Renderings for the Flagship REI coming to NoMa this Fall

by Prince Of Petworth September 13, 2016 at 3:45 pm 71 Comments

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Thanks to Edelman DC for sharing some renderings of the coming REI Flagship store at the former Uline Arena in NoMa [1146 3rd Street, NE]. Stay tuned for many many more updates.

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That Man A

i have a strong feeling that the are going to CLEAN UP in this city
- Kevin
  
  For some reason I love REI and I don’t even do outdoorsy stuff. Went in there one day and they had a park ranger with a hawk and some other animals, thought that was pretty cool.
  - justinbc
    
    They have some of the nicest, friendliest, and most helpful staff of any store I’ve ever been to.
    - ***
      
      That’s interesting. When I went to the one in Tysons to get a bike rack for my car, I had to hunt to find an employee and they had the usual DC indifferent attitude about offering any help.
NE Resident

The building itself is definitely coming along, too – the windows are installed and you can see inside. I’d be curious to see more wide-scale renderings (including of the outside) – apart from the top picture, these renderings could be of pretty much any REI.
- jumpingjack
  
  I agree. It think it’s going to look really cool, but I’d love to see wider outside renderings.
  .
  Curious when the new completion date is. They finally stopped kidding themselves and took down the September 2016 sign. They’ve been making good progress the whole time, but there is an enormous amount of work to do. They just started putting in windows in the past week.
  - pjl35
    
    Wundergarten has a countdown which I believe is at 6 or 7 weeks right now. Here are older renderings of the building itself: http://douglasdevelopment.com/properties/uline-arena/
  - DF
    
    They talked to my work about selling pastries for the opening week which was the first or second week of October IRRC.
    - kapitolhill
      
      October 21.
SkiBum

Really hoping they’re ski shop is legit… it’d be amazing if they had a tuning setup too. Finding a good ski shop near DC is nearly as hard as finding good skiing near DC!
- Marty
  
  wonder if those two are related
- Rich
  
  When they had fewer stores in the area, the College Park store had a significant amount of ski equipment. I bought my X-C skis there. The closing of other ski stores might create enough demand to have a sizable department again.
  - Pleasanter
    
    The College Park REI is closing in February – not renewing their lease.
- Anon
  
  I’d hope so too, but honestly, I wouldn’t hold my breath. In my experience, I’ve been able to get basic tune-ups at whatever hill I’m skiing without an issue. It’s not like you’re getting core shots here. Folks are great turning skis around overnight out west.
Anon

So it’ll look like most other REIs / outdoor retailers? (I like it though, and yes, I agree that they’re going to cleanup. No more hiking over to Georgetown for Patagonia!)
- NH Ave Hiker
  
  I’ll probably still make the trek over to College Park – it won’t be as crowded and really isn’t that far from Petworth.
  - sb
    
    Apparently the College Park store is closing.
    - kapitolhill
      
      Yep, and some of the staff will probably be coming to this store.
    - NH Ave Hiker
      
      Crap, I liked being able to drive there :(
siz

goodbye, money. it was nice knowing you.
- NH Ave Hiker
  
  haha same. Whenever I go to the one in College Park I end up spending too much money.
- DC is for me, see?
  
  It’s not called “Really Expensive Items” for nothing!
LionofLedroit

Why don’t we just get it over with and build a giant mountain with roaring river over the railroad tracks adjacent to NY Ave: sort of like Capitol Crossing, but way, way better. Year-round fun – skiing, hiking, rafting, kayaking – and an excellent place to try out some of our new REI gear :).
- pjl35
  
  I fully support this.
- can_i_park_here
  
  Right where the Wendys is? I’m for it!
- dcpolis
  
  or kick the cars out of rock creek park :)
petworther

Looks like an REI. I like REI as much as the next guy, but sometimes I’m a little creeped out by the breathless anticipation with which some people await the ability to buy consumer goods slightly closer to their homes.
- Anon
  
  You clearly live too far to be positively affected by the ensuing property value bump. ;-) Also, there are many people in DC who actually do things outside for which they need specialized gear that’s only sold by REI. The store in CP isn’t remotely convenient. People like convenience. Capisce?
  .
  (But fair enough re: rampant over-consumerism.)
- justinbc
  
  For people who don’t own cars, every block that you don’t have to haul heavy outdoor equipment can be substantial.
  - ***
    
    For people who don’t own cars… how are they getting to wherever they are going where they would need said heavy outdoor equipment?
    - justinbc
      
      Airplanes…?
- ***
  
  Yeah.. I’m with you on that one. I get that, yes, having it in your backyard offers convenience, but it’s not like it was impossible to get to REI before, especially in the era of ride-sharing, cars2go, etc.
Otis Gal

D.C. is turning into such a boring copy of every suburb near here. Time to move somewhere more authentic.
- justinbc
  
  Please define authentic?
  - c
    
    that’s funny.
  - Anon
    
    I dunno, Durango’s pretty rad.
- Rich
  
  This will be a flagship store, which will be different from their relatively small suburban locations. Have been to their flagships in Denver, Seattle & NYC–no comparison with their suburban stores.
  - Cleveland Park runner
    
    +1
Paul S

I had a little bit higher hopes on the aesthetics of the space than what these renderings show. The downtown flagship Denver store is absolutely awe inducing in terms of the architectural marvel of the space. It is in an old Tramway building and they really do it justice both inside and out.

I thought the Uline Arena had similar potential to dazzle given the uniqueness of the building. But all the rendering I’ve seen this week for the REI seem like a nondescript Macy’s interior with a few wood wall and ceiling features to break up the concrete bunker look. I can only guess that Douglas Development’s desire to add office on upper floors has taken some of the grandeur away in favor of maximizing profit from every square inch. Oh well. It is what it is. Better than let it continue to sit idle and vacant of course…
- Pleasant Plains
  
  Yeah I was wondering how they’re going to utilise the giant vaulted ceiling!
  - Anon
    
    They are not – the Uline Arena space is being re-purposed into office space. There won’t be much of a vaulted ceiling.
    - ***
      
      Unless they got a super interesting office tenant and a design firm on board to design a space that acknowledges the history and architectural character of that space, that is a huge wasted opportunity. And since this is DC, I’ll go ahead and show myself out as none of those things are likely to happen.
      - Anon
        
        “huge wasted opportunity” …. Douglas Development …. sounds about right
- ***
  
  DC do something architectural unique and not 100% design-by-committed to death? That would be the day.
- justinbc
  
  These renderings are frankly pretty useless. It looks like something from a kids coloring book. I think the store will be amazing, but this does nothing to build anticipation for me.
- Anon
  
  REI store is not going into the old Uline Arena. I repeat, the REI store is NOT going into the old Uline Arena. It’s being built-out in the old refrigeration shop next door, which has a rather pedestrian layout and proportions, hence the pedestrian renderings you see above. It comes down to $$$.
  - justinbc
    
    Well that blows. I too thought that it was going into Uline.
  - really?
    
    Sources please.
    - Anon
      
      Yup, really. I’m not googling for you, sorry.
      - lol
        
        The almighty google indicates that the first floor of the old Uline Arena will be retail and REI.
      - Really?
        
        Too lazy spreading false rumors?
  - Tony Goodman, ANC 6C06
    
    That is absolutely false. The ground floor of the ice house will have retail as well, primarily facing 3rd Street. REI will be in the ground floor of the old arena building.
David Willings

Renderings aren’t definite, may all your dreams come true
Former Petworth.

Missing is the paramilitary security that will mostly be staged out front of the store on a daily basis. Seems we only improve customer options in this city, and it seems to me fairly soul-sucking. Nike store and now REI in traditional low income neighborhoods just stinks in so many respects, inequality on parade in so many areas of the city now. And will REI be hiring locals? Is this even the type of store locals would be able to work at? If you grew up in an urban setting seem like a semi-difficult place to work given REI’s standards. Honest question: I’m curious if there will be some sluggish performance from this store in years to come as people move out of DC once they have kids because of school options and the tremendous cost of private school. Seems like kind of an odd choice of location for REI to me.
- Anon
  
  I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that this store will make an absolute killing, DCs micro-migration patterns notwithstanding.
  - ***
    
    I guess I don’t see it. The DC crowd strikes me as more SoulCycle and Pilates then actual legit outdoor activities.
    - Anon
      
      DC Metro area has quite a few people, many of whom you don’t seem to have met.
    - Non-Adventurer
      
      Can you tell me where I can find these people that don’t want to spend their weekends scaling cliffs and sleeping in tents? The “DC Crowd” is absolutely into those kinds of activities, to the point where you feel like a weirdo if you don’t share that enthusiasm.
      - ***
        
        Apparently they all work at my office, most of whom would rather spend their weekend binge watching Netflix, ordering food from Seamless and only leaving the house if brunch is involved.
  - NH Ave Hiker
    
    Yea, I live in Petworth and I backpack and hike regularly. I actually would prefer doing that than spending a weekend in the city most of the time.
- justinbc
  
  Depends on what you mean by “locals”, and if you mean black people why are you assuming that they’re incapable of offering high customer service standards?
  - Former Petworth.
    
    My comment was not about service, honestly, that’s sort of a ridiculous reading into the comment, my comment is simply that if you grew up in the city there is a good chance you have not engaged much with the products that REI sells. I think the product line is a difficult one to sell if you’ve spent little or no time skiing, biking, kayaking etc. Plus in terms of potential retail gigs, REI is some pretty yuppie/crunchy stuff. I dont think thats a stretch at all.
    - justinbc
      
      So you think the kids from Purceville are going to drive into the city to apply?
    - SMGC
      
      REI hosted an awesome “diversity in the outdoors” panel a few weeks back at the Wunder Garten where every single panel member addressed this very issue in some form (each panelist came from one of various local, black and latino-specific outdoor recreational orgs with whom REI has partnered). i honestly thought it was an awesome discussion and someone even asked how REI will tap into that community locally. from my pov, bc they have these relationships with local black/brown orgs and plan to hire locally and will have ppl around to dole out advice on local outdoor recreation, it seems REI is legitimately committed to raising the profile of these activities and orgs to help dispel the perception that “the outdoors” is only for wealthy white people.
      
      also i understand why you think it’s stretch but lots of low-income or black or brown folks have spent a lot of time outdoors…
  - Anonymous
    
    REI caters to outdoor activities that traditionally have appealed to MC and UMC white people with suburban or rural upbringings. It’s hard to get into hiking, skiing, kayaking, etc when you’re a poor kid from the inner city. Hence, a lot of the people who grew up in the H Street neighborhood won’t be qualified for these jobs. It’s not too difficult to connect the dots.
    It’s the same reason why a Lit major from the Seven Sisters probably won’t work at Cabela’s.
    - Non-Adventurer
      
      Good point. I hope this location ties in more with hyper-local outdoor activities. There’s quite a lot you can explore without leaving the city.
    - Ashy Oldlady
      
      You’re right about everything except the part about it being difficult to connect the dots. A lot of people seem to be really shielded and/or out of touch with the realities of those who live in sub-$150k households.
- Pleasanter
  
  Yes, they are hiring locals!
- stacksp
  
  On a completely unrelated note, urban teens love this kind of outerwear. It has gone from Eddie Bauer coats in the 90s to North Face and Patagonia to most recently Helly Hansen. REI outerwear might be the trend in High Schools this fall. Goretex pants and Jackets, Skull hats and beanies….
  - justinbc
    
    Yeah I’ve seen a lot of MPD crime alerts that describe the suspect specifically wearing Helly Hansen jackets. Probably not the viral marketing they were aiming for…
DCMTB

On Sunday, over 100 staff members from the new store turned up at Fort Dupont in SE to do a trash pick up and help repair some damaged sections of trail there. A very nice, engaged and all around lovely group of people to work with, all the way from the cashiers to the managers. If they conduct themselves the same way in the store as they did on the trails, then it’ll be a net win for the city.

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