National Harbor - News, Events, Updates, Questions and Developments Etc. (Annapolis: legal, license)

[Sampg1]

Originally Posted by TechlawyerinPG

From what I remember reading Alexandria has a Wegman's already under proposal for development. I doubt they would put one over here also.
As a resident of this area I go elsewhere for
Target, Nordstrom, Macys
Groceries - Trader Joes, Wegmans, whole Foods
Indoor kid activity facility for birthday parties and to just entertain kids in colder months - bounce place, arcades, indoor playground, gymboree, indoor kid focused sports facility for leagues to hold games and sports lessons (see Capitol Clubhouse, Kids Choice Sports or nZone in other counties) for soccer, basketball, martial arts, dance, swimming, etc. There is nothing over here for kids and the option we finally got...the Children's museum (where I did host a birthday party and took my kids a few times) is leaving.
If the want to attract and retain families the family friendly options need to improve.
Spray parks for kids in the summer
Dog parks
Movie theater
Doctors (a better hospital will attract more medical practices)
Hospital - gave birth at Washington Hospital Center and Inova Alexandria; any major procedure you are going elsewhere
Agreed on making oxon hill rd more pedestrian friendly and attractive visually. This should be a walkable downtown area.
Definitely need more corporate offices...though I wonder about traffic. Employees here during the day would spend money and boost the local economy also.

-Entertainment - a lot is available(compered to other part of PG) and addition is always welcomed
- Educational - i don't know if there is a good library or some education centers - So Educational facilities are Needed
- Family oriented - ICE!, NM, but Oxon Hill need some more park and maybe promote OH Farm
- Health and wellness - noting good yet - Hospital and GYM needed
- Transportation and road - there is a good access to 495 but still a lot needed - metro is the solution
- Employment Center - NH, MGM are a good employers but more white color Jobs are needed
- Shopping - Tanger and and also MGM will bring more stores - i think OH is good on that
- Grocery - Needed - Trader Joes, Wegmans, whole Foods

[WhoDatInMD]

I think a Whole Foods would do well at National Harbor but there's already one in Alexandria

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by WhoDatInMD

I think a Whole Foods would do well at National Harbor but there's already one in Alexandria

I don't think having one in Alexandria would prohibit them from opening up one at or around the National Harbor. Think about DC proper. There are about 5 open now and one is supposed to be opening up near H street and another at Navy Yard. That will bring the number in DC alone up to 7 (). If there is a strong business case/market they will come. I remember reading a few months ago that they were changing their market strategy to be more competitive. Especially since the organic food space has become so dense. If not at the Harbor I think another good spot will be where Dennison's Nursery is located. They are in the process of closing and that space would be ideal for some type of mixed use/town center project with a grocery anchor. It could also serve as a alternate location for that WalMart project that went bust.

[Sampg1]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

If not at the Harbor I think another good spot will be where Dennison's Nursery is located. They are in the process of closing and that space would be ideal for some type of mixed use/town center project with a grocery anchor. It could also serve as a alternate location for that WalMart project that went bust.

It will defiantly be a good location for mixed use town center with whole food, Gym and may be Starbucks - but not sure if WalMart can fit in there thought since Oxon hill is only a two-lane road

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by Sampg1

It will defiantly be a good location for mixed use town center with whole food, Gym and may be Starbucks - but not sure if WalMart can fit in there thought since Oxon hill is only a two-lane road

Good point. I forgot that section would be hard to reconfigure for something that creates that type of density

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

I don't think having one in Alexandria would prohibit them from opening up one at or around the National Harbor. Think about DC proper. There are about 5 open now and one is supposed to be opening up near H street and another at Navy Yard. That will bring the number in DC alone up to 7 (). If there is a strong business case/market they will come. I remember reading a few months ago that they were changing their market strategy to be more competitive. Especially since the organic food space has become so dense. If not at the Harbor I think another good spot will be where Dennison's Nursery is located. They are in the process of closing and that space would be ideal for some type of mixed use/town center project with a grocery anchor. It could also serve as a alternate location for that WalMart project that went bust.

I kind of disagree here. Whole Foods in Alexandria is extremely easy to get to. From National Harbor you could get there in less than 5 minutes. The problem, even more than that, is National Harbor is still a car-dependent place for residents. If it were more populated and more isolated then a Whole Foods makes sense, but the reality is, National Harbor is dependent on Alexandria. Look at the modes of transportation that connects the two places (Bridge, Trolley, Shuttles). National Harbor isn't independent enough to make it work. That may be something that can happen in the future though once it grows.

As for the Dennison, I am shocked to hear that they are shutting down. It seems like they have been around forever. Perhaps that could be a location for a Whole Foods, but I think the former Walmart site would be even better especially considering it could spark re-development in the "downtown" part of Oxon Hill.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by justtitans

I kind of disagree here. Whole Foods in Alexandria is extremely easy to get to. From National Harbor you could get there in less than 5 minutes. The problem, even more than that, is National Harbor is still a car-dependent place for residents. If it were more populated and more isolated then a Whole Foods makes sense, but the reality is, National Harbor is dependent on Alexandria. Look at the modes of transportation that connects the two places (Bridge, Trolley, Shuttles). National Harbor isn't independent enough to make it work. That may be something that can happen in the future though once it grows.

As for the Dennison, I am shocked to hear that they are shutting down. It seems like they have been around forever. Perhaps that could be a location for a Whole Foods, but I think the former Walmart site would be even better especially considering it could spark re-development in the "downtown" part of Oxon Hill.

I think you missed UrbanScholar's point. He said if the market supports it, it doesn't matter if they are across the street. As National Harbor grows in density, there would be plenty demand to have one across the river. Look at the number of Whole Foods in NW DC alone.

National Harbor is dependent on Alexandria

How so?

National Harbor isn't independent enough to make it work.

Whole Foods doesn't look at these metrics that you speak of when locating at a certain area. If anything, they would look at traffic volume, visibility, and market demand.

If they can pick Riverdale Park with a Whole Foods less than 20 minutes from one in Silver Spring, they can locate in National Harbor across from Alexandria and do just fine. But of course, they probably saw a demand in Riverdale for organic products from the success of MOM's in College Park and Yes! Organic in Hyattsville.

Personally I think there is a huge market for organic and whole foods in Southern PG. I'm not sure of any stores that cater to that demand that are currently in that area.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I think you missed UrbanScholar's point. He said if the market supports it, it doesn't matter if they are across the street. As National Harbor grows in density, there would be plenty demand to have one across the river. Look at the number of Whole Foods in NW DC alone.

You just said the exact same thing I just said, so what did I miss?

If it were more populated and more isolated then a Whole Foods makes sense

???

And you cannot compare a dense city like DC to a small isolated developing project that National Harbor currently is. DC has transportation for days that make it easier for people outside of those areas to get to those Whole Foods, but even then they have tons of high rises right in those neighborhoods that people can walk to those shapes. DC is way, way more dense. National Harbor is not there......yet.

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

How so?

Because the National Harbor tries to attract people from places like Alexandria because that's the type of demographic they are marketing to. You don't see shuttles coming from Glassmanor or Barnaby Manor. They are trying to attract people who are close and who have money. Alexandria fits the bill.

If National Harbor didn't need Alexandria, there would be no need for this:
http://aas.org/files/resources/natio...e_schedule.pdf

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Whole Foods doesn't look at these metrics that you speak of when locating at a certain area. If anything, they would look at traffic volume, visibility, and market demand.

If they can pick Riverdale Park with a Whole Foods less than 20 minutes from one in Silver Spring, they can locate in National Harbor across from Alexandria and do just fine. But of course, they probably saw a demand in Riverdale for organic products from the success of MOM's in College Park and Yes! Organic in Hyattsville.

Personally I think there is a huge market for organic and whole foods in Southern PG. I'm not sure of any stores that cater to that demand that are currently in that area.

Again, we are talking about population. Silver Spring is a much more dense area than National Harbor is. If you go beyond National Harbor, there isn't much density, it's a very suburban area. National Harbor would need a large enough population on it's own to qualify your comparisons.

As far as the Riverdale Park, there are a couple of things that it has that the National Harbor does not currently, it is much more accessible from local roads (Route 1 versus Harborview Avenue, not to mention the parking situation), has much more densely populated towns surrounding it (College Park & Hyattsville vs. Fort Washington & Oxon Hill), closer to public transportation, and different demographics.

[FortWashingtoneer]

I don't believe Denison is entirely leaving that location, they have only closed the garden center.
I think they are just going to stop selling directly to the public but keep all their business/commercial services.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by FortWashingtoneer

I don't believe Denison is entirely leaving that location, they have only closed the garden center.
I think they are just going to stop selling directly to the public but keep all their business/commercial services.

That sounds reasonable but that would still be a significant portion of that location. The times I have passed by there, it appears that they have vacated the garden center as well as the shrubbery area across the street. If their plan is to consolidate, I think it would be smart to sell of the area that they are not using to a developer for a mixed use or commercial development. It would begin to push growth in the area outside of the NH area.