Our community is rich with unique, neighborhood-serving retail, with more businesses coming every month. We are fortunate to have many locally owned businesses that offer small-scale services that national chain stores do not. Three dance studios, a new children's art school, yoga and pilates studios, one of the best oriental rug stores in the city, and a jewelry-making co-op are just a few examples of neighborhood businesses that we should appreciate and protect.
Large-scale development does not generally support small local businesses like these. High-rises bring high rents, and owners prefer to lease to national chains with a steady income stream. How many small businesses do you see in Friendship Heights MD?
Many people point to the two mattress stores on Wisconsin as evidence that we need more retail along upper Wisconsin Avenue, which can only be accomplished with lots of dense buildings. The kind of development proposed by many would in fact choke out the very local businesses that deserve our support.
While neighborhood-serving businesses contribute to the special character of our neighborhood, higher density and other types of businesses (destination retail) can create further traffic congestion, worsen parking problems, and place greater burdens on the infrastructure. ARD believes that any commercial development must factor in the impacts on the neighborhood to make sure they are appropriate for its size and scale.
Click here for a full list of retail establishments. (Updated as of 8/8/07)
