Department stores for Georgetown

Georgetown Park Mall may be redeveloped to house Bloomingdale’s and Target department stores.

This is great news, because frankly it’s offensive that there’s a suburban-style enclosed mall in an urban neighborhood like Georgetown. The idea made some sense when the mall opened 1981, when it seemed as though suburbanization was the only way to save the city from decline, but in the context of a basically healthy and walkable city, it’s absurd. The market reflects the mall’s basic absurdity, as its only desirable retail spaces are those that front the M Street sidewalk; the interior spaces are occupied by such glamorous retail offerings as the DC DMV.

On the other hand, I can’t think of a better use for a large enclosed space in Georgetown than a couple of department stores.

[Continue reading Dan Malouff's post here at BeyondDC.]

Dan Malouff is an Arlington County transportation planner who blogs independently at BeyondDC.com. The Local Blog Network is a group of bloggers from around the D.C. region who have agreed to make regular contributions to All Opinions Are Local.