AU students will have another store to shop at in Tenleytown next year when construction is completed on the new retail space at 4501 Wisconsin Ave.
The new retail space located between the Payless ShoeSource store and the Tenleytown Metro station will be 3,600 square feet, according to Kathy McCormick, the director for Business and Development at K3 Construction Group. K3 has not set a definite completion date for the building but they expect to have it done by the end of this year. Circle Management, the company that owns the retail space, is still trying to find a tenant for the building and they have not set a date for when a retail tenant would move in or open, according to McCormick.
The K3 Construction Group has had to work closely with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority because of the retail space’s close proximity to the Tenleytown Metro station. The construction group had to get WMATA to approve their project before they could begin building, even though WMATA will not be directly involved in selecting the new building’s tenant, according to Angela Gates, a Metro spokesperson.
WMATA also requested that K3 set up a protection barrier between the construction site and the Metro entrance to prevent debris from falling into the open-air station entrance. WMATA will continue to monitor the construction project to ensure that the Metro entrance and the elevator will be unaffected by the construction, according to Gates.
Some AU students hoped that the new store would be an affordable restaurant or fast food place.
Marisa Greenwood, a sophomore in the School of Communication, said that it would be nice not to have to travel to other neighborhoods like Georgetown or Friendship Heights to get good food.
“I don’t want to have to take the Metro to Cleveland Park just to get frozen yogurt and ice cream, and I don’t want to have to go to Georgetown to get a good salad,” Greenwood said. “The new retail space should be a popular food place that would appeal to a lot of people.”
Idia Aisian, a junior in SOC, said the right restaurant could help Tenleytown become more appealing.
“Tenleytown won’t suddenly become better because of one new restaurant — it’s a step-by-step process,” Aisian said. “But a new restaurant could be a good first step for Tenleytown to develop and become a more lively community.”
Jordan Lipp, a senior in the Kogod School of Business, said he hopes this retail space will give the Tenleytown storefront a much-needed facelift.
“We really need a store that would make the area cool,” Lipp said. “At the moment, Tenleytown is more of a place for families, or a place where you would run errands. Tenleytown really doesn’t need another mattress store or another Radio Shack.”
You can reach this staff writer at jryan@theeagleonline.com.
