Is Annandale Dying or Just in Transition? (Arlington, Alexandria: real estate, apartment complexes)

[Darkseid]

I passed through Annandale today in the Columbia Pike/Little River Turnpike area and noticed that several places have shuttered and it seems that the area is on the down swing. The Fuddrucker's was closed, the Bloom Grocery was closed and a few other spots were shuttered.

I don't want to come to any conclusions based on a single visit, but I got the impression of an area on the decline. Am I wrong? Are there some plans for this area?

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Darkseid

I passed through Annandale today in the Columbia Pike/Little River Turnpike area and noticed that several places have shuttered and it seems that the area is on the down swing. The Fuddrucker's was closed, the Bloom Grocery was closed and a few other spots were shuttered.

I don't want to come to any conclusions based on a single visit, but I got the impression of an area on the decline. Am I wrong? Are there some plans for this area?

A Walgreen's is going to be built on the Fuddruckers site with construction scheduled to start in September, according to this blog:

Annandale VA

Don't know about the Bloom site. If I recall, Bloom/Food Lion spent a fair amount of money renovating what had been a Magruder's and then closed a bunch of stores, including this one, not long after it had opened. Guess it didn't compete well with the Giant, Harris Teeter, and other grocery stores in the area.

Annandale's been up and down for years. The biggest risk would be if a large number of the current Korean businesses followed the movement of Koreans to western Fairfax and Loudoun. Annandale actually looks better at night than during the day, because there are a lot of Korean businesses with neon signs that stay open late.

[cdmurphy]

All Blooms (and some, but not all, Bottom Dollars) closed or were converted to Food Lions.

[arabellava]

Hobbling might describe it..

[VRE332]

It's the kimchi smell, no one likes it.

[OrangeFish]

The Annandale central business district looks pretty similar to other areas, such as (but not limited to) Fairfax City.

[Caladium]

Annandale's always been up and down, but IMO if you look at it compared to a decade ago it's on more of a slow, gradual upswing. More people seem to be moving in than are moving out.

[car54]

Annandale is just an aging suburb....but it will never die. It has "location, location, location" as they say in the real estate biz. Believe it or not, not everyone will endure a hellish commute for a faux marble and vinyl sided palace in Loudoun.

Nothing stays the same....I remember when Old Town Alexandria was a slum. Now people pay big money to live down there. Arlington was hardly fashionable either.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Annandale's always been up and down, but IMO if you look at it compared to a decade ago it's on more of a slow, gradual upswing. More people seem to be moving in than are moving out.

There's no doubt that the population in Annandale has been increasing (particularly in the older garden apartment complexes); the Korean business presence in Annandale is rivaled in NoVa only by parts of Centreville; and it has many nice residential areas both inside and outside the Beltway.

One thing that bugs some people who live there or nearby is that, apart from the Korean businesses, Annandale struggles to attract and maintain a variety of retail businesses. Orange Fish mentioned Fairfax City, but Fairfax City, for better or worse, has a lot of big-box retailers, not to mention a good variety of restaurants not too far from Mason. It tells you something that the departure of a Fuddruckers really upset a lot of people in Annandale, particularly older residents, who just don't embrace Korean cuisine and already miss places like Tom Weston's.

But, it has a very good location, and it could get some new legs if there were transportation improvements along Route 236 and/or Columbia Pike.

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Orange Fish mentioned Fairfax City, but Fairfax City, for better or worse, has a lot of big-box retailers, not to mention a good variety of restaurants not too far from Mason.

My apologies -- in my mind I was thinking of Fairfax City as in across from Woodson HS -- Pickett and 236/Main St. Turnpike Shopping Center (is that the right name?) is in the midst of some improvements and we are looking forward to seeing those.

Our family does not usually go all the way out to GMU. Our geographic circle tends to overlap into Falls Church (including Falls Church City), Vienna and Arlington. When we have to go "way out" for activities we are usually grumbling.

Can you tell we are all about the commute factor?

ETA: We define "way out" as past 236 and 50. Our activities take us all over the place -- Greenbriar, Reston, Sterling, and even Ashburn -- and I am always thankful that we do not live Way Out There in terms of our DC- and Arlington-centric commutes.