Should The Mall AT Prince George's Be Replaced? (Columbia, Bethesda: apartments, condos)

[adelphi_sky]

There are tons of projects around the DC area that are converting old enclosed malls into walkable town centers. My wife and I were at White Flint last night and it looked like a mall that was far from eventually being torn down. Laurel Mall is going through its transformation. Laurel Mall's little brother Beltway Plaza (I swear the same architects designed them both) is destined to be torn down pending the South Core project and the FBI possibility (No plans, but it is inevitable). Landover Mall got torn down but never rose from the ashes again. Which brings us to The Mall at Prince George's.

It just went through millions of dollars of renovations over 5 years ago. They are smack dab in the middle of a gentrifying/redeveloping Hyattsville. They have staying power. The market looks good for them. But how much longer will people accept the old enclosed mall model? There are tons of acres where mixed use can be built within the mall's property lines. There are expansive parking lots that are never full. Especially behind the mall. I can see them demolishing one half of the mall opposite Target and using that space for offices or apartments with retail on the ground floors. And then following through with the other half and creating a central core to that whole area around 410.

Right now, looking down, it looks like an awful waste of space that can be used to build vertically. It is so centrally located, I can see 30 story towers not being an issue for the surrounding neighborhoods. The mall is just screaming mixed-use!

[DC2PG]

hell no. the mall is fine the way it is.. and i hate town center malls

[HarryBTL]

Originally Posted by DC2PG

hell no. the mall is fine the way it is.. and i hate town center malls

Yep.. Part of the reason for indoor mall's was because of the weather. And yeah i hope they keep it as is as well.

Amazing how it almost looks the same as it did 30 years ago when i use to walk up to it from Riverdale to hang out. Used to be a grocery store ( Grand Union?? ugh been so long ago ) on the one end which came in handy when funds were low as i would go and help people with their groceries. Toted this one ladies bags from the store back across the parking lot to the apartments and made 20 bucks.

FYI... The developer who built this mall i do believe also built Beltway plaza and the Gold Coast Mall in Ocean City if i remember correctly?

[molukai]

Why can't there be more indoor malls that are town center hybrids, such as what we see in Crystal City? I think that is a good medium-ground, keeping indoor awesomeness of commerce with the ability for residential living just a stone's throw away

[the resident09]

Absolutely not! What enclosed malls would PG county have left?? Landover mall torn down, Capital Plaza torn down, Laurel Mall torn down as well. What else does the county have? Forestville?? ha! Iverson?? lmao! PG Plaza is the best the county has left that is not a "town center." By the way whats going on with Beltway Plaza in Greenbelt?

[Khemistry]

Put me down for those against the OPs plan. I'm totally against that! I still love malls and appreciate them. I will go to Arundel Mills or Fashion Centre at Pentagon City or The Mall at Columbia before I entertain these overhyped "town centers." I remember when Blvd at Capital Centre opened. I went there almost immediate after and I would have been fine never going there, again. I hated the concept. Walking outside from store to store. What if it's 100 degrees outside? What if it's snowing? Mall allow a retreat and the vibe is totally different. It feels like an actual 'destination.' Town Centers feel like I'm going to a strip mall I'd find near my house on the corner.

With that said, PG Plaza needs to change, desperately. They need to undergo an extensive expansion and renovation, much like what happened at Westfield Wheaton. I hated that mall for a long time. Now, it's one of the nicer malls in the area. PG Plaza can easily build on that nasty, unused rear parking lot and turn the mall into a giant ring like Arundel Mills. Plus, after seeing these photos of what's proposed for behind PG Plaza, imagine owning one of these insanely lovely and expensive condos overlooking a large ugly parking lot and dilapidated mall...

Aerial View, Belcrest Plaza | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Belcrest Plaza | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Aerial, Buildings Along Toledo Road | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[adelphi_sky]

You can still have an indoor mall in a town center setting. A town center can add green plazas and intersting street front restaurants and cafes. In one building you could have say a promenade 1 where you have 30 or so stores on three levels. Then across the "street" you could have promenade 2 with an additional 30 stores on multiple levels. All while still having office and residential space on top and/or in between the promenades.

I regards to the weather, it never stopped anyone from shopping in Georgetown, Bethesda, Old Town Alexandria, NYC, etc. enclosed malls are auto-centric and don't really create a vibrate nightlife as the mall closes its doors at 9:30pm. Well, what if you could go grab a beer or hang out at a favorite cafe until 11pm? TOwn Centers offer so much more than enclosed malls.

[Khemistry]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

You can still have an indoor mall in a town center setting. A town center can add green plazas and intersting street front restaurants and cafes. In one building you could have say a promenade 1 where you have 30 or so stores on three levels. Then across the "street" you could have promenade 2 with an additional 30 stores on multiple levels. All while still having office and residential space on top and/or in between the promenades.

I regards to the weather, it never stopped anyone from shopping in Georgetown, Bethesda, Old Town Alexandria, NYC, etc. enclosed malls are auto-centric and don't really create a vibrate nightlife as the mall closes its doors at 9:30pm. Well, what if you could go grab a beer or hang out at a favorite cafe until 11pm? TOwn Centers offer so much more than enclosed malls.

There are plenty of restaurants within a 5 mile radius of the Hyattsville restaurant (chain and privately-owned) that I could frequent if I needed a late night fix. Again, I'm not into the town center theme and based on the few responses, a lot of others aren't, either. If someone gave me a choice of going to King of Prussia Mall with over 400 stores or the Mall of America with about 400 stores and an indoor theme park... or the largest town center in the world, I'd go for the enclosed malls. I've yet to be to a town center that had any appeal. Perhaps it's because I've only been to craptacular one's like Bowie and Cap Ctr. At any rate, I'm not impressed.

[EducatedBro82]

In my thread about the "mall curse" a lot of people were vocal about the malls and town centers in PG with 2 opening with a year (Brandywine and Laurel). PG Mall could benefit from renovation, but wasnt the mall renovated about 5-6 years ago??? IMO the mall shuold be acquired by a developer that has sucess with other malls. Look at the Westfield Co. The malls that they operate Annapolis, Wheaton, and Montgomery are very nice malls and have much sucess.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Khemistry

There are plenty of restaurants within a 5 mile radius of the Hyattsville restaurant (chain and privately-owned) that I could frequent if I needed a late night fix. Again, I'm not into the town center theme and based on the few responses, a lot of others aren't, either. If someone gave me a choice of going to King of Prussia Mall with over 400 stores or the Mall of America with about 400 stores and an indoor theme park... or the largest town center in the world, I'd go for the enclosed malls. I've yet to be to a town center that had any appeal. Perhaps it's because I've only been to craptacular one's like Bowie and Cap Ctr. At any rate, I'm not impressed.

First, I think the term "town center" has been bastardized by retail planners who think plopping down a few store pads creates a town center (hello Woodmore). While Hyattsville's true town center is the Arts District, I'm referring to a second town center where the mall is located - a center of activity.

Did you say plenty of restaurants within 5 miles? So, you're saying you're forced to get into your car and drive to these places adding traffic and CO2 as opposed to being able to step out of your home and walk 5 minutes to them. I count 5 within reasonable walking distance around the mall - the area in question.

Olive Garden
Yeah. Great place to kick back and chat while watching a game. Great place for singles too.

Outback.
See Olive Garden

Carolina Kitchen
See Olive Garden

Hanks Tavern
See Olive Garden

Old Dominion Brewery
See Olive Garden

Well, there you have it. To get to any place nearby with a pulse of nightlife you have to go to College Park to the craptastic Cornerstone Grill, Barking Dog, and .... Looneys which I love wish could be replicated about 3 or four times in the area.

There are great examples of vibrant town centers available that will still allow for shopping and a measure of nightlife. BLVD at the CAP, Bowie, Woodmoore, etc. ain't one of them.

Downtown Crystal City
National Harbor
Georgetown
Downtown Annapolis
Bethesda Row including the surrounding older street life.
Old Town Alexandria

The town centers above are more than just outdoor shopping districts. They incorporate residences within or adjacent to them. They provide a nightlife well after stores have closed. And for some, stores remain open longer than they would at a mall. They offer more than your vanilla national chain restaurants or college bars. And they offer entertainment.

If you look at the total area PG Plaza mall encompasses, you could easily fit a pretty sizable downtown inside that possess all the great qualities the other places offer, including stores which can be housed inside one of the buildings downtown or along the streets. Georgetown managed to include an indoor mall that is almost unnoticeable. It can be done.