Georgetown Park
Encyclopedia
Georgetown Park is a shopping mall
and condominium
complex in the Georgetown
neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The Shops at Georgetown Park are located at 3222 M Street
, NW.
. In the 1850s, the building was purchased by John E. Reeside and Gilbert Vanderwerken
and converted into stables for their omnibus
line. The building continued to be used as stables for the first horsecar
line, the Washington and Georgetown Railroad
. It was later converted into a machine shop for streetcars. The parts of the building that face the canal and the facade of the M Street entrance remain from those earlier periods. After the demise of Washington's streetcars in 1962, the building served as the United States Defense Communications Annex E before being converted to its current use.
The Canal House opened as the first phase of the project in 1980, with a Conran's
homegoods store topped by 35 condominiums. At opening of the second phase on September 27, 1981, the "shopping park" had 100 stores and 128 condominiums. Original stores included the first East Coast branch of Abercrombie & Fitch
, a small branch of Garfinckel's
, Ann Taylor
, and Scan Furniture
. Among the stores opening Washington branches were Davisons of Bermuda, a women's high-fashion shop from Miami
; Le Vogue, a Richmond
-based women's wear store; Le Sac, a New Orleans
-based boutique; Senor David, a New York retailer of Italian menswear; Mark Cross, the leather goods store; and Godiva Chocolatier. The shopping park was deliberately designed not to have a major anchor store.
On September 10, 2008, Bloomingdales announced plans to open a three-level, 82000 square feet (7,618 m²) anchor store at The Shops by August 2011. The store is reported to be modeled after the chain's concept store in New York's SoHo
neighborhood to carry select contemporary men's and women's apparel. With this announcement, Western Development Corp., which continues to own the property, believed Georgetown Park would become "the highest fashion and trend center in the whole Washington area"; however, the deal fell through in the summer of 2009 as a result of the ongoing lawsuit between Western Development Corporation and Eastbanc, Inc. According to the Washington Business Journal, Eastbanc has alleged that Western Chairman Herb Miller sold his option to repurchase the mall in a 1998 letter.
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
and condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
complex in the Georgetown
Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The Shops at Georgetown Park are located at 3222 M Street
M Street (Washington, D.C.)
The name "M Street" refers to two major roads in the United States capital of Washington, D.C. Because of the Cartesian-coordinate-based street-naming system in Washington, the name M Street can be used to refer to any east-west street located twelve blocks north or south of the dome of the United...
, NW.
History
The first phase of the complex opened in 1981. Parts of the structure predate 1838 when it was used as a tobacco warehouse that opened up directly onto the Chesapeake and Ohio CanalChesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
. In the 1850s, the building was purchased by John E. Reeside and Gilbert Vanderwerken
Gilbert Vanderwerken
Gilbert Vanderwerken , originally from Albany, New York, was most notably recognized for introducing the omnibus, an urban version of the stagecoach, in Newark, New Jersey, in 1826.-Biography:...
and converted into stables for their omnibus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
line. The building continued to be used as stables for the first horsecar
Horsecar
A horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
line, the Washington and Georgetown Railroad
Washington and Georgetown Railroad
The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company was the first streetcar company to operate in Washington, D.C. It was incorporated and started operations in 1862, running from Georgetown to the Navy Yard. Two additional lines ran on 7th Street NW/SW and 14th Street NW. In 1890 it switched from...
. It was later converted into a machine shop for streetcars. The parts of the building that face the canal and the facade of the M Street entrance remain from those earlier periods. After the demise of Washington's streetcars in 1962, the building served as the United States Defense Communications Annex E before being converted to its current use.
The Shops at Georgetown Park
In 1975, Donohue Construction Co., in partnership with Western Development Corp., acquired the historic site to develop as a combined shopping and housing complex. One engineering magazine called it the most complicated construction job on the East Coast. The project involved preserving the 100-plus year old facade on Wisconsin Avenue; building a 300-space underground parking garage into solid rock; and adding superstructure to the 10 feet (3 m) thick, 35 feet (10.7 m) high canal wall. Upscale features of the building included wood-floored hallways, a block-long skylight with cast-iron braces, brass and glass elevators, and hand-built oak kiosks. Construction costs came to $50 million for the retail center, $25 million for the condominiums, and $20 million for store interiors and fixtures.The Canal House opened as the first phase of the project in 1980, with a Conran's
Habitat (retailer)
Habitat Retail Ltd. is a retailer of household furnishings in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchised outlets in other countries. Founded in 1964 by Terence Conran, it was sold by the IKANO Group, owned by the Kamprad family, in December 2009 to Hilco, a restructuring...
homegoods store topped by 35 condominiums. At opening of the second phase on September 27, 1981, the "shopping park" had 100 stores and 128 condominiums. Original stores included the first East Coast branch of Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....
, a small branch of Garfinckel's
Garfinckel's
Garfinckel's was a prominent department store chain based in Washington, D.C., that catered to a clientele of wealthy consumers. It declared Chapter 11, in June 1990, and ceased operations in 1990.-History:...
, Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor (retail chain)
ANN INC. is an American group of specialty apparel retail chain stores for women, headquartered in New York City, . The stores offer classic styled suits, separates, dresses, shoes and accessories...
, and Scan Furniture
Scan Furniture
Scan Furniture was a retailer of modern Scandinavian furniture that operated six stores in the metropolitan Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area.Unusually, it was founded in 1960 in a Greenbelt, Maryland, grocery store , where its success led to it getting its own store...
. Among the stores opening Washington branches were Davisons of Bermuda, a women's high-fashion shop from Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
; Le Vogue, a Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
-based women's wear store; Le Sac, a New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
-based boutique; Senor David, a New York retailer of Italian menswear; Mark Cross, the leather goods store; and Godiva Chocolatier. The shopping park was deliberately designed not to have a major anchor store.
On September 10, 2008, Bloomingdales announced plans to open a three-level, 82000 square feet (7,618 m²) anchor store at The Shops by August 2011. The store is reported to be modeled after the chain's concept store in New York's SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
neighborhood to carry select contemporary men's and women's apparel. With this announcement, Western Development Corp., which continues to own the property, believed Georgetown Park would become "the highest fashion and trend center in the whole Washington area"; however, the deal fell through in the summer of 2009 as a result of the ongoing lawsuit between Western Development Corporation and Eastbanc, Inc. According to the Washington Business Journal, Eastbanc has alleged that Western Chairman Herb Miller sold his option to repurchase the mall in a 1998 letter.