Ballston Quarter is mostly open and I wanted to see what the excitement is all about so I drove to Ballston on Saturday, found a metered parking spot, and walked a couple blocks to the Mall.
As almost everyone knows, Arlington County bailed out the Mall's longtime owner and operator, Forest City, when Ballston Quarter's predecessor, Ballston Common, was allowed to deteriorate to the point it became a dump.
So what's the attraction, or attractions, of Ballston Quarter? First, everything is brand new. Second, unlike Ballston Common there are activities ranging from ice skating to fantasy game playing. But they're expensive.
Most of the food available at Ballston Quarter is (or will be) high fat, high salt, high sugar.
Appears that the only retail that will provide essentials for the neighborhoods that surround Ballston Quarter are CVS, Macys, and Lenscrafters, holdovers from Ballston Common. Rest of the retail is boutique and expensive. Someone raised the question in another blog about how many Amazon employees will shop local retail. Guess we'll see in the not-too-distant future.
Finally, there's employment. Based on asking several retail and restaurant managers about Summer employment for my college age son, appears the retail pay is about $9 per hour and many employees are part-time. Appears servers in most restaurants earn about $12 per hour. Probably more on weekends. So why are so many adults over 30 employed by Ballston Quarter's's restaurants and retail?
Downside of Ballston Quarter is like its predecessor and other malls (e.g., Pentagon City) a large number of people who have about zero disposable income are already hanging out at the Mall as a place to just socialize, or whatever.
Ballston Quarter is only what we deserve for tolerating County Government that's big on corporate welfare to big corporations like Forest City. It will be interesting to see how long the ethnic restaurants and boutique retail stay in business.
Terri, 22207
26 comments:
FYI - Forest City is now a subsidiary of a huge REIT with very deep pockets.
How many nail salons are already located in and around Ballston?
Forest City is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, a huge REIT with $330 billion in assets. Look them up on the Web. BTW, although Ballston Quarter has no renewable energy on-site Brookfield is a major owner of and investor in renewable energy around the world.
Ballston Quarter (like Pentagon City) is a pet 'protect and serve' activity of the Arlington Police Department. Serving the Mall's owners by being a de facto security force to protect the Mall from shoplifters.
Arlington taxpayers subsidize the Mall's owner by providing housing, medical care, and providing food assistance to SOME low wage employees. But you need a about $50,000 / year in income to qualify for 'affordable housing' in Arlington. So many Mall employees drive to Arlington from the outer burbs.
I'm also disappointed with the food choices at BQ.
Ballston Common should have been converted into no-frills offices for start up companies, together with old vacant commercial buildings in Crystal City.
ACPD also likes to strictly enforce Virginia's marijuana lases and Virginia's alcoholic beverages control laws.
Ballston Quarter needs a healthy organic food based restaurant that offers more than fruit smoothies.
BQ will be worse than BC in a few years. Unlike BC, BQ is advertising fun events to a wide audience, many of whom will just visit to hang out because they have little or no disposable income. What is it about malls anyway?
Right. Hundreds and hundreds of parents who push toddlers in strollers around malls and don't have the $3 to buy their kids an ice cream cone.
Then there are the bored adolescents.
I didn't visit Ballston Common, don't visit Pentagon City, and won't visit Ballston Quarter. Malls suck.
Safe bet you won't see the County Board members who approved the corporate welfare package to Forest City / Brookfield shopping in BQ.
What can you expect from Millennials with kids who are paying for daycare, have student loans outstanding, and depend on parents to subsidize their monthly mortgage payments? Negative disposable income.
On a positive note, Malls don't open until 10 AM for retail and 11 AM for restaurants, so at least low wage workers from the outer burbs don't have to experience 8 AM traffic.
Almost every VIP who was / is involved with BQ ranges from being cheap to being a miser, so you won't see them shopping there or at any mall. They order stuff off the Internet so as not to pay sales tax and have gourmet kitchens in their McMansions where they and / or their servants cook nutritious organic meals.
What about 'trendy' Pentagon City Mall? Nothing but parents pushing strollers, bored adolescents, and various gangstas.
Who is/are paying for the geodesic steel tube bridge across Wilson Blvd.?
I am sick and tired of one party government whereby so-called Progressive Democrat County Board Members make give-away deals and then disappear after 8 years on the County Board.
Junk Jobs - Right. More low wage residents commuting to from Ballston from farther and farther outside Arlington. New Urbanism at its worst.
Then there's Crystal City - Potomac Yards - Arlandria. Low wage workforce to be gentrified out to PW - Spotsylvania - Loudoun to make way for upscale trendy Amazon employees.
Yes. Millennials with kids have negative disposable income and most are subsidized by parents. I no longer visit Pentagon City Mall because there are so many pushing strollers just hanging out competing for space with no-income DC residents who are also just hanging out. Ballston Quarter will be the same.
I ventured to BQ yesterday. First and last time. Malls are all the same. Agree on the junk food, not healthy for anyone. Bunch of obese people, including teenagers, were in the food court or whatever it's called now. What does that tell you?
Yes. People with negative disposable income were already the majority of the Mall Walkers I saw while I visited Lenscrafters for new glasses last week.
More junk food outlets are opening this week and next.
People who post on the ArlNow blog say BQ is too much like BC.
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