Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is exactly what I'm saying... I thought the point of the thread was to compare the two waterfront communities as a singular entity. My point is that in a head to head match up within the confines of the two developments and nothing outside that radius, National Harbor can be argued to have as many or more amenities.
Hotel Space: National Harbor easily
Intimacy/ Closest feel to water: The Wharf
Entertainment: National Harbor (keep underestimating MGM, Ferris Wheel etc)
Retail: National Harbor (Tanger outlets are what sets it over top)
Vibrancy: The Wharf probably takes this because of city location
Authenticity: The Wharf
Convention Space: National Harbor blows it out the water
Restaurants: We won't know this until The Wharf is completed
I really think it's and apples to pears kind of comparison (not quite apples to oranges) but they serve very different purposes when you think about it. I mean the National Harbor was built to have it's own zip code, has town homes the size of SFH's, overrated condos, thousands of hotel rooms, and now are building high priced apartments there, not to mention Children's Museum. Nonetheless both of these projects should attempt to unify and attract each others visitors to the other locale because they share the same river.
I think people need to realize, MGM and Tangor Outlets are not apart of National Harbor. They're near National Harbor. For them to be apart of National Harbor, the Tangor Outlet stores would need to be the retail under the buildings in National Harbor. MGM would need to be where the Gaylord is instead of at the highway with no real way to walk there that anybody would gladly take. Tangor Outlets is in a sea of parking. You can't be serious trying to compare all that to a real urban major city development like the Wharf can you? The only thing the two developments have in common is that they're on the water. That's about it..... Come on guys, people need to actually think about what they're saying.
Let me ask you this, which will be easier, walking from the Wharf or taking the street car or metro to City Center DC to shop or walking from National Harbor to Tangor Outlets to shop. Do people actually walk from National Harbor to Tangor Outlets? And that comparison isn't even fair because City Center DC is going to have world renown retail and many stores are from Paris and London making their DC debut. The retail near the Wharf is in a different tier than an outlet mall with last season clearance retail you find at outlets around the country.
Here's the thing, if you have to get in your car to drive to another place, they aren't the same development.
Last edited by MDAllstar; 03-21-2014 at 03:15 PM..
National Harbor's only reason to exist is to attract conventions. It really has no more tie to Washington than to Pittsburgh.
Sure it does. Do you know what land that is? Its historic and it ties in with one of our founding fathers. Also its not far from Fort Washington--Fort Foote and not far at all from the DC border in SE. By the way all of current DC used to belong to Maryland, which I'm sure you knew, however all of current DC was Prince Georges County, Md.
Sure it does. Do you know what land that is? Its historic and it ties in with one of our founding fathers. Also its not far from Fort Washington--Fort Foote and not far at all from the DC border in SE. By the way all of current DC used to belong to Maryland, which I'm sure you knew, however all of current DC was Prince Georges County, Md.
It is beyond the Pale. Part of Prince Georges County, not part of Washington.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,547,924 times
Reputation: 5785
Quote:
Originally Posted by MDAllstar
I think people need to realize, MGM and Tangor Outlets are not apart of National Harbor. They're near National Harbor. For them to be apart of National Harbor, the Tangor Outlet stores would need to be the retail under the buildings in National Harbor. MGM would need to be where the Gaylord is instead of at the highway with no real way to walk there that anybody would gladly take. Tangor Outlets is in a sea of parking. You can't be serious trying to compare all that to a real urban major city development like the Wharf can you? The only thing the two developments have in common is that they're on the water. That's about it..... Come on guys, people need to actually think about what they're saying.
Let me ask you this, which will be easier, walking from the Wharf or taking the street car or metro to City Center DC to shop or walking from National Harbor to Tangor Outlets to shop. Do people actually walk from National Harbor to Tangor Outlets? And that comparison isn't even fair because City Center DC is going to have world renown retail and many stores are from Paris and London making their DC debut. The retail near the Wharf is in a different tier than an outlet mall with last season clearance retail you find at outlets around the country.
Here's the thing, if you have to get in your car to drive to another place, they aren't the same development.
So now your taking parts of NH that exist within that development and saying they don't exist, effectively changing the question of the OP. I could essential say City Center etc doesn't exist or shouldn't count because it's not close to the Wharf. The question wasn't to get into what is connected to what and how much walking is between. It was to compare the amenities of National Harbor to The Wharf. These are two entirely different developments which is why I said it's an apples to "pears" comparison. Apples to apples would be Wharf vs Inner Harbor.
If you want to change the question to what actually is in walking distance of the piers in each development then fine. The Wharf has a lot of advantages. But if the question is National Harbor's amenities vs the Wharfs amenities in the confines of land that developers own and have created, National Harbor has just as many amenities and probably more with MGM. I guess I'm looking at it as if the two developments were on imaginary islands surrounded by nothing to compare the amenities, just for the sake of discussing. IMO that's why this thread was created. Even without MGM there are still categories such as hotel/ convention space where NH has more of.
I'm not disputing the other points your making about world class etc.
Last edited by the resident09; 03-21-2014 at 06:24 PM..
But you can't quantify some of those things your speaking of. I worked at a hotel in National Harbor so I would know. People came from all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and countries across the globe to stay in National Harbor. Now of course many times DC was the focal point of their trips, but people like to get out and explore. DC or the "DC area" as a whole is an attraction in itself. DC is the epicenter of the region but visitors would always come ask about Alexandria, Baltimore or explore National harbor itself, this was before outlets and MGM of course.
How would you be able to quantify outsiders coming to the region for one specific destination vs the other? If someone in Faquier county and comes to visit a friend in Alexandria one weekend, when they arrive the friend will ask what do you want to do? If the answer is go out on the town in DC then that's fine but it's not like the person from Faquier is going to say "Oh lets go to the Southwest Waterfront and walk around, specifically." If their out and about and happen to hit that side of town and stumble upon then so be it, that's the added advantage of being in the District. Nor will that person intentionally neglect National Harbor solely because of the fact that it's not in the city proper, it's already a more established destination to begin with. No ones going to say oh I don't feel like going to NH because it's not "in a world class city," many of them don't know the difference of where the city lines end. It's just an added amenity to the region.
You are tremendously underestimating the attraction that NH for better or worse is to day, but even more so, what MGM is going to do as far as an attraction for locals and tourists. There is a good chance when it opens in 2016 this will be the best casino East of Las Vegas in the country (If not one of the best). NH should have around 3000 hotel rooms after MGM opens. The Wharf (as a single entity) cannot compare in that regard. Do you think that hurts National Harbor's case for conventions or helps it as a single development?
I don't really tout the Tanger Outlets cause I refuse to consider it really inside "the harbor" but nonentheless, the Wharf alone will not be able to compare from a retail stand point to the those outlets. I'm just giving NH the proper points it deserves in this discussion not saying it's better or worse. Remember to singularly compare the two, obviously location in DC proper is 1st preference, but NH as a single place destination can compare. National Harbor ALREADY is absolutely a destination for locals and people from outside the area, but you wait until 2016
The only reason for a local to go to National Harbor is to attend a conference.
Don't be so jaded. There's more to the Harbor the conference meetings. As far as I recall, The Wharf at the moment is still mainly a fish market (Love the place) with a handful of restaurants and a small maritime community. Development-wise, NH already has a head-start.
Again, I don't think we should be comparing an entire city's amenities to those of an 8 square block project. That was not my intention for this thread.
Again, I was asking for thoughts on the SW Waterfront project called The Wharf and its amenities alone compared to National Harbor and its amenities alone in terms of their specific purposes to attract visitors to the waterfront.
What should not be included in this comparison:
Any non-riverfront part of DC or MD. This includes the National Mall, the museums, Georgetown, Petworth, Dupont Circle, Trinidad, Barry Farms, or any other project in DC not connected to a river, Baltimore, Annapolis, Ocean City, Fredrick, Silver Spring, or Bethesda, or any other MD project not connected to the Potomac or Anacostia Rivers.
I'm not sure why you keep including all attractions in DC not located on the SW Waterfront. And being born and raised in DC, we know that DC is no NYC when it comes to 24/7 amenities. DC shuts down at night. Hence the reason why the metro closes. Personally, I think DC should be a 24/7 city, but its not. And we are not comparing foot traffic in an entire city to foot traffic at one project. That again is pointless. DC by number of residents alone is more dense than a single project that has almost no permanent residences. That's why I started by comparing the two waterfronts alone.
It's no NYC but it's no Boston either. Parts of DC are still vibrant til 3-4am, mostly from Thursday to Saturday nights. It would be nice if DC could extend Metrorail hours a little more during the weekends and more significantly over the weeknights. And weren't some people in the DC government proposing an extension of DC's last call last year or so?
So now your taking parts of NH that exist within that development and saying they don't exist, effectively changing the question of the OP. I could essential say City Center etc doesn't exist or shouldn't count because it's not close to the Wharf. The question wasn't to get into what is connected to what and how much walking is between. It was to compare the amenities of National Harbor to The Wharf. These are two entirely different developments which is why I said it's an apples to "pears" comparison. Apples to apples would be Wharf vs Inner Harbor.
If you want to change the question to what actually is in walking distance of the piers in each development then fine. The Wharf has a lot of advantages. But if the question is National Harbor's amenities vs the Wharfs amenities in the confines of land that developers own and have created, National Harbor has just as many amenities and probably more with MGM. I guess I'm looking at it as if the two developments were on imaginary islands surrounded by nothing to compare the amenities, just for the sake of discussing. IMO that's why this thread was created. Even without MGM there are still categories such as hotel/ convention space where NH has more of.
I'm not disputing the other points your making about world class etc.
Well, I really don't think people will think of National Harbor when they think of DC around the world. They will, however, think about the Wharf, the Yards, and Georgetown when they're all completely built out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
