The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by Mr. T in DC.

The Washington Business Journal reported the other day that Vornado and Angelo Gordon are moving forward with the radical reshaping of the Georgetown Park mall:

The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs awarded mall co-owners Vornado Realty Trust and Angelo Gordon & Co. demolition and interior renovation permits March 9 to break down the large sections of the mall’s mid area, according to public documents.

It’s interesting that the developers are moving ahead with interior changes despite the fact that their requests to change the exterior have proved fruitless, so far. Last year they tried to get approval to build large windows along M St. on the west end of the building. OGB rejected their plans. No further applications have been made since.

Vornado has been notoriously tight-lipped about its plans for the mall. In particular, they have not released the names of what tenants they’re hoping to bring in. But apropos to the internal construction, GM has heard that the approach Vornado is taking is to “de-mall” the mall. In other words, gut out the the interior space and create long shoe-box shape stores that go from M St. back to the canal. Continue reading →