, some nice lady's shoe store will pop in as well. I don't see one sports zone breaking the place because you can't have a bunch of the same people (one demographic) shopping in the same place.

Also, the wildcard in this equation will be Tanger. I guarantee you that Tanger - with price friendly goods and recognizable brands - is going to crush the business of the stores at NH.