Riverdale Park eateries desperately need our help.

The amount of financial loss that the Riverdale Park restaurants are suffering right now really cannot be understated.

Maryland ordered all restaurants to close to dine-in business back on March 16th.

It's been two weeks now and the damage to their businesses has been enormous.

Restaurants are low margin businesses, I know as I owned one myself almost a lifetime ago.

At first all of the restaurants here said they would continue to provide pick up and delivery service.

-  On March 19th (3 days into the shutdown) Denizens gave up and closed up shop completely for food and only offers a beer delivery service now.  The owners have publicly been stating this is ruining them financially.

-  On March 23rd (7 days into the shutdown) Burton's gave up and closed completely.

These are our remaining restaurants in the immediate area that are still offering pickup and delivery service, along with links to all of their delivery services:

District Taco        -     DoorDash
Habit Burger        -    DoorDash
Jersey Mikes        -   GrubHub
MOD                   -    DoorDash
Banana Blossom  -    Toast
Rivieras Tapas     -    GrubHub

I've been visiting these place for pickups and talking to the owners/managers and almost all of them are considering closing their doors until this is over.  Some are much closer to closing than others but as this continues we are going to continue to lose options, and its going to be very quick.  I think we will lose at least one option from the list above PER WEEK if there is not more support.

Although it has already been crippling to their businesses the fact that this looks like it is going to stretch into months it means this could bankrupt a lot of these places so they never come back.

I realize everyone has their stockpile of food now and is bunkered up right now but a delivery order is extremely low risk and you are potentially making it so these businesses don't declare bankruptcy and still exist after this is over.

Apartment in Building 5 - Renderings and More Information

Hard to believe my first post about this apartment was back in October of 2017.  That post is HERE and that information is still all correct.  Although in 2018 they decided to make the building one story higher (to match the parking garage) the number of planned units (229 units) has stayed the same and everything else about the design stayed the same.  The two retail spots planned in this building are still planned to be there.  The large courtyard is still going to exist.

The planned opening date that I have been reporting here for over a year now (of the second quarter of 2021) is still on track.  Actually now the developer is saying they are hoping to hit March 2021 as the opening date but lets stick with second quarter 2021 as this blogs prediction for now.

Today I had some folks asking what the new building was going to look like.

First, here are some renderings I had saved off from a presentation from before the Whole Foods was even built.

These should all still be pretty accurate, except for the fact that the building will be one story higher than these pictures.

I also recently found some new information I wanted to share.

Here is a new rendering of the building that was just provided by the builder:

Also here is some additional information they have recently provided:

The project consists of a wood frame over concrete podium that wraps around a 473-space above-grade precast parking garage. Riverdale Park Station consists of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units with high-end features such as separate HVAC systems, modern kitchens, and balconies. Its ground-level amenities include a large courtyard with a trellis and fireplace, fitness center, media room, business center, and lounge. 

Riverdale Park Station reduces its environmental footprint via EnergyStar® appliances and a bioretension area along one elevation of the building. The community also offers a large bicycle storage locker so residents can take advantage of several area bike paths, such as the historic trolley path that runs by the community.

So it seems the rumors that have been floating around about this apartment having a swimming pool are unfounded.   Still it looks like it this apartment is going to a be a pretty high end, swanky place.

Hair Cuttery Now Open - Friday 2/7/20

It was one week later than they originally planned but Hair Cuttery is now open as of today.

A link to a coupon for their Grand Opening is here:

https://www.haircuttery.com/promotions/grand-opening-coupons.html

Since Riverdale Park Station put a "Permanent hold" on the Hyatt House Hotel back in 2018.  (read my article about that HERE) there is now no more retail in the queue for Riverdale Park Station.

We need those apartments to keep progressing to start filling some of these remaining empty spaces.

Hair Cuttery planned opening January 31st

I was very surprised when the day after my last blog on December 29th when I saw Hyattsville Wire posted the Hair Cuttery was going to open on January 16th.   The pictures I had just posted showed there was no flooring, ceiling and they had not even put in all the drywall yet.

I spoke with the Hair Cuttery today and found out that they have been shooting for an opening at the end of January, which makes a lot more sense based on how far along they are.

They do plan to close the College Park location on Tuesday 1/14/2020 but the Riverdale location target opening date for Riverdale Park Station is officially January 31st 2020.

They seem to be working pretty hard on it (2-3 people there even on the weekends) so possible they meet their goal.

Anyway just wanted to get that date out there.   Hope to hear and post about some more exciting retail news than just Hair Cuttery soon.

Construction Update

The parking garage just reopened after being closed since early October for repairs.

Unfortunately there are no new retail leases to announce but they continue to build out the apartment building, which I believe is the key to more retail leases being signed.

Here is the progress they have made as of today since they broke ground on June 19th 2019

From Woodberry:

From Rhode Island Ave:   (notice a lot of the foundation is now in down here)

From Van Buren:

And two overhead shots from the roof of the reopened parking garage:

Overall for 6 months of building on a 2 year schedule I would expect it to be a little further along but it seems they have been ramping up work recently and also I have noticed from watching other projects that the foundation and early work seems to move the slowest.  For the parking garage once the foundation was in the rest of the building went up very quickly.  The first few months not much building was going on.  I would say they are probably still on track for being done before June of 2021.

The only other thing going on in Riverdale Park Station  (and no, I will not call it "THE STAT10N") is the buildout of the Hair Cuttery location I first posted about HERE.

Seems they are still roughly on track for the 1st quarter of 2020 opening date I had posted earlier:

Appears it will be a smaller Hair Cuttery than most I have seen in the past.

Happy New Year!

Best running routes in the area.

In the 2.5 years I have lived here I have experimented with lots of different running routes.   With the Trolley Trail and University Park nearby there are lots of good options for running.

Decent options I have tried are across the bridge into the Discovery District, through and around University Park and south on the Trolley Trail past Hyattsville and on the Anacostia Trail  (which is an extensive trail network)

My favorite run around here which has become my go to run and pretty much the only one I am doing these days is north on the Trolley Trail to Lake Artemesia.

Lake Artemesia is beautiful and the entire route only one major road needs to be crossed and the entire rest of the run is on biking/running trails.

That route is here:  (starting from the back trail entrance of Riverdale Park Station)

It's almost exactly 1.5 miles out to the lake and 1.5 miles around the lake then 1.5 miles back home.

The 1.5 miles both out and back on the Trolley Trail is flat and scenic:  

There are surprisingly few people on this trail considering how nice it is.   

Then once you get to Lake Artemesia you have 1.5 miles of this:

The trail system down at the Anacostia Trail is the only thing that even comes to this run around this area and currently you have to run along Route 1 for a bit to get from the Trolley Trail to the Anacostia Trail so it's a higher stress run since they are not connected.   As I posted a year ago eventually those will be connected, but not until 2020.   That article is HERE.

Anyway if you live in Riverdale Park Station or even University Park, Calvert Hills or Hyattsville try out this Lake Artemesia run route!


2/9/20 update:

Here is another running route that was submitted in the comments by a reader:

First pictures of Kelsey Montague's new Mod Pizza mural!

Mod Pizza in Riverdale Park Station just got a makeover.

Kelsey Montague’s team has been painting a wall mural yesterday (10/24/19) and today (10/25/19).

She has drawn these wall murals all over the world and you can see where they are all located here:
https://kelseymontagueart.com/world-map/

I stopped by a few times while this was being done as this is just two blocks from my house:

Wednesday at 7:00 PM  (had not started yet)

Thursday at 5:00 PM:

Friday at 9:30 AM:  (both Kelsey and Courtney working at the same time here)

Friday at 5:00 PM:  (They were just adding finishing touches here and finished before 6:00 PM)

Finished Product Pictures:   Note the details like the bear, trolley, bike and airplane.

Saturday 10/26 - 2:00 PM update-
From the Riverdale Park Station Instagram page:

Town Center of Riverdale Park continues to come together.

A lot has changed down in the Town Center of Riverdale Park since I first blogged about it over a year ago HERE.

Vietnamese Restaurant Banana Blossom Bistro has been open and is doing well and is my personal favorite place down in the Town Center of Riverdale Park.

Riviera Tapas Bar is open across the street as well and both seem busy and to be doing pretty well.

Gangster Vegan was announced by RouteOneFun on 6/14/19 as coming to Riverdale Park HERE.

Now 250 Texas BBQ announced they are working on getting a place opened at what was Dumm's Market.



Major props to RouteOneFun for getting this story well before everyone else yet again.  Not sure how Sarah is doing it!

If you want to know more about 250 Texas BBQ I recommend you check out her in depth article HERE.

I have tried their brisket both at the Farmers Market and at one of their Meadworks events and I am definitely a big fan.  The owners seem like generally nice people as well.  Great addition to Riverdale Park!

Riverdale Park Station Sold Out!

The last Dawson that was for sale by Stanley Martin just went under contract. (asking price was $475,562)

Riverdale Park Station is officially sold out:

There are still two Stanley Martin for sale signs and two MLS listings but I have confirmation from Stanley Martin that both of these units are under contract and just waiting for closing/settlement before removing them from MLS.

As a reminder, these are the different models in Riverdale Park Station:

(note:  square footage can vary by 10 square feet or so based on what external elevation was selected.)

Dawson :                   1873 square feet

Parker :                     2097 square feet

Cassidy :                   2256 square feet

Extended Cassidy :   2755 square feet

There was one more recent resale:

4502 Woodberry St (Parker) sold at $498,900 on 8/31/2019

These are the previous resales:

4504 Woodberry St (Parker)      =    Sold for $505,000 on 10/19/2018
4644 Woodberry St (Dawson)    =    Sold for $495,000 on 03/14/2019

Two potential resales are currently (or about to be) on the market:

4706 Van Buren St (Parker) :      Asking $525,000

4642 Woodberry St (Dawson) :  Asking $519,000

More good news is that Dawson and Parker that are owned by investors and were being rented to Stanley Martin to use for the models (4506 and 4508 Woodberry) were both offered out for rent at $2900 and $3000 per month respectively and both were rented very quickly at those prices.

In addition, another Parker down on Rhode Island was also bought by an investor and offered for rent at $3000 per month and quickly rented.   So currently there is nothing available for sale from Stanley Martin and also nothing available for rent.

Price and Sales Update

Only 4 units remain unsold.  Three Dawson's and one Parker.

Building 9 (the last unfinished building) will be completed by the end of September.   3 of the 4 units that are still unsold are in the last building.

They will also be closing the sales office in the first week of September.  (so less than 3 more weeks)

Stanley Martin actually sold the 3 model units back in 2017 and have been doing a rent back situation with the owners since 2017 so even those units are sold.

There is only one resale on the market right now. 

It's in building one and is a Parker and they are asking $499,900

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4502-Woodbury-St_Riverdale_MD_20737_M63862-67202?ex=MD2510562932

So far there have been 2 other resales in Riverdale Park Station:

4504 Woodberry  (Parker)    =    Sold for 505,000 on 10/19/2018
4644 Woodberry  (Dawson)    =    Sold for 495,000 on 03/14/2019

Will be nice to have the sales office closed and the last townhouse building completed.