Nordstrom’s Downtown? Might It Happen?

Sounds good, but we will all live to see it. It seems to take things sooooooo long to get built here.

I have a friend who is restoring her home and it has taken over 1 year to get all of her building permits…and this is with an “paid expediter”.

I’d rather have a decent grocery store than a Nordstrom’s or any other retail joint…

This is a huge project for DC. One of the coolest features is the alleys with retail. If Nordstrom’s doesn’t jump on it, I think a large number of other retailer’s will. There is also a percentage of retail set aside specifically for independent businesses.

I checked out the presentation of the old convention center site master plan last year in the old City Museum. The site looks gorgeous…really well designed. Foster and Partners had their hand in it, so I wouldn’t expect anything less (Norman Foster designed the “Gherkin” in London, the new Hearst building in mid-town Manhattan, and the new glass courtyard canopy at the portrait gallery here in DC to name a few)

I only hope that the developers of each building within the site live up to the expectations set by the master plan. These things have a way of getting watered down between site plan and final delivery.

I second that! We are in dire need of a grocery store! I wonder if Whole Foods has been approached……

You are getting a grocery in a few months. Enough with the grocery issue.

And soon, on the 900 block of F Street we will be getting a chocolatier and a bakery. Add the cheese shop and liquor store and you have enough to cull a meal together in a pinch.

settle down, folks.
nordstrom is in talks with the Georgetown Park Mall, which is going to be undergoing a renovation as well. although, the one in georgetown is expected to result in a quick-stop project, but they’re still talking about using an entire floor for a full fledged nordstroms.

the convention center site is not a given, as far as i know, and i know a bit. concerns are area income per capita, some security concerns, and a potential perception problem (these are part of Mr. Nordstrom’s concerns from his little enclave in Washington state).

i’m hoping for you guys, as i live in NE dc, but i’m just saying…. don’t open up the helium to inflate your balloons just yet…

I second Chris L’s comments about these things getting a bit watered down (esp. in DC…). However, anything is better than a giant parking lot and a Nordstrom is just amazing!

Now if only we could move all of the luxe retailers in Bethesda to Downtown…

DIOR, DO YOU HEAR ME?!

I know this is probably never going to happen, but wouldn’t it be amazing to have a Wegmans in the city?!? Just a dream.

PQ resident in France,

I am in Paris right now, and I could only dream that PQ (or DC for that matter) had 10% of the menswear selection that I have found here.

PQ offers a poorly stitched and terrible quality suit from Macy’s, whereas Paris offers a hand-sewn, custom-fitted suit for a very reasonable price.

Message to PQ: Lure a QUALITY menswear shop the area to people can purchase respectable attire.

#8 – by watered down i guess you mean with a fire hose

I have to agree with comment #7. Nordstrom may be listening to the city’s tax credit talk now, but there’s no way their corporate heads will overlook the low median incomes of downtown zip codes. Look for them to open at Georgetown Park, if they open in the District.

what’s the news on the grocery store? I must’ve missed that – a few months? February? March?

Safeway (5th and K) — late spring (as late as May)
C3 Fix (chocolate, 900 blk F) — within 6 months
Panera Bread (bakery,900 nlk F) — within 6 months
Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Dean & Deluca — not in our lifetime

I think a Nordstrom’s downtown would be great. I can’t imagine why anyone would have a problem with it coming. In fact, I think department stores are vital to creating a vibrant downtown. I say, welcome.

I think a Nordstrom’s would do very well in that location given the volume of high end tourists/visitors that come to that area in addition to area workers and increasing number of residents. It would be an incredible contrast to the lack of customer service at Macy’s. A Nordstrom’s cafe would be a nice addition, too.

Let’s see, Georgetown or the Convention Center= for Nordstroms. Give me a break, the choice is simple…Georgetown. Compared to Georgetown, downtown is full of homeless, delinquent teens and crime while it’s short on residents with six and seven figure incomes. I don’t think the business analysts are going to have much trouble with this one because the downtown working population won’t fill the gap.

Wegman’s requirement for multiple acres makes an urban location difficult if not impossible. This is their standard response when downtown neighborhood committees try and lure a Wegmans.

In addition to the Fair Oaks and Dulles Wegmans, there’s a Wegmans coming to Landover, which is on the Blue Line. Also, an infill development coming to Rt 1 and South Kings Highway is trying to lure a Wegmans. That would put it near Huntington Metro.

#17, the answer is not that simple. If it were, there wouldn’t be a Target going up in Columbia Heights. I worked in Georgetown up until this past summer, and trust me, Georgetown has a pretty good share of homeless, delinquent teens, and crime. Downtown is starting to reclaim its image as a serious shopping destination. I’m sure the folks at Norstrom have noticed that. There is tons of potential, not just from the working population, but from tourists and the growing number of DC residents on this side of Connecticut avenue who would much rather walk or take the metro than look for parking in Georgetown.

As for “Tired of Grocery Complaints,” 5th and K is not Penn Quarter.

Yep, a Safeway at 5th & K is no help – the Giant at 8th & O is about as close & about as safe. & chocolate & bread? wow, that’s a good diet.
The Watergate has a Safeway in the basement. Ditto the subterranean Safeway in Rosslyn. The DNA & ANC should oppose further development until we have a good mix, including a grocery. Some developer would step up & then problem solved, or if not, at least the condo glut will be lessened & the number of chain restaurants will not grow.
This will never be a “livable community” until we get a grocery.
As for a Nordstrom’s, I agree with 17. Until the downtown is cleaned up & policed properly & more high income folks move in, no way will Nordy’s open here.

To “Tired of Grocery Complaints,” again: 5th and K is not Penn Quarter! It’s too far for me to walk with bags and bags of groceries.

A Nordstroms would be great, but I’d rather have a grocery store in Penn Quater–with fresh vegitables and staples. (Alas, wish I could live on chocolate and wine)

So, is the Whole Foods deal dead once and for all?

True, 5th and K is not Penn Quarter, its in the next neighborhood north. God forbid you have to cross Mass. Ave to get groceries. How many large scale grocery stores can you support within five or six blocks of each other? The difference between the distance from “Penn Quarter” to the Safeway site and the old convention center site is negligible. Some live closer to the former, some live closer to the latter. Bottom line is that you will be able to walk to the grocery store, even if it isn’t technically in the highly exclusive Penn Quarter.

#20: “a Safeway at 5th & K is no help – the Giant at 8th & O is about as close & about as safe.” Have you looked at a map? 8th & O is easily 6 or so blocks further away than the new Safeway, and is miles away in terms of size, quality, and selection. As for safety, the City Vista development will bring hundreds of new residents living in the luxury condos and apartments, a Results Gym, a restaurant from the folks at Busboys and Poets, and other retail and restaurants, in addition to the Safeway. The “safety” issues you speak of in these different neighborhoods are worlds apart. Of course, if you can’t buy a cart and walk to the new Safeway, that’s no skin off my back. I’ll be walking to the brand new grocery store, rather than pining away for a hypothetical grocery store that isn’t going to come.

I’m with TJM, 5th & K is pretty damn close to PQ. I’m going to go out on a limb and say a lot of you are angry about being promised a grocery store in your building by a developer who couldn’t back up that promise. So I can understand being frustrated about that, it certainly would bother me for a while. But to say a 6-10 block walk to the grocery store is to far? A grandma cart will let you carry a lot of groceries with ease. I can’t wait for that Safeway to open.

I live just north of 14 and U and have been served by the WF’s at 14 and P. That’s about 8 blocks and not too bad a walk. I think what some PQ residents want is a Grocery Store within 2-3 blocks. That would be nice, but I think that’s a luxury. It is nice to have a decent small grocer within three blocks, for staples and things like that. We recently got a (new improved) small store called DC’s Best which is expensive but works in a pinch. I think that’s really what PQ needs. Aim low.

Very few people live within 2-3 blocks of a grocery store. if you do, consider yourself very fortunate. If a 5-8 block walk is too much for some people, then “some people” will never be happy.

And another thing: if you think that 5th and K is equal to 8th and O in terms of safety, then I’d venture that you haven’t been to 8th and O recently. The two aren’t comparable. And 8th and O has actually improved in the last couple of years.

I agree with “Tired.” Drop the grocery issue and lets start working on issues we can affect change: noise, homelessness, getting more involved with the community, politeness, and a sense of neighborhood — not jabbing at one another over the things we have no control over.

the discussion is straying a bit from Nordstrom’s and everyone’s had a good go at getting their word in so we’re going to wrap this one up. thanks all!