Harris Teeter Signs Letter of Intent for McMillan Development!!

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by Prince Of Petworth August 27, 2015 at 11:48 am 52 Comments

harris
Photo by PoPville flickr user John M

Big Bloomingdale news from the Bloomingdale blog – Harris Teeter Signs Letter of Intent at McMillan – thanks to a reader for passing on:

“Our listserv had some news about McMillan today. It’s nonbinding, and who knows how long it will end up being before anything really happens at McMillan, but an exciting development nonetheless.”

Formal announcement expected summer/fall of 2016 – stay tuned!

Common Sense

Can’t wait for the catastrophic traffic that is going to ensue. They are destroying one of DC’s most beautiful areas to bring in more Pleb’s from Maryland and Virginia…..and their amazing driving skills.
- AnonJohn
  
  I agree on the traffic. For no good reason, this area is already a mess. Turning ambulances, illegally turning cars, intersections that go through stopped traffic, the random parking before Rhode Island …
  
  Plus, Harris Teeter? Utterly “MEH”. The prices (sort of) of Whole Food and the selection of Safeway! It’s like Giant but with advertising about how classy they are. Can we get a Wegmans in Walter Reed? Please please?
  - monkeyrotica
    
    Has anyone heard the rumor that Apple is opening a Wegmans in the Ikea ball pit? Neither did I.
    - Anon
      
      You mean the one at City Center? I heard that’s back on.
  - Duponter
    
    Harris Teeter does not have the prices of Whole Foods. Get serious, please.
    - RKM
      
      When is the last time you went to a WF? The prices are pretty similar and the quality at HT is much worse.
      - Duponter
        
        I go to WF all the time. Sorry, but the prices are absolutely higher there than Harris Teeter.
- Anon
  
  I can agree on traffic and the general “Meh” factor of the development… But I think calling McMillan “one of DC’s most beautiful areas” is a bit of a stretch… I mean it is a cool example of historical engineering practices, but beautiful? I guess it is in the eye of the beholder…
- Dognonymous
  
  Obligatroy counterpoint and correction: one of DC’s most beautiful overgrown industrial dirt pits full of weeds that no one is allowed to use.
  - jtdn
    
    +1,000,000
  - Common Sense
    
    That whole area is going to look like Reston Town Center. Say good by to the reservoir too.
    - Anon
      
      And you just proved that you don’t know what you’re talking about. The reservoir isn’t going anywhere and was never part of the McMillan development. As much as I would’ve preferred for DC to build a beautiful park on that weed-laden dirt lot, let’s not go overboard by spreading myths and hyperbole.
    - d
      
      Your inability to accept and adapt to change is as boring and tedious as Reston Town Center. If anything, the development might lead to more public accessibility to the Reservoir
      - Bloomingdale Resident
        
        No it won’t. The reservoir provides our drinking water. It is restricted from public use for good reason.
      - Eric Says
        
        The reservoir belongs to the Federal government. The Federal government has fenced it off to protect the city’s water supply. I don’t see how this development would cause the Federal government to restore public assess. I live in the neighborhood. The guards on the reservoir side of the park have told me I can’t even stop and look through the fence. They have yelled at me on two separate for simply stopping and looking through the fence at the three graces statue.
    - Dognonymous
      
      You know what’s way better than a gross and uncared for plot of land surrounded by a rusty fence? Reston Town Center.
  - Trip Throckmorton
    
    Spot on, thank you.
  - justinbc
    
    Seriously. This is one project rife with DC NIMBYism that I simply cannot comprehend. It’s sitting there as a plot of NOTHING, for NOBODY, and people protest endlessly any development. C’mon.
    - Eric Says
      
      I think most people want development. Just not this development. It’s awful. A bunch of big office buildings to block the views and bring more traffic. The only people who seem to be in favor of it, don’t really seem to care what happens to the park so long as something happens. That’s just sad. It could be an amazing space. The city should put out a Request for Proposals. The other dirty secret about McMillan is that it will end up costing the city taxpayers at least 60 million dollars to privatize 25 acres of land for a development that the people overwhelmingly oppose. It’s a great deal for the developers though and I guess that all that really matters.
- spookiness
  
  No sane person will drive from Virginia to get groceries at a Harris Teeter in the district.
  - Anon
    
    Heh, yea, was was some misplaced perception of superiority.
  - Eponymous
    
    Sure they will, if they work at or have an appointment at the WHC complex. And I say bring it on! Let’s have those tax dollars.
  - Mike M.
    
    I can’t imagine many Marylanders would come here either. Most people like to go grocery shopping near their homes. I mean, I guess if you were already using N. Cap to commute out to like Silver Spring/Takoma Park/Adelphi, then it might be nice to stop at HT on the way home. But those people are already on N. Cap, so they’re not even adding traffic!
- Boomer
  
  “One of DC’s most beautiful areas”
  
  Gorgeous! http://i.imgur.com/TR9OgkO.jpg
  - nate
    
    Think of the underground vertical agriculture that could be growing there!
  - Bargain
    
    As someone who jogs past McMillan regularly, the view from the Michigan Ave is nice. You get a lot of green space and you can just barely see the capitol.
    - theroacher
      
      They are not touching any of the USACE property surrounding the reservoir. That is what the best views of the capitol are from MI ave
- tacopuss
  
  Yes, you know how those suburbanites are like “Oh boy, I can’t wait to drive in to a grocery story in the city!”
textdoc

That sounds promising! And I expect it’ll have positive implications not only for Bloomingdale, but also for the western CUA area, western Eckington, Park View, and Pleasant Plains.
- d
  
  Don’t forget Edgewood!
  .
  Great news for all the surrounding neighborhoods. According to the new DPMED website, the plan is for construction to start in 1Q2016 and finish in 2Q2019. Just hope DC plans additonal bus lines to lighten the traffic load.
  - textdoc
    
    I was actually going to mention Edgewood, then decided not to because I wasn’t quite sure how far west it extended. But yep, all the surrounding neighborhoods should experience a boost from this.
Barijho

This could be good, happy to see there is progress.

What would the timeline for the construction in this area? Perhaps open by beginning of 2018?
quincycyclist

Can’t wait – the retail and the park are going to be so much more beneficial to our neighborhood than the current vacant field that nobody is allowed to walk on.
Eponymous

Ugh. I hate the Harry Teet. Whole Foods Prices, Giant quality. Anyone want to take bets on how long it takes for it to get shut down for health code violations like the one in NoMA? I guess the good news is that it might take some of the traffic away from the RI Ave Giant – the lines there are absurd.
- Jwetz
  
  The lines at RIA Giant aren’t because of volume of customers, but speed of checkout.
- Anon
  
  that RI Giant is all yours ;-)
  - Eponymous
    
    I don’t actually shop there either, but darn it if I’m going to shop for rotting fruit and ‘roided out chicken I’m going to pay Giant prices.
    .
    I should add that I’m very excited about this development in general. Though I do wish there was a bit more density.
- TruxtonCirc
  
  The Harris Teeter in NoMa is fine. I go there at least once a week to get stuff. And no, it isn’t priced anything like Whole Foods.
  
  And the Harris Teeter in Kalorama is a pretty good grocery store, so there’s hope this one would be as well.
- west_egg
  
  From Consumers’ Checkbook 2013-14 supermarket survey: “Harris Teeter had prices about three percent higher than the Giant/Safeway average, but fared much better on our customer survey. Harris Teeter received “superior” ratings for “overall quality” from 73 percent of its surveyed customers….Harris Teeter also received considerably higher scores than Giant or Safeway for “quality of fresh produce,” “quality of meats,” “staff helpfulness/pleasantness,” and all other questions.”
  - Caroline
    
    I think Giant is a lot more expensive, actually. Maybe it depends on what you’re buying. I spend about he same at HT as I would at Safeway, but it’s a slightly better experience and HT’s sales are a lot better.
    - justinbc
      
      Yeah, it’s a regular occurrence that half or more of my cart at HT is something on sale.
    - west_egg
      
      One of my favorite things about the Teet is that if something is BOGO you can buy just one at half price — not true at Giant or Safeway.
      - Caroline
        
        That, and the buy two, get three free sales (on non-perishable or freezable items).
jcindc

I go to Harris Teeter, Safeway and Whole Foods on a weekly basis (not on the same day), and I find Safeway to have the worst selection of all three and to have higher prices on the same items carried by either HT and WF. FWIW, this is the Safeway in SW, the HT by the Yards and the WF in Clarendon. Even if HT and WF prices are a few cents more than Safeway, I’d rather spend my money at those places rather than Safeway, where I’m lucky to get the stink-eye from their employees (the other response being totally ignored).
Anonymus

Like all HT’s in DC so far, this one will go through the four cycles of life.
Step 1: OMG this store is amazing and well stocked and though it’s a bit more expensive it’s worth it because it’s the best store ever (Navy Yard HT)
Step 2: Well, sure, the prices are still expensive for items that would be considered “non standard” and the quality isn’t quite what it used to be especially in the evenings when everything’s been picked over but that’s ok. It’s still better than the Giant/Safeway (Adams Morgan HT)
Step 3: This store sucks, I’d rather go to the Giant/Safeway. I have to swat fruit flies off the produce. Half of the meat is expired and it’s just not worth it to tell anyone because there’s nobody to be found. The self checkout lines are unstaffed. At least they still usually have unexpired eggs and dairy and most things I need to get at the last minute because it’s the closest grocery store to my house (NoMa HT)
Step 4: The only reason to go is for the beer (Potomac Ave HT)
- saf
  
  Let me fix that for you, “Like all grocery stores in DC, this one will go through 4 cycles of public perception.”
  - Anonymus
    
    As someone who shopped at the Potomac Ave HT through all four cycles, this happened. And I’m seeing it happen at NoMa near where I work. And I see the awesomeness on a semiregular basis at the Navy Yard one (and for reference, I love the Safeway in Hill East so it’s not a perception/newness/trendiness issue, it’s just a Harris Teeter issue)
jim_ed

Excellent. This will be much closer and easier to get to for us than the NoMa teeter. Slowly but surely the Teeter creep will make its way down Georgia Ave.
phl2dc

Hey at least it’s not a 7-Eleven amirite?! *snort*
CarolB

Hmm, no mention or critique input of Trader Joe or Walmart or even the infamous Peapod(ers)….Wonder why?
DC John

I have often wondered if anyone proposed an amusement park on the McMillen site?
- textdoc
  
  Someone proposed a water park on a thread a while back. I found this hilarious.

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