DEVELOPMENT NEWS: Hollywood Video Turns Out Lights

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Falls Church Times Staff

Hollywood Video, the Broadway Condominium’s anchor retail store, closed Nov. 1 – one of 450 stores suffering that fate this year out of some 2,900 stores owned by parent Movie Gallery.

Retail establishments at the Broadway have not enjoyed much success during the 80-condo building’s five-years of existence. Zing’s Grill opened first on the corner, but subsequently shut down, later to be replaced by Huang’s Grill, which with the departure of Hollywood Video becomes the only ground-floor business left. Other stores, including Verizon and, most recently, Impulsive gift shop, have come and gone.

The good news? Plenty of customer parking.

Hollywood Video’s demise was anticipated in a Falls Church Times report last March: “Video Rental Firms on Deathwatch – Blame Netflix and Internet.”

Mad Fox Brewery Looks at April Opening

Those empty parking spots at the Broadway could be enticing to the hundreds of customers that Mad Fox Brewery hopes to attract to its pub/restaurant location just down the street at the Spectrum. The City’s Economic Development Office reports that Mad Fox developers are busy with floor plans, elevations, and equipment orders. But in a cautionary note, the EDO observes that Mad Fox has “many City/State/Federal regulations to navigate.” Hmmm – April, you say? The clock is ticking.

Predatory Towing Still on City Council’s Agenda

Speaking of parking in front of one shop but patronizing another, City Council is still mulling doing something about the “predatory towing” practices so many shoppers have bitterly complained about. The subject almost came to a vote at last month’s Council meeting, but the Mayor wasn’t present and there was an obvious reluctance among Council members to vote without her. So the debate was punted to the next meeting on Nov. 23.

Why Pearson Square Can’t Attract Retail Merchants

Why ground-floor retail remains empty at Pearson Square is a continuing education: First, the new owner, Transwestern Multifamily Partners, complained that the would-be shops are too few and too isolated to achieve any kind of critical mass. (See our February 18 report: “Pearson Square Owners Lament ‘Less-Desirable Location.’”)  Now we’ve learned further from the EDO that trying to lease a “cold dark shell” discourages  prospective tenants who would have to pay for heating/AC, drywall, carpet, lighting, and more. “In this economy, those high up-front tenant improvement costs can be very difficult to finance. It also makes it hard to compete for tenants who have lots of choices for already ‘improved’ existing space,” reports the EDO. So the developer is offering a palliative: common bathrooms will be constructed to save  prospective tenants a little on their improvement expenses.

Pizzeria Orso: Italian Oven in a Cold, Dark Shell

Peer through the dusty window of the ground floor of the Tax Analysts building next to Pearson Square and you’ll see an enormous oven which was imported from Italy. It’s been sitting on the concrete floor since last summer. Now the EDO reports that the contractor’s “final estimating discussions appear to be concluded, and he hopes to start construction in the next two weeks.” The grand opening for Pizzeria Orso is “hopefully in March/early spring.”

Spectrum Condo Count

It’s time for an update on occupancy rates at the 189-unit Spectrum Condo: Last August we reported 37 units sold (including the 8 affordable dwelling units). As of October that figure has risen to 44. Meanwhile, another 26 units are now occupied under Waterford Development’s “rent-to-own” program. That would bring the total to 70, for an occupancy rate of 37 percent.

Around back, Spectrum office condo sales have not been going as well as we had believed: EDO reports “slow progress; broker believes this to be due to oversupply of both new and existing condo office space on the market, particularly in locations with more highway frontage/visibility.” There’s that drat “location, location, location” clause again. Spectrum office condos are 60 percent sold.

New Sign for Palatium Office Complex at Park and Lee

Coming Soon: a new “coming soon” sign at the corner of  Park Avenue and North Lee Street, advertising for future available office/retail space, with a drawing of the proposed design of the Palatium building. The project itself has been “delayed,” but the “owner hopes the sign will generate buyer interest in project/space,” the EDO reports. Construction financing is also sought.

And Your Mother Threw Away Your 1960s Comic Books?

A classic/collectibles comic book and games store plans to locate in the former Dinettes & Stools store on the triangle corner of South Maple and South Washington streets. This is an opportunity to buy back a piece of your childhood – and have you priced old baseball cards lately?

Don Beyer Kia Gets New Showroom

We reported on the phenomenon that is Kia last February (Amid Dismal Auto Sales, Little Kia Shines). Judging from construction of a new Don Beyer Kia showroom on West Broad, sales just get better and better. October Kia sales nationwide were 45 percent higher than a year earlier. That’s a good thing for Don Beyer, since Volvo’s future may not be so rosy: nationwide, Kia beat Volvo 5 to 1 in October. Volvo owner Ford Motor Co.’s latest hope is to sell Volvo to a Chinese company.

We’ve also been keeping an eye on national sales figures for Saab, since that’s what International Motors on South Washington Street sells. For October, nationwide Saab sales were down 74 percent, causing Saab to register a next-to-last place in the sales race. Saab sold 513 cars in October, beating out last-place Hummer at 307.