The AVA Wheaton apartments are actually starting to match the grey-white-orange-brown tones of the
renderings we've been looking at for at least four years. Some green Tyvek sections remain, with one of those being the Georgia Avenue-facing facade on Blueridge Avenue that will bear large "A V A" initials. Developer Avalon Bay is now
promising delivery for Summer 2017 for this 319-unit building, with no retail or restaurants on the ground floor.
Looking good, but I still can't believe the planning board allowed it without retail on the ground level. They should have had retail, at least along Blueridge.
ReplyDeleteHuh? Why would the Planning Board require they have retail? Why would you want the government to inject themselves like that in a by-right, private development? What a North Korean-like suggestion.
DeleteThere are no restaurants/retail that far north in Wheaton; the density is far too light to support it. The last thing Wheaton needs is to spread its population out even thinner by expanding retail even further towards its fringes. Instead, Wheaton should be consolidating its retail within the core and encouraging a more walkable and vibrant area. Once competition increases, demand for redevelopment picks up, and there aren't so many check cashing stores and pawn shops THEN Wheaton can start looking towards adding more retail space.
Huh yourself. the density is not far too light to support retail in the north - in fact there is much more residential there already compared to the rest of the urban district. the problem with wheaton is that business owners are unable to secure decent real estate leases with the current slate of landlords. so - maybe what Wheaton needs is NEW and decent commercial space, not the same old crap that the current landlords refuse to update. and your comment about "what a north-korean-like suggestion" shows you know nothing about real estate development.
DeleteI appreciate that you think you know more about Wheaton's retail submarket than Avalon Bay and every other property owner north of Blueridge, but that seems unlikely. I'd encourage you to purchase a parcel or two and throw your hat in the ring, though. I don't mind being proven wrong.
Delete"you know nothing about real estate development"
I'm not sure you're in a position to accurately judge the knowledge of other posters considering your initial claim regarding the Planning Board's role in sketch and site reviews. Claiming the Board can and should randomly institute retail minimums would be comical if it weren't complete nonsense.
"There are no restaurants that far north in Wheaton." Uh...Los Chorros is right across the street from AVA Wheaton.
DeleteUh...Los Chorros is south of the site. That was the exact point made. AVA's project is the northern-most point of what can loosely be considered "downtown" Wheaton.
DeleteYes, but you were trying to make the point that the area can't support a restaurant or retail. Obviously that isn't true because there are restaurants and retail 30 feet from the doorstep of AVA Wheaton on the other side of Blueridge. You act as if anything north of Blueridge is some distant land.
DeleteBy your logic, the BB&T on Valley View Drive should have never been constructed since it's outside the boundaries of the CBD and next to single family residential. Urban areas evolve and expand over time on the periphery. Wheaton is no different.
If you're waiting for the vacant retail space in the Wheaton core to be occupied or for the pawn shops and check cashing stores to disappear before constructing any new retail in Wheaton, you will be waiting a long, LONG time.
"If you're waiting for the vacant retail space in the Wheaton core to be occupied or for the pawn shops and check cashing stores to disappear before constructing any new retail in Wheaton, you will be waiting a long, LONG time."
DeleteIndeed. That's the point. There's no reason Avalon would build retail that far north when retail in the core commonly can't attract decent tenants. Maybe in a couple decades a developer that far north will be looking to add a retail component to their project, but the current landscape in Wheaton absolutely doesn't support the idea. It's not even close to financially viable.
Is this studio 1b 2b 3b apts? What is rate
ReplyDelete