The Papery’s Kaput But What’s Still Open
Jul 15, 2010 16:49 - 1 Comment
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The Papery Is No More
A couple of weeks ago I heard that The Papery in Rockville Town Square was closing. Whenever people discussed the vibrancy of the Square and the effect of the never-opened grocery store, The Papery always seemed to enter the discussion. Would you make a special trip to pick up a card? Maybe, but you’d be more likely to pop in for the purchase while completing your grocery or other shopping. The owner closed 3 of the 5 stores in the area. A couple of the staff are working at the Bethesda location.
New Wave Discount Hair Supply Is Moving
Across the street, the New Wave Discount Hair Supply shop is also closed but if you peek in the window of The Papery shop, you’ll find New Wave has relocated their merchandise to this location. I mentioned the shop in my recent style article for Rockville Living, Hair Treatments To Change Your Look And Lifestyle. Since people had often wished for discount stores in Town Square, this should be a welcome addition.
A sign in the former New Wave window announces a soon-to-be-opened art shop called Color Me Mine: The Art of Having Fun. The old Magruder strip mall on North Washington had a ceramic painting shop. I remember taking my little sons to paint gifts. This could be a good addition for families.
This week real estate research firm Reis Inc. released preliminary data for the second quarter of 2010 showing vacancy rates at community centers and regional malls continuing to set new records each quarter. Nationwide vacancy rates for shopping centers are at their highest point since 1991. At neighborhood and community centers, the vacancy rate rose to 10.9 percent in the second quarter of 2010.
The closing of The Papery has me thinking about how many of the original retail establishments, other than the restaurants, have survived the last three years and there are quite a few:
Aquanails: Nail salon offering services including manicures, pedicures, acrylic sets, waxing and more.
Chevy Chase Bank: Offers financial products and services.
Cloud 9 Clothing: Clothing store that carries great denim as well as handbags and accessories.
Cottage Monet: Offers Vera Bradley handbags, belts, and umbrellas; Italian Vietri ceramics;
Thymes lotions and Zutano’s children’s clothing.
CVS Pharmacy: Offers healthcare products and pharmaceutical needs.
Gold’s Gym: The largest co-ed gym chain in the world. Offers the latest equipment and services.
Hair Cuttery: A unisex salon whose services include haircuts and color to facial waxing and texturizing services.
HSBC Bank
Jouvence Aveda Lifestyle Salon and Spa: Offering complete relaxation for the body and total escape for the mind.
Pomegranate & Co.: A home furnishings and design store.
RTS Cleaners: A dry cleaning business.
Ten Thousand Villages: A company dealing with more than 100 artisan groups in more than 30 countries and offering fair trade jewelry, home décor, gifts and more.
Town Square Jewelers: Offers repair and engraving services, as well as the sale of fine jewelry and watches.
Toy Kingdom: Offers unique toys for boys and girls.
The Waygoose: This former Town Center tradition is returning to Rockville. A unique craft gallery and gift store with a wide variety of handcrafted items from jewelry, pottery, glass and wood.
We’ve been lucky to never have lingering vacancies in Town Square. Even in this struggling economy, Federal Realty brings new businesses into the mix in quick order which is very evident with the closing of The Papery.
I agree that the vacancy rate in RTS has run below regional trends, but I’m not as enamored with Federal Realty as you seem to be. As a former investor, I was disappointed with what I saw happening at Congressional Plaza on several occasions. In particular, FRT seems to struggle to fill large footprints.When Tower Records collapsed (and who couldn’t see that coming?), it took them quite some time to find a real replacement. And here in RTS, we’re still waiting for a grocery store three years after opening.That said, there are a lot of great stores here, and FRT deserves credit for that. Let’s see how they handle the supermarket vacancy.