Harris Teeter?

COULD THEY TAKE ANY LONGER BUILDING THAT SHOPPING CENTER BACK THERE??? just now the back wall of the harris teeter is going up. Atleast the Giant by Panera will be open fairly soon (anyone know an ETA on this?)...they've been working on this shopping center for close to a year now. The panera shopping center sprang up pretty quick, what gives over here.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Are you really anxious for that "over priced" Harris Teeter to open?

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

it's closer to my house than the overpriced Safeway or the overpriced Giant. Let's face it...they're all a joke. We need a Farm Fresh or Ukrops up in this humpty-bumpty. I just want the whole shopping center done.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

As long as Loudoun County remains the wealthiest county in the US, we'll have the high prices.....

 

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Yep and the center so far looks to be flat out ugly with these in your face oversized details. Could that oversized tower be made any bigger and for what purpose? Some of these architects around here need to go back to design school.

Lee J Buividas

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Although Harris Teeter may be expensive, you can still find good deals using their savings card. We do our large shopping trips at Shoppers in Ashburn and then the local quick things at Harris Teeter, which is very easy to get in and out of and gets you through the lines quickly. Far easier than Safeway during any busy period. I'll frequently find many of the things I purchase (like Breyer's Ice Cream, bottled water, certain cereals, etc.) on a 2 for 1 special.

Ashburn did have a Farm Fresh in the location where Shopper's is now. Don't remember why it closed, but that was a nice store as well.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Lee-
Are you referrng to the Harris Teeter being built in Broadlands? It was held up for months because the county would not issue a building permit to Van Metre. The county wanted to have a meeting with Van Metre to review all of the proffers for Broadlands South before issuing a permit. This held it up for several months.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Cliff, woopity said that. I was just commenting on the design. Oversized details and scale, especially the tower and looks like just like that typical junk shopping center design. I have never seen a rendering so maybe it will surprise me.

Brambleton town center is an example of good design phase one has a very human scale to it trees in the sidewalks in front of the shops. Nice colors, slate roof etc. It looks upscale. Phase two although much larger will also have good human scale to it. Those parking garages will disappear behind the shops built in front of them which will hide that mass very nicely. Their new main entrance from the park will be beautifully landscaped with fountains. That is a big project yet from what has been built and the renderings it fits into the neighborhood. The new giant center by home depot is nice too, I like the Mediterranean design they broke up the mass of the giant fairly nice, but the stucco details on the giant suck especially those fake arches.

The big box stores can be beautifully designed when they are forced to. There is a Wal-Mart in the Woodlands in Houston Texas that is just stunning in its design. I will try to find a picture of it and give you all a link. You won’t believe it is a Wal-Mart. That is why I get sad when I see new buildings go up here and they become instant trash junk architecture. Does not have to happen, good design does not cost more, but it does take a designer and architect with some imagination and great design ability.

Lee J Buividas

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

That was Super Fresh that was in before Shopper's and the store closed throughout the state from what I heard.

 

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Lee-I would like you're thoughts on the overall scale/design on what's going in across from the "Food Lion"

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Is the HT coming up in broadlands a full scale grocery store?
Based on the layout from the illustration and looking at the erected walls, it doesn't seem to be that big.
It looks more like a mini grocey store.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

I think the issue with the look of a lot of the shopping centers is that communities like Ashburn Village, Ashburn Farm, and Broadlands were designed in the early-mid 80's. At that time, they were probably considered beautiful and what would sell. Now, 20 years later, everyone wants to be the next Reston Town Center and that is how the newer developments are trying to design their commercial areas.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Hey Woopity, -
I went to school in Williamsburg... why would you want a Farm Fresh? (FYI-other readers... not the same store as SuperFresh that was at the Shoppers). They are dirty and poorly managed... reminded me of Shopper's which we already have (And FYI: Farm Fresh and Shoppers are both owned by SuperValu Inc.) Ukrops is a AWESOME store...(Wow I miss those Dutchess Potatoes at the hot bar) but they are at least as expensive as Giant and Safeway. You have to pay for the excellent service somehow. Also, Ukrops was rumored to have been looking at this area before we got Wegman's but now that we are supposed to have something like 5 Wegmans by the end of 2008 I think we can count that out. Ukrops is very conservative when it comes to growth and family owned. In addition their Fredericksburg store nearly failed when it opened so they were afraid to try to expand farther north throughout the late 90s early 00s.
As for the Harris Teeter Prices... they are high on staple items but they usually run amazing specials on meats and perishables. I love the meat specials because their meat is much better than safeway of giant in my opinion.

Oh and as for shopping center design.... I personally dislike the Ryan Park Center Mediterrean design... we live in Virginia... it's a Federal/Colonial/Georgian design area not South Florida, Beach, New Mexico, So. Cal.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

The family that owns Ukrops (are they the "Ukrops" family?) as mentioned are very conservative and their stores .... in Richmond in the 80's .... were not open on Sundays and did not sell alcohol. This may have changed by now, but in the more conservative southern part of the state that is more "ok" than up here in the hedonistic north (tongue in cheek). Not sure if they still operated under those rules if their stores would fly here.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Let me help you on design. First DC is modeled after great European City Design.
Our downtown is full of reddish tile roofs and details similar to the ryan center many examples of this architecture in the older homes all around dc.

What people think of as design here is what the national builders want you to think.
Not much design in most of the homes being built around here today. A lot of them are a basically square box nothing front with a few token details that you can't hardly distinguish one from another. A street of red brick box homes then a street of tiny porch homes then a street of and you get the drift. oh then the builders change it up a bit with some homes with a beige or brownish brick Even in England where some of the arcitecture around here is supposed to come from there is a lot of the detail including the reddish tiles roofs in their architecture over there. Sad but the northern virginia has some of the most boring designs anywhere in the country especially in housing or then they go the circus route too much in your face retail.

Yes the ryan center has more in common with what design really is about in the older parts of dc then the safeway center or 90% of anything built here.
You just got used to being sold by what the national builders think you should like, not the real roots of architecture here. Look around the ryan center design in it's parts are all over the older homes and buildings in the dc area.

Lee J Buividas

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

I'm pretty sure the HT in Southern Walk is going to be full size- if I remember right it's somewhere around 60,000 sq ft, which is the size of a traditional grocery store (not like Wegman's at 140,000).

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

Chris L---there's a new Farm Fresh down (and i can't remember the name of the roads) there away from the colonial district---it used to be a Winn Dixie, and there's a Zooms on the opposite corner of the road there...it's one road over from Jamestown Rd...anyway, that one is BEAUTIFUL. The old one over closer to busch gardens is a dump--i'll agree with you there.

 

Re: Harris Teeter!?!?!?

yeah, but when it first opened (in '79, I believe) it was Fantastic! we used to road trip over there from the dorms at 3am for the fresh donuts.... Ah, college days.....

 

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i hear they have cheap gas now too!!!! the wine section is AMAZING!!!