Dupont Circle Connecticut Avenue-Dupont Circle Strategic SWOT Analysis Introduction
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DC Retail Action Strategy Connecticut Avenue-Dupont Circle Connecticut Avenue-Dupont Circle Strategic SWOT Analysis Introduction = Core commercial area Boundaries Connecticut Avenue NW from Florida Ave south to K Street; P Street from Dupont Circle west to 22nd St. Zoning Connecticut Avenue is zoned as a major business and employment center (high-bulk). Below Dupont Circle, most of the area surrounding Connecticut Avenue is similarly zoned, creating a central business district. P Street is also commercially zoned, but it is a community Overview business center (medium-high to high density). This submarket just north of downtown’s business district has established itself as one of DC’s The area’s other major streets, Massachusetts most desirable neighborhoods. Its eclectic mix of restaurants, bookstores, boutique hotels, and New Hampshire Avenues, are zoned and private art galleries have helped it to emerge as a one-of-a-kind destination. However, the primarily as special purpose districts (specifically, influx of national retail chains as well as lack of cohesiveness north and south of the Circle has as medium and medium-high density offices threatened the area’s ability to remain viable as a unique retail locale. The submarket draws and apartments). The outlying area is mostly upon its affluent built-in population (located mostly north of the traffic circle), its large daytime moderate density general residence, while population of office workers (located south of the traffic circle), and tourists. Situated along the grassy area within Dupont Circle itself is Connecticut Avenue, this multi-modal transit hub has easy access to the Dupont Circle Metro government-owned property. station, as well as several major commuter routes into and out of the city. Retail Opportunity 1 Upper Connecticut Ave 1A This section of the submarket NODE 1 Starbucks Tomate Italian Bistro largely defines its identity. It Axis Art and Craft USA is Dupont Circle’s key retail NODE 2 Kramerbooks Capitol Video CVS Gallery 10 Ltd City Lights of China corridor and its small, creative Pizzeria Paradiso Circa at Dupont Embassy Camera DC Cafe Subway Anna Maria’s shops (such as Kramerbooks) Legends Eat In & Out 1A VSL Hair Salon Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse have become local institutions. Bank of America Comfort One Shoes Thaiphoon 2nd Story Books Chipotle Vajrayogini Buddhist Ctr Although the western side of Café Japonais Gazuza The Newsroom Sakana Commerce Bank Royal Palace Nightclub the street is noticeably less 1B Starbucks Five Guys Polo India Club active than the eastern side, Marrakesh Cosi Bistrot du Coin the historic designation of key Fireplace 1 Hair Cuttery Carpet and Floor Designs SoHo Tea Best Cellars Divine Chocolate buildings here may prevent Lustre Cleaners Potbelly Alero Mexican Cuisine this area from changing Dupont Pet Stop Kramer Books Johnny Rocket’s Tranquil Space Yoga Starbucks The Pleasure Place significantly. Books-A-Million Terra Liquor Shop Raku 1B Ginza Beadazzled 2 P Street 2A Eportworld PNC Bank Secondary to Connecticut 2A Avenue, P Street is dotted 2 with local-serving, offbeat shops and restaurants. Like much of the submarket, these 3A small properties are difficult to consolidate; therefore, this street should remain as is. NODE 3 Krispy Kreme Filene’s Basement 3A 3 Lower Connecticut Ave Ludvi Gems & Goldsmith Randstad California Pizza Kitchen Tiny Jewel Box The area south of the Circle Betsy Fisher HSBC is essentially a separate Eagle Bank Wachovia 3 Bertucci’s Vitamin Shoppe submarket. As a business Brooks Brothers Lane’s Luggage Fuddrucker’s Victoria’s Secret district that currently lacks The Guitar Shop Brooks Brothers 3B the after-hours density and Sesto Senso Nine West Mattress Discounters Continental Jewelers anchors necessary for a Candey Hardware Montblanc successful retail corridor, Sun Trust Bank CVS 3B Radioshack Dress Barn it should be approached DC Improv Starbucks differently than Nodes 1 and Ann Taylor The Daily Market HSBC Bravo! Bravo! 2. The existing tenant mix in Starbucks Ritz Camera this node is not well linked, Burberry Chevy Chase Bank Godiva Washington Sports Clubs with high-end and pricepoint- Pink The Big Hunt sensitive tenants sporadically Rochester Big & Tall Fatty’s Tatooz intermingled. Note: Tenant lists do not include all businesses located in the submarket. Retail Node 1: Upper Connecticut Avenue Upper Connecticut Avenue, which is north of P Street, can be divided into 2 sub-nodes: Rowhouse Retail and Offices. Connecticut Avenue S Street North- A - Rowhouse Retail lines most of Connecticut Avenue north of P Street and gives the submarket its eclectic quality. This upper node is a clear spine of retail amid residences and is the liveliest area of the submarket. Because Connecticut Avenue tunnels underneath Dupont Circle, this corridor cannot become a 2-sided retail experience. However, R Street North- retail is strong on the east side of Connecticut Avenue. The west side suffers from a retail dead zone around the PNC Bank site at the node’s B A southern end. Although it has great potential to be redeveloped into a mixed-use transit-oriented development by the Circle and Metro, its historic status poses a limitation for redevelopment. If the bank was converted to retail, however, it would likely impact the retail environment surrounding Massachusetts Avenue Northwest Q Street North- the Circle in a positive way. B - Offices with ground-floor retail occupy less = Major Intersection than a block of this upper node. Unlike Lower = Minor Intersection Connecticut Avenue, which has a spattering of P Street North- retail among its towering office buildings, offices = Sub-node A are clearly secondary to retail here. Future office = Sub-node B development is not particularly suited to this = Public open space node, as its distinct feel as a retail corridor gives the submarket much of its charm. Retail Node 2: P Street = Major Intersection Massachusetts Avenue NW = Neighborhood Intersection = Sub-node A = Sub-node B = Public open space P Street Northwest A B A - - Twining CourtTwining Hopkins StreetHopkins Rock Creek Park O Street NW 20th Street 20th North 22nd Street 22nd North P Street can be divided into 2 sub-nodes: Rowhouse Retail and Hotels. A - Rowhouse Retail bookends both sides of P Street and gives it an B - Hotels (namely Residence Inn and Hotel Palomar) dominate the central eclectic energy similar to Upper Connecticut Avenue. Retail here consists area of P Street. Although they have ground-floor retail, these hotel of step-up shops and offbeat restaurants with outdoor seating; combined shops are uniform in appearance and are tucked just beneath street level; with the street’s small scale, this retail gives P Street a more residential they serve hotel customers more than P Street pedestrians. While this feel. However, P Street retains a distinct “Dupont Circle” characteristic, breaks up the flow of P Street’s eclectic shops, hotels serve an important much more so that Lower Connecticut Avenue (see Node 3). function in a submarket that is known as a popular tourist and business destination. Retail Node 3: Lower Connecticut Avenue Lower Connecticut Avenue, the area south of P Street, can be divided into 2 sub-nodes: Office High-Rises and Rowhouse Retail. A A - Office High-Rises with ground-floor retail B define the majority of Lower Connecticut Avenue. Unlike Upper Connecticut Avenue and P Street, this node is not a clearly discernible spine of retail surrounded by residences. Rather, it is part of an expanse of office buildings that comprise DC’s Central Business District centered around K Street. This northern part of the Golden Triangle, from a retail perspective, has a 9-to-5 feel. Existing B retail does not function well after dark, though many workers remain in the area for dining and entertainment. The ground level retail located here ranges significantly from high-end soft goods to neighborhood goods and services tenants. The significant daytime population is this area’s strength, in contrast with Nodes 1 and 2 that have more of a built-in resident population to support different types of retail. A = Major Intersection = Minor Intersection B - Rowhouse Retail occupies a small fraction of = Neighborhood Intersection Lower Connecticut Avenue. This retail, which is = Sub-node A comprised mainly of restaurants and bars, plays an = Sub-node B important role in animating the street after business = Public open space hours. However, these smaller-scale buildings also represent an area where consolidation can happen so that mixed-use development can take place. Retail Infrastructure Streets & Blocks Intersections Buildings Alleys & Service Connecticut Avenue is the The submarket’s most significant The Dupont Circle submarket has a Because this submarket is incredibly submarket’s primary corridor, while intersection is Dupont Circle itself, mix of building types in its 3 nodes. dense, there is not enough P Street is a secondary street with a which facilitates the confluence North of the Circle, Connecticut room for service and loading. A more residential quality. As a major of several major streets: Avenue has older rowhouses fitted narrow network of alleys services district artery that runs alongside Connecticut, New Hampshire, and with retail. Shops along P Street rowhouses fitted with retail; the Metro’s red line, Connecticut Massachusetts Avenues, as well are similarly small-scale. However, however, adjacent residences back Avenue is infrastructure-heavy. as 19th and P Streets. Because these P Street rowhouses have against this commercial back-door In addition to 3-4 lanes of traffic the Circle is critical to regulating step-up retail that enhances their space. In particularly small blocks in each direction, its inner lanes traffic, its functional infrastructure residential quality; similarly, cafes (such as the one just north of the form a tunnel underneath Dupont takes priority over its pedestrian and restaurants with outdoor Circle between Connecticut Avenue Circle.