Jump to content

Q (Qijiang), 8,000-Square-Foot "Flagship" Opening in Bethesda by the Owners of Peter Chang Cafe


Recommended Posts

On 7/19/2016 at 2:01 PM, pras said:

Breaking News!  Bethesda Magazine is reporting that Peter Chang will open a new "flagship" restaurant called "Q by Peter Chang" in Bethesda.  Don will have to decide if this qualifies for it's own thread.

According to Clark Construction, 4500 E-W Highway is the first new building built in downtown Bethesda in twelve years.

Screenshot 2016-07-20 at 15.33.12.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

According to Clark Construction, 4500 E-W Highway is the first new building built in downtown Bethesda in twelve years.

Screenshot 2016-07-20 at 15.33.12.png

I'll be a son of a gun.  I'm completely surprised.  There has been a good amount of residential and retail development and change in Bethesda in those years, and there was an office building that was gutted to its exterior frame and then completely rebuilt in that time period....but no new construction of office in downtown Bethesda....wow.  Shocked me.  In my estimation its still a great location for a centrally located Montgomery County type of restaurant flagship location, drawing from the denser wealthier inner suburbs and NW DC. 

But no new office buildings. I'm surprised.  There has been about 20 million feet or more built in Fairfax in that period,

Upcounty has probably seen 10 million or more feet added in that period.  Plenty added in DC, in Arlington and Fairfax referenced above...and virtually nada in Prince Georges. 

and virtually none of this has anything to do with restaurants...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, DonRocks said:

That McDonald's was *quite* useful for making U-turns on East-West Highway.

I wouldn't really know.  My mom would drive right past McDonald's and take us to Roy's, because she thought fried chicken was healthier.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as Don is authoring pieces about shopping centers in the region and the restaurants they might host, I thought I'd add a little winding real estatey discussion relative to 4500 East West Highway, the new to be Peter Chang restaurant, the former McDonald's, and the major office tenant in the building:--all with a little history tied in.

Back in the day...(say 1980's and 1990's) and going forward I used to find that part of East West Highway in downtown Bethesda to be an excellent place to meet for a day of business.  The reasons it "worked" was that East West Highway was separated from the main hub of Bethesda (up and down Wisconsin Avenue and mostly to the west  AND there was an abundance of structured parking.  Also East West Highway was accessible from the East or West, easily identifiable...and overall became an easy meeting place. 

The above is a bit of background to the Peter Chang restaurant going into the newish building at 4500 East West Highway, the former site of a long running McDonald's that was razed to make way for the office building.  Evidently the developer of 4500 had made a deal with McDonald's that would enable them to move back into the space.

But lease up of the office building was slow or nonexistent and ultimately the developer bought out the McDonald's option, suggesting that a McDonald's might have dissuaded office tenants from moving in.   I can believe that.  I leased spaces, strip centers, the retail in office buildings etc.  It was a general rule of thumb to not make retail deals in a new office building until the office tenants had signed leases.  The big issue was you didn't want to give potential tenants reasons to NOT sign up.  Certainly a McDonald's is a potential detriment...especially in the middle of downtown Bethesda with its uber expensive office space  (uber expensive relative to the rest of Montgomery County). 

So a deal has been struck with a Peter Chang restaurant.....oooh good choice for the neighborhood in my book....and I think good for Peter Chang.  I still believe that East West Highway location for downtown Bethesda is terrific, identifiable, easily accessed from all points North, South, East and West....and for late dining the abundance of structured parking makes it easy.

Now some more background--also a little real estate related.  4500 East West Highway got its first, largest and main tenant, the American Pharmacists Association via their association's relocation from 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, a building their 501C3 had purchased and owned since 1992.   The building had been built and delivered around 1990, one of the worst times for commercial real estate developers in modern history.  I recall that building and its plans.  I had worked on selling sites in Bethesda around that period, and was engaged in for me, one of the more dramatic experiences when interacting with big time developers.  For me at least it resurfaces as a vivid memory as we watch Donald Trump, TV personality and real estate developer perform in front of the entire US.

In any case the Pharmacists were able to buy the relatively new 7272 Wisconsin Avenue for a great price...at that time and going forward--between $21 and $22 million.  That price enabled the Association to occupy the majority of the office space at 7272 for a very reasonable rent I suppose.  24 years later, the possibility of the Purple Line rail system in Montgomery County effected an effort by the county to demolish 7272, build a newer building, expand the lower levels to accommodate a rail system Access/Exit station.  With all that they also provided the ground holders with an extraordinarily high development density that made the property at 7272 infinitely more valuable. and even more valuable than the discount price that the pharmacists purchased the then newish building.

So the pharmacists were able to sell 7272 Wisconsin for over $105 million to a new developer, allow for its demolition for an all new massive development...and move into 4500 East West Highway...and probably rent the space at pretty danged high Bethesda rental rates.....and still make out with a huge financial windfall. 

On top of all that, they are getting a brand new spanking Peter Chang restaurant on the first floor....rather than some chintzy McDonald's.       Hmmm...I think the Pharmacists 501c3 or its successor should underwrite lunches for the staff.  (just my opinion)....but what else are they going to do with the money?

Of course all of this is irrelevant to the proposed restaurant and quality of the food, but so long as Don is writing about suburban strip centers and their various food offerings...I thought I'd add a little real estate context to this new restaurant.  ;)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...