UPS Store at 455 Mass

Last December a new UPS Store opened for business at 455 Mass offering a one-stop shop for packing, wrapping, shipping, pick-up, printing, mailboxes, and more.


Co-owner Sola Cardoso shared the following with me:

• White House Christmas Ornaments are available @ $21.95
  
• We are providing wrapping, packaging, and shipping options for residents during the holiday period
  
• Personalized 2010 Calendars are available
  
• Free donuts available on Monday mornings for our customers
  
• AAA members get discounts at our store for shipping, packaging, moving supplies
  
• We are working on introducing shredding service early next year and will welcome feedback/interaction from residents if they are interested
  
• We provide shorter lines, great service and low prices. We also offer Postal shipping services (First Class, Parcel Post, Priority Mail, Express Mail, International)

For more information on our local UPS Store visit their homepage (www.theupsstorelocal.com/6047) or follow the frequent tips and updates they share on Twitter and Facebook.

MyRadius

MyRadius was created by a small business owner for small business owners to have better exposure to area residents and so those residents can have better information about local offerings. MyRadius is intended to be a useful platform for community-based news and information. The pilot version of the platform is being implemented in October 2009 in the Mt. Vernon/Convention Center neighborhood in Washington DC.


The project is a collaboration by local business owners and spearheaded by Joanna Robinson of Lunar Massage.

Ten Ten Mass Sells Out

DCMetrocentric reported yesterday that Ten Ten Mass has sold out. The 14-story 163 unit condominium located at 11th and Mass began delivering in the Spring of 2007. The building facade features a similar Esocoff design as the DuMont.

The ground floor retail space, represented by The Rappaport Companies, and remains unleased. The space spans 8,736 SF and is considered "restaurant ready" and may be subdivided.

The brochure (PDF) boasts of a great outdoor dining opportunity. I would tend to reserve the word "great" for expansive patios like at Acadiana, Buddha Bar or the 5th & K Busboys but a restaurant may be able to tuck a limited number of tables up against the building's edge on 11th Street.

Latest Bisnow update on 425 Eye

Commercial Real Estate news site Bisnow has provided another update on Paramount Group's renovation of 425 Eye Street NW.

John Bone of Paramount Group

It’s a great value play at low to mid-40s full service) and on schedule to deliver Q1 ‘10. It’ll have all new lobby, common areas, bathrooms, fitness facilities, and rooftop deck, and he adds that 4th and I is a "perfect" place for a restaurant.

Paramount has selected Bill Miller of Transwestern Retail to lease the 29,000 SF of ground floor retail space. Transwestern has been a key player in the downtown retail scene signing Buddha Bar for 455 Mass and listing Coco Sala, PS7, Proof and Cork & Fork among their deals.


Transwestern's website lists 22 tenants actively looking available space in the DC Metro Area. Any of the 22 seem like a fit? I think Humble or Marvelous Market might work. While I know there is a hunger for diners among district residents I can't say Metro Silver Diner really appeals to me. That seems like it should have signed on at DCUSA...

Can't pick one? Go with two and stack them

Lot's of debate in the discussion on retail suggestions for 924 5th Street. Very strong support for a nail salon from the ladies and some loyal husbands. Others lust for a more inspired choice.


Perhaps the compromise is a Nail Salon on the second floor with one of the other discussed options such as a pet store on the ground floor? It was brought to my attention that Annie Nail Salon in Georgetown is on the second floor of a row house.

I think most in the community would view that as a creative win-win. Would it be a non-starter for the new landlord? My loose understanding is that the vision is for the 2nd and 3rd floors to be bundled together as office space. If a second floor use doesn't also also consume the third floor it may render the top floor too isolated to easily lease.

425 Eye Retail floorplate

The Paramount Property Group has posted floor plates on to their corporate website for each level of it's 425 Eye renovation project.

Image from Paramount Group; Click to enlarge

Over 29,000 SF of retail is split across 7 bays. Bays A thru C are west of the lobby entrance on Eye street and represent nearly 13,000 SF of contiguous space. East of the lobby Bays D through G follow along Eye Street then wrap around to span the building's entire Fourth Street frontage.

Seems there are a large number of columns tenants will need to design around. I'm not certain of ceiling height but I would guess 12 feet. If so I think potential restaurant tenants would most likely be fast casual concepts. In past retail discussions many of our females readers have lobbied for a nice spa/nails place. Could this building eventually fill that need?

Retail space at 777 Sixth Street NW

New small businesses have been steadily arriving into renovations on the East End of Chinatown such as Momiji, Royal Thai, Urfa Tomato Kabob, Chinatown Coffee and DLF Fitness. Could that momentum finally spur interest in the ground floor retail space at the 777 6th Street NW office building?


The CB Richard Ellis listing highlights 10,229sf of available retail space with 7,677 of contiguous space equipped with venting for a restaurant. The bays feature 12'4" clear ceiling heights.

Photo from CBRE flyer; click to enlarge

Has anyone heard of any rumors about potential tenants for this site at 6th & H Streets? Do you have ideas about what would potentially be great for this location?

Chinatown Coffee opens Monday

Chinatown Coffee (475 H Street NW) opens for business on Monday June 26th at 7am. To learn more about this new independent coffee retailer visit the thread of PQLiving and their facebook page. For insights direct from the man behind the coffee read the article in today's Washingtonpost that was authored by Nick Cho.

DLF Fitness arrives in Chinatown

Certified personal trainer, and nutritional consultant, David Franklin has recently opened a training studio in the lower level of 473 H Street NW. This new addition, DLF Fitness, is next to another newcomer in the community: Chinatown Coffee.

David's mission is to help his clients adopt a healthy lifestyle by teaching them to balance diet, cardiovascular fitness and strength training. No membership required!



DLF Fitness can be followed on facebook.

Would signature Taylor facade fit in well at City Vista?

Yesterday the big news finally broke that Taylor Gourmet Deli will be coming to City Vista this fall. Today I put it out to all of you - would the signage and signature garage door from their H Street NE location fit in at City Vista?




Also, it's worth noting Eden's and Avant updated their City Vista site map last night:


Notice that while E&A doesn't yet merge Bay 70 into Busboys they have consolidated Bays 120 and 130 together into one ~3550sf space. Also appears that Chevy Chase did not lease all of Bay 20 leaving another small unnumbered vacant bay beside it.

Taylor Gourmet Deli coming to City Vista

The Prince of Petworth blog broke the news today that Taylor Gourmet Deli will be locating to City Vista. I had heard these negotiations were under way back in late February but was asked to keep it on the hush until the deal was executed.

The below modified image represents the City Vista retail updated plat map as I understand it. Kushi is consolidating what was once bays 90,100 and 110 into a revised bay 100 that just shy of 4000 sf. In the worst kept secret in the world, waitresses even openly talk about it when I'm there, Busboys will eventually expand to take much but not all of Bay 70. The remainder of Bay 70 plus all of Bay 80 will be the space Taylor is taking.



This leaves Bays 120 and 130 available for lease and it's likely Eden's and Avant has some active discussions on a restaurant for those spaces. Eventually Bay 50, which currently houses the City Vista Sales Center, will also be filled by a services oriented retail tenant.

To learn more about Taylor Deli visit the reviews on Yelp. I'm looking forward to being able to stroll over to Taylor for a chicken cutlet hoagie and fried risotto balls.

More Retail space at 455 Mass

Even with Buddha Bar signing on to lease just shy of 10,000 sf the 455 Mass building still has retail space available. The Rappaport Retail brokerage's property listing shows that 1,680 sf of retail space is still on the market.

Image from Rappaport's 455 Mass brochure

Auto Detailer gives new look (to their building)

The Executive Auto Detailers recently gave the exterior of their building (607 K Street NW) a new look. I don't think the light blue was the best possible choice but the overall look is cleaner and represents an improvement.

Old:

old snapshot from April 2009

New:

new snapshots from May 26th 2009

The Executive Auto Detailers website offers lists the following prices:

Package #1
Super Hand Wash & Complete Interior Cleaning
Car - $135 small | $145 regular | $150 Large
Truck - $150 small | $160 regular | $170 Large

Package #2
Ultimate Hand Wash w/Wax & Complete Interior Cleaning
Car - $150 small | $160 regular | $170 Large
Truck - $170 small | $180 regular | $190 Large

Package #3
2 Step Wax Treatment & Complete Interior Cleaning
Car - $175 small | $185 regular | $195 Large
Truck - $195 small | $215 regular | $225 Large

Package #4
3 Step Wax Treatmemt & Complete Interior Cleaning
Car - $195 small | $205 regular | $215 Large
Truck - $215 small | $225 regular | $235 Large

Mass Court Retail

The retail bays at Mass Court (300 Mass Ave NW) have sat empty for years. Since this blog's inception nearly a year and a half ago I haven't heard even one rumor about potential tenants.


The leasing agent for the retail space is the Madison Property Group, which has the following to say:

Retail space is located on the corner of 4th and H Streets, across from the Government Accountability office and numerous residential developments along Massachusetts Avenue. 4,350 sq.ft. of space can be subdivided to accommodate smaller users, and hot air exhaust is also available in the space. Space has 18 feet ceiling height, great window line and corner visibility, as well as wide sidewalk ideal for seasonal outdoor seating.

The leasing fact sheet displays a plat map for the space:


This location clearly has a truncated walk shed due to it's proximity to I-395 and that will limit the site's potential until the air rights project unfolds. However conditions for retail are improving around the building as a greater critical mass of residential and retail is being formed. Buddha Bar is set to open this year a block away. Ashton Judiciary Square on 3rd Street should be completed this year. The Madrigal Lofts continues to inch towards selling out and The DuMont, while needing a new corporate owner, appears to theoretically be move-in ready once that ownership issue is resolved.

What retail uses could this site support? Weigh in via the comments section.

Lunar Massage

A new business called Lunar Massage (www.lunarmassagedc.com) specializing in seated-chair and fully clothed table massages for on-the-go professionals was featured in Washingtonian this week.


Owner Joanna Robinson describes her business as "a “middle ground” between a spa and the seated-chair massage or tiny massage clinics set up in malls or offices. Each of her seven on-call therapists is a licensed practitioner trained in therapies such as medical massage, sports massage, and shiatsu. The price starts at $26 for 20 minutes and goes up to $108 for 90 minutes."


Lunar Massage is located at 1101 5th Street NW - just across New York Avenue from Safeway's main entrance.

Followup with Edens and Avant on City Vista retail

Earlier this month I highlighted the news that commercial real estate firm Edens and Avant (E&A) purchased all the retail at City Vista. Reviewing their portfolio of work did not inspire confidence as all their completed projects were suburban strip malls.

Development Associate Brady Pate reached out to me to discuss E&A's plans to round out the remaining City Vista space with tenants. Pate lives in the community, regularly shops at the Safeway and uses his Results Gym membership. He is also expected to join the MVT CID Board of directors this June.

E&A plans to keep with the restaurant row vision along K Street. The retail frontage along K, with it's large windows, 22 foot ceilings and plaza sidewalks is suited well for restaurants. Due to the shallower than ideal depth (65 ft) and numerous concrete columns that inhabit the space the probable outcome is several establishments with wide frontage rather than a series of narrow businesses. Pate suggested 2 to 3 restaurants of sizes ranging from 2500 to 4000 s.f. could fill the available space on K Street.



While well capitalized tenants are sought out there is a pool of local restaurants interested in expanding to the Triangle much the way current City Vista anchors Busboys & Poets and Fifth Street Hardware have done. Negotiations are underway with several prospects. A lease could be signed this spring with an opening targeted in Q4. By the summer of 2010 several new tenants could arrive creating the truly engaging streetscape along K street we all hope to see. The available space on Fifth Street will continue to focus on service oriented retail.

City Vista retail purchased by Edens and Avant

Commercial real estate firm Edens & Avant purchased 116,585 s.f. of retail at City Vista from Lowe Enterprises in mid December. Their project page outlines an overview and links to a site plan that displays the tenants and vacancies (note: adjacent vacant bays can be merged).



In the past we've discussed this available retail at City Vista and pondered strategy and potential restaurants.

The portfolio of projects on the Edens & Avant website is overwhelmingly strip malls with unambitious retail like Cleaners, Banks, Hair and Nail Salons, Drug Stores, Dial-a-Mattress, and Dollar Stores. I looked browsed over 20 100 properties and didn't see one comparable and existing mixed use walkable site. That track record is concerning.

Bisnow recently visited E&A's Bethesda office to talk about their acquisition and reported:

There's still 8500K SF for lease on the K St. side, and (we are) eyeing local restaurants that want to be part of "one of the new great emerging neighborhoods in the District." They wouldn't mind someone in the mold of current tenant Busboys and Poets: locally-owned, community focused, and politically engaged.

Let's hope E&A understands the biggest priorities for our area. City Vista needs the mix of tenants to include some businesses that will be open later into the evening and keep eyes on the streets. Banks and nail salons close early and leave the streets dead after 7pm. Atleast one restaurant that complements Busboys and makes use of the wide plaza sidewalks with outdoor seating is also key. Other thoughts?

5th Street Ace Bag Sale Saturday

Bag Sale Saturday at 5th Street Ace Hardware


From Gina:

5th Street Ace Hardware is having a One Day Bag Sale on Saturday, November 15. All day long 5th Street Ace will be giving 20% off anything that fits into their paper shopping bags, so be creative! Power tools and small appliances are 10% off. You're not a clone, why shop at one? 5th Street Ace Hardware is located at 1055 5th Street NW; phone: (202) 682-4570; www.acehardwaredc.com. Hours on Saturday are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

If you build it who will come?

This week's focus has been strategy for the available commercial space at City Vista.

A reader sent me an email of a more provocative tilt. I'll paraphrase since I didn't have a chance to ask his permission to print. The basic message was that businesses should be selected carefully so that they don't attract an undesirable crowd. You often hear this argument related to nightclubs patrons but it's a little less PC to be anti-youths. Specifically his biggest concern was that the teenager loitering at Gallery Place (700 block 7th St NW) does not migrate to City Vista. He went on to outline his reasons including the fights, noise(shouting), trash, and a general hostile environment.

At PSA 101 West forums I have heard the first hand discussions from residents about the juvenile loitering and crime. It's an ongoing issue that many residents find to be a nuisance. The police can break up the fights but otherwise have little to enforce as congregating in public space is not against the law.

Is there much risk for a teenage loitering migration to City Vista? My impression is that the biggest draws for the teenagers to Gallery Place are the movie theatre, fast food and the visibility of the area make it a "place to be seen". Seems to be an entirely different ball of wax. This would come more into play when considering an entertainment anchor for Jemal's future development.

However make no mistake that the retail choices draw certain clientele. Signing on a fast food tenant like Mickey D's will draw in a different clientele than a wine bar or Thai place. I know in my high school days we regularly made late night runs to the Taco Bell drive thru although I'll never be able to relate to just hanging out in front of a fast food place for hours like it's some kind of party. =)

Retail Strategy for City Vista

Yesterday's posting laid out details of retail space available for lease at City Vista. Word is that interest has really ramped up on these spaces since Safeway and Busboys and Poets arrived.

What types of tenants should be considered for the spaces? In the long term when the Triangle is closer to build out it should be able to support a variety of businesses that serve a variety of needs. In the short term, since new construction ground breakings have been MIA of late, City Vista's retail (and 455 Mass) is all the Triangle will likely have now through 2010 or possibly 2011.

My belief is that selecting businesses that will increase foot traffic and eyes on the streets between 8pm and midnight should be a primary goal. It's the only way the neighborhood is going to get safer. A florist or salon that closes at 7pm will not contribute the desired effect. We need businesses that will add more critical mass to the evening traffic Busboys, Results and Safeway will spawn.

Restaurants are the best candidate to foster late evening activity. Even the restaurant choice is cause for careful consideration. The plans should call for the inclusion of an anchor restaurant that will sustain business late into the evening rather than several tiny places that may stay open until 9 or 10 but turn dead after 8pm. With residences above it's important not to choose restaurants that will turn into a quasi-night club after sunset. There may not yet be enough office density, and thereby lunch crowd, within the Triangle to support a small burger establishment like Good Stuff Eatery. These types of establishments have business models that depend heavily on both lunch and dinner traffic. A restaurant that closely replicates what one can already find in Chinatown/Penn Quarter isn't a smart choice either as a more unique offering (like Busboys represents) is needed to pull downtown residents north of Mass.

Where does that leave us? Perhaps a mix of one anchor restaurant (~3000 sf), one small restaurant/cafe then after leasing is arranged for those it would be possible to infill with other types of businesses. Realistically the business models for the restaurants would be ones that can survive making most of their money after 4pm and on weekends but we also don't want an establishment residents above will find to be a nuisance.

Do people agree with the rationale for restaurants? What restaurants would you propose that fit the criteria?