Check it out:
https://dc.eater.com/2019/5/20/18632559/inside-denizens-modern-new-maryland-brewery-and-taproom
Here is just one from their Facebook page which is probably the best shot:
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Denizens Featured in Eater
Great article with lots of high quality pictures inside of Denizens featured in Eater DC yesterday morning.
Check it out:
https://dc.eater.com/2019/5/20/18632559/inside-denizens-modern-new-maryland-brewery-and-taproom
Here is just one from their Facebook page which is probably the best shot:
Check it out:
https://dc.eater.com/2019/5/20/18632559/inside-denizens-modern-new-maryland-brewery-and-taproom
Here is just one from their Facebook page which is probably the best shot:
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Apartment in Building 5 - Construction starts in June 2019
I have been blogging about the first apartment that is coming for Riverdale Park station for over 2 years now, here is one of my earlier (and the most detailed post) about it from 2017.
http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-apartments-of-riverdale-park-station.html
Sometime in late 2017 the developer decided to split construction of the apartment building and the parking garage. I am unsure why this decision was made.
So the parking garage was built from December 2017 till it was opened to the public back in November of 2018. For the past 7 months there has been a giant cinder block parking garage that was supposed to be surrounded by a brick apartment building that did not yet exist.
The Washington Business Journal reported today (5/15/19) that the developer finally has the financing in place for the project.
The apartment reportedly will have the exact same specs laid out in my 2017 post with 229 residential units 8,000 square feet of amenity space, 10,000 square feet of retail space.
Slated completion date is the second quarter of 2020. (the original estimate was 2 years so I think early 2021 for leasing is a better bet)
Sometime in 2018 they were considering doing away with that retail space and going all residential but it's good for the community that they are sticking the the original plan.
I am glad that they were able to get the financing and that construction will finally be moving forward for this apartment. I saw some planners on site yesterday mapping things out and was told construction would start in June.
I believe this along with the Denizens opening next week could help reinvigorate Riverdale Park Station as a whole.
http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-apartments-of-riverdale-park-station.html
Sometime in late 2017 the developer decided to split construction of the apartment building and the parking garage. I am unsure why this decision was made.
So the parking garage was built from December 2017 till it was opened to the public back in November of 2018. For the past 7 months there has been a giant cinder block parking garage that was supposed to be surrounded by a brick apartment building that did not yet exist.
The Washington Business Journal reported today (5/15/19) that the developer finally has the financing in place for the project.
The apartment reportedly will have the exact same specs laid out in my 2017 post with 229 residential units 8,000 square feet of amenity space, 10,000 square feet of retail space.
Slated completion date is the second quarter of 2020. (the original estimate was 2 years so I think early 2021 for leasing is a better bet)
Sometime in 2018 they were considering doing away with that retail space and going all residential but it's good for the community that they are sticking the the original plan.
I am glad that they were able to get the financing and that construction will finally be moving forward for this apartment. I saw some planners on site yesterday mapping things out and was told construction would start in June.
I believe this along with the Denizens opening next week could help reinvigorate Riverdale Park Station as a whole.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Denizens opening on May 25th
18 days until Denizens opens!
I posted back in March they were expecting a late May open but they did not provide an official opening date to anyone.
Looks like Washington City Paper broke the news at 6:00 AM today on the May 25th opening date.
https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/beer/article/21066921/denizens-riverdale-park-taproom-and-brewery-welcomes-all-beer-drinkers-may-25
The article above has an in-depth write up about the restaurant which was interesting and worth the read... but even more interesting to me was there was a link to a .PDF for the menu, which I posted below
Looks like there will now be three solid burger options in Riverdale Park Station. (Burtons, Habit and Denizens)
I posted back in March they were expecting a late May open but they did not provide an official opening date to anyone.
Looks like Washington City Paper broke the news at 6:00 AM today on the May 25th opening date.
https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/beer/article/21066921/denizens-riverdale-park-taproom-and-brewery-welcomes-all-beer-drinkers-may-25
The article above has an in-depth write up about the restaurant which was interesting and worth the read... but even more interesting to me was there was a link to a .PDF for the menu, which I posted below
Looks like there will now be three solid burger options in Riverdale Park Station. (Burtons, Habit and Denizens)
Monday, April 29, 2019
WMATA Property at Albion Road - Important Update
When the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) submitted a bid for the WMATA Property at Albion Road back on 2/22/19. I posted about it here:
http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2019/02/parks-and-recreation-bid-submitted-for.html
Even though the MNCPPC submitted a very competitive bid for the property another bid was selected on April 10th 2019. As far as we can tell there was no public input to the selection of this bid.
The bidder that is currently selected is now in a 90 day "Due Diligence" period for the property.
Common sense says that if the selected bidder beat out a strong MNCPPC bid and the asking price is 2.1 million dollars for only 6 acres of a thin strip of hard to build land that upzoning is the only thing that would make sense to this bidder. The current R-55 zoning that would only allow for single family homes to be built.
This land is a publicly-owned green-space and a valuable environmental area that has been identified by the county as a top area to preserve. Additional density is coming to the area and preserving this property is critical to quality of life - a reason why the communities, cities, county council, and MNCPPC worked together to place a competitive bid on the property.
The leadership of College Park, Riverdale Park have no plans for rezoning this property and this land sits within both jurisdictions.
It is important during this period that the same teamwork that pulled together all of the surrounding communities homeowners and city government officials to make that large financial commitment continues now.
Although there are already countless email chains between all the players involved we thought it would be a good idea to also have a Facebook page to coordinate efforts from people interested in the community.
That page is here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/728160610912866/
I will update this blog with what the final outcome for this land is. But if you are interested in assisting, are one of the town officials that have been helping us or you are personally affected living in Calvert Hills, Riverdale Park Station or University Park you should join the Facebook group for better communication/coordination of preservation efforts.
http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2019/02/parks-and-recreation-bid-submitted-for.html
Even though the MNCPPC submitted a very competitive bid for the property another bid was selected on April 10th 2019. As far as we can tell there was no public input to the selection of this bid.
The bidder that is currently selected is now in a 90 day "Due Diligence" period for the property.
Common sense says that if the selected bidder beat out a strong MNCPPC bid and the asking price is 2.1 million dollars for only 6 acres of a thin strip of hard to build land that upzoning is the only thing that would make sense to this bidder. The current R-55 zoning that would only allow for single family homes to be built.
This land is a publicly-owned green-space and a valuable environmental area that has been identified by the county as a top area to preserve. Additional density is coming to the area and preserving this property is critical to quality of life - a reason why the communities, cities, county council, and MNCPPC worked together to place a competitive bid on the property.
The leadership of College Park, Riverdale Park have no plans for rezoning this property and this land sits within both jurisdictions.
It is important during this period that the same teamwork that pulled together all of the surrounding communities homeowners and city government officials to make that large financial commitment continues now.
Although there are already countless email chains between all the players involved we thought it would be a good idea to also have a Facebook page to coordinate efforts from people interested in the community.
That page is here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/728160610912866/
I will update this blog with what the final outcome for this land is. But if you are interested in assisting, are one of the town officials that have been helping us or you are personally affected living in Calvert Hills, Riverdale Park Station or University Park you should join the Facebook group for better communication/coordination of preservation efforts.
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Massive news for Hyattsville. Federalist Pig!
As far as Riverdale Park Station retail news, the only thing still coming here is Denizens in May. (which was in my last post in March)
Back in March I contacted Denizens and they told me they were opening in May. I recently saw a story on Hyattsville Wire where they also just reached out to Denizens last week and they were also told they would open in May. Still no actual date was given to Hyattsville Wire even last week which is surprising since May is now right around the corner but I still believe they will hit the May date, even if it is late May.
The reason for this post is even bigger news for this area. Federalist Pig is coming to Hyattsville!
If you have not heard of Federalist Pig, it is the most popular barbecue joint in all of DC and they are opening less than 1 mile away from Riverdale Park Station down in Hyattsville.
This is across the street from Busboys and Poets in the current "Tire Place" location which is just a quick walk down the Hiker Biker trail from my house.
This is some of the biggest news in the Hyattsville restaurant scene maybe since Busboys and Poets in 2011.
This story was just featured in the Washingtonian which is where I got this information.
That article is here, check it out!
https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/04/23/federalist-pig-is-opening-a-second-bigger-barbecue-joint-in-hyattsville/
Back in March I contacted Denizens and they told me they were opening in May. I recently saw a story on Hyattsville Wire where they also just reached out to Denizens last week and they were also told they would open in May. Still no actual date was given to Hyattsville Wire even last week which is surprising since May is now right around the corner but I still believe they will hit the May date, even if it is late May.
The reason for this post is even bigger news for this area. Federalist Pig is coming to Hyattsville!
If you have not heard of Federalist Pig, it is the most popular barbecue joint in all of DC and they are opening less than 1 mile away from Riverdale Park Station down in Hyattsville.
This is across the street from Busboys and Poets in the current "Tire Place" location which is just a quick walk down the Hiker Biker trail from my house.
This is some of the biggest news in the Hyattsville restaurant scene maybe since Busboys and Poets in 2011.
This story was just featured in the Washingtonian which is where I got this information.
That article is here, check it out!
https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/04/23/federalist-pig-is-opening-a-second-bigger-barbecue-joint-in-hyattsville/
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Bella Lifestyle Nail Salon and Spa is now open, Denizens in May
As first reported here back on Friday 3/15/19, Bella Lifestyle Nail Salon and Spa opened today. (thanks to the homeowner in RPS who got me this information so early)
Of course I also reported the first two opening dates that the developer reported, so negative points for that. To be honest even though they said they were definitely opening today I still was not fully convinced it would happen until I saw the open sign on and could actually walk in. 😀
I stopped by today and the thing I found that was interesting was that they offer massage.
When I first posted about Bella in early 2018 I was going off of what the only other existing Bella location in Ashburn was offering, which was just manicures and pedicures. Since the owners of this location were not responding I assumed this location would just have the same offerings as the other location.
It is great that they offer massage as the only other high end spa around here is Red Door and I went to book a massage for my wife there and they did not have anything for over 3 months that could be booked. In fact they could not even take a future reservation for massage at that location.
Here are the massage offerings at Bella:
So now the only thing remaining to open at Riverdale Park Station is Denizens Brewing Company. I checked in with them just recently and was told May was the latest target opening date and was a more firm date.
Hope we get some more locations leased soon or this blog will be a boring place.
Of course I also reported the first two opening dates that the developer reported, so negative points for that. To be honest even though they said they were definitely opening today I still was not fully convinced it would happen until I saw the open sign on and could actually walk in. 😀
I stopped by today and the thing I found that was interesting was that they offer massage.
When I first posted about Bella in early 2018 I was going off of what the only other existing Bella location in Ashburn was offering, which was just manicures and pedicures. Since the owners of this location were not responding I assumed this location would just have the same offerings as the other location.
It is great that they offer massage as the only other high end spa around here is Red Door and I went to book a massage for my wife there and they did not have anything for over 3 months that could be booked. In fact they could not even take a future reservation for massage at that location.
Here are the massage offerings at Bella:
So now the only thing remaining to open at Riverdale Park Station is Denizens Brewing Company. I checked in with them just recently and was told May was the latest target opening date and was a more firm date.
Hope we get some more locations leased soon or this blog will be a boring place.
Friday, March 15, 2019
Construction, Sales and Retail updates
As you can see Building 9 and 10 are selling pretty quickly:
Total of 16 units remain for sale and only one completed unit for sale. The second aftermarket resale on Woodberry is also under contract. (Asking price was $495,000 and it was a Parker).
The first resale (in 2018) was also a Parker in building 1 and it sold for $505,000.
I am very happy with the resale prices of the Parker's. Will be interesting to see more resales for different floor plans and to see more data.
As I posted earlier building 10 started on 12/29/18... building 9 just went vertical on 3/8/19. Normally on these connected buildings there was only a 1 month gap between when they went vertical, but for 9 and 10 that gap was 2.5 months. Based on previous buildings this would mean closings for the final building in Riverdale Park Station (Building 9) would be in June 2019. Since building 10 is already getting it's brick facade it is possible they will have closings in that building earlier.
Here is building 9 as of today (3/15/19), you can see building 10 in the background:
Only price change was at the end of 2018 when they bumped the Cassidy another 10k, which is almost moot at this point since only one more of those units remain.
In other Riverdale Park Station news, Bella Lifestyle Nail Salon and Spa has their 4th opening date now set at March 24th.
All of the other opening dates only came from the developer but this one has some more confirmation so lets see if it finally happens.
More exciting for Riverdale Park Station is Denizens Brewing Company which is still pushing for an April opening and seems to be making good progress. Getting Denizens opened will be a big step for RPS and is not far away now.
Another big step is when the apartment in building 5 finally starts construction. This was supposed to happen in January but has also slipped to April 2019.
There are still 15 retail/office spots remaining for lease but the largest location left is only 7000 square feet with the average being around 3000 square feet. This limits the options of what can fill these remaining spaces but at least the anchors (Whole Foods, Burtons, Denizens) are strong which makes me think they will fill in eventually. The continued apartment delays are not helping.
I think once they begin building the apartments and the brewery opens we may finally start to see some more retail commitments for these smaller remaining retail locations.
Total of 16 units remain for sale and only one completed unit for sale. The second aftermarket resale on Woodberry is also under contract. (Asking price was $495,000 and it was a Parker).
The first resale (in 2018) was also a Parker in building 1 and it sold for $505,000.
I am very happy with the resale prices of the Parker's. Will be interesting to see more resales for different floor plans and to see more data.
As I posted earlier building 10 started on 12/29/18... building 9 just went vertical on 3/8/19. Normally on these connected buildings there was only a 1 month gap between when they went vertical, but for 9 and 10 that gap was 2.5 months. Based on previous buildings this would mean closings for the final building in Riverdale Park Station (Building 9) would be in June 2019. Since building 10 is already getting it's brick facade it is possible they will have closings in that building earlier.
Here is building 9 as of today (3/15/19), you can see building 10 in the background:
Only price change was at the end of 2018 when they bumped the Cassidy another 10k, which is almost moot at this point since only one more of those units remain.
In other Riverdale Park Station news, Bella Lifestyle Nail Salon and Spa has their 4th opening date now set at March 24th.
All of the other opening dates only came from the developer but this one has some more confirmation so lets see if it finally happens.
More exciting for Riverdale Park Station is Denizens Brewing Company which is still pushing for an April opening and seems to be making good progress. Getting Denizens opened will be a big step for RPS and is not far away now.
Another big step is when the apartment in building 5 finally starts construction. This was supposed to happen in January but has also slipped to April 2019.
There are still 15 retail/office spots remaining for lease but the largest location left is only 7000 square feet with the average being around 3000 square feet. This limits the options of what can fill these remaining spaces but at least the anchors (Whole Foods, Burtons, Denizens) are strong which makes me think they will fill in eventually. The continued apartment delays are not helping.
I think once they begin building the apartments and the brewery opens we may finally start to see some more retail commitments for these smaller remaining retail locations.
Friday, February 22, 2019
Parks and Recreation bid submitted for the WMATA Property at Albion Road!
Back in
November 2018 I posted the article below which got the conversation going about
this land being for sale:
The outcry about any possible rezoning was so loud that the listing company updated the listing about the current single family zoning.
I am hoping that this bid, coupled with the declaration by both College Park and Riverdale Park that rezoning from R-55 would be almost impossible for any developer will result in a favorable outcome for the people who live in this area and care about this land.
It's now up to WMATA to choose the M-NCPPC bid, which is supported by the community and preserves a key part of the Prince George's County Green Infrastructure Network.
Thanks to all of the neighbors and government officials who assisted in this effort!
In January 2019 I posted an update as more
information became available:
We received excellent support from the City of College Park and Town of Riverdale Park along with Prince George's County.
The outcry about any possible rezoning was so loud that the listing company updated the listing about the current single family zoning.
I am very happy to report that the Prince
Georges County Department of Parks and Recreation submitted a
letter of intent to acquire 6 acres of WMATA property at Albion Road on 2/20/19
(which was the deadline for bids on this property)
I am hoping that this bid, coupled with the declaration by both College Park and Riverdale Park that rezoning from R-55 would be almost impossible for any developer will result in a favorable outcome for the people who live in this area and care about this land.
It's now up to WMATA to choose the M-NCPPC bid, which is supported by the community and preserves a key part of the Prince George's County Green Infrastructure Network.
Thanks to all of the neighbors and government officials who assisted in this effort!
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Bella Lifestyle Nail Salon and Spa - Opens February 15th
Bella Nail Salon and Spa is finally opening on February 15th.
They are having a grand opening event between 4pm - 6pm on Friday, February 15th.
From the Cafritz (now riverdaleparkstation.com) site:
"The long awaited Bella Nail Salon is now opening for business, and we’re here to celebrate! Join us from 4-6pm on Friday, February 15th in Bella Salon for small bites, champagne, music, and a giveaway drawing (which you can enter anytime on Friday). Follow our social media to stay up to date on this event! We can’t wait to see you there."
Update 2/21/19: RouteOneFun noted this was delayed again to 2/22/19.
Personally I think it will get delayed even further from 2/22/19. Maybe early March?
Update 3/15/19: As I just posted in my latest blog, the date is now set at March 24th.
They are having a grand opening event between 4pm - 6pm on Friday, February 15th.
From the Cafritz (now riverdaleparkstation.com) site:
"The long awaited Bella Nail Salon is now opening for business, and we’re here to celebrate! Join us from 4-6pm on Friday, February 15th in Bella Salon for small bites, champagne, music, and a giveaway drawing (which you can enter anytime on Friday). Follow our social media to stay up to date on this event! We can’t wait to see you there."
Update 2/21/19: RouteOneFun noted this was delayed again to 2/22/19.
Personally I think it will get delayed even further from 2/22/19. Maybe early March?
Update 3/15/19: As I just posted in my latest blog, the date is now set at March 24th.
Banana Blossom Bistro Opens next week
Banana Blossom Bistro is opening for dinner only starting next week.... and have been seeing it has already been serving folks on an invite only basis for the last few days.
I wrote about it in June of last year here:
http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-town-center-of-riverdale-park.html
The Route One Fun Blog has an excellent and very detailed write up on the restaurant they published last week:
https://www.routeonefun.com/2019/01/vietnamese-banana-blossom-bistro-riverdale-park-allergy.html
I've traveled through a lot of Vietnam and really enjoy the food and will definitely check it out late this week.
This is going to be right on the doorstep for the people who buy down in Building's 9 and 10, which are progressing very quickly.
I wrote about it in June of last year here:
http://riverdaleparkstation.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-town-center-of-riverdale-park.html
The Route One Fun Blog has an excellent and very detailed write up on the restaurant they published last week:
https://www.routeonefun.com/2019/01/vietnamese-banana-blossom-bistro-riverdale-park-allergy.html
I've traveled through a lot of Vietnam and really enjoy the food and will definitely check it out late this week.
This is going to be right on the doorstep for the people who buy down in Building's 9 and 10, which are progressing very quickly.
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