Francesca's Opening in Dupont

Clothing and accessories store Francesca's is coming to Connecticut Ave NW. This is a chain I had never heard of, but they have over 600 stores across the U.S. This will be the third in DC, after stores recently opened in Union Station and Georgetown.

Francesca's is a mid-level price point women's clothing boutique-type store. They carry a lot of dresses in the $40-$50 range, but also carry accessories and home goods like cat-shaped coffee mugs, mugs printed with quotes about cats, cat spoon rests, cats watches, cat key chains, cat bottle stoppers, cat owner's manuals, cat umbrellas, cat picture frames, and of course, these cat socks.

Francesca's will be located in a 1,500 sq ft space at 1143 Connecticut Ave NW. This address was previously home to Godiva Chocolatier. The store should open for business before the end of 2015.

Golden Cinema: Outdoor Movies at Farragut

Robin Tunney as "Deb," in Empire Records.

The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District is sponsoring an outdoor movie series this summer. Movies will be shown on Fridays from May 22 until July 31, and begin at 7:30 PM. The location is Farragut Square, at the corner of 17th and K Sts NW.

Back in March, I advocated for voting Empire Records into the top spot. And of course, it's first up this Friday! The complete lineup, via Golden Triangle: 

May 22: Empire Records

May 29: The Devil Wears Prada              

June 5: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy     

June 12: The Social Network               

June 19: Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade              

June 26: Hook         

July 10: Nine to Five    

July 17: Miss Congeniality

July 24: Italian Job

July 31: The Wedding Planner

Vote for Summer Movies in Farragut Square!

Golden Triangle Business Improvement District is hosting an outdoor summer movie series in Farragut Square Park. The movies will be shown at the park (17th and K NW) from May 22 to July 31. Anyone can vote for movies at this BID webpage through this Friday, March 6. You can vote for 5, and the top 11 vote getting movies will be shown. I wish I could vote for Empire Records 5 times. Or 100 times. This park is served by the 42 bus, Circulator, Red Line, and isn't far from the Blue/Orange/Silver Lines. I'll post the final schedule after it's released. Onward to Spring!

H&M, Lobster Shack Coming to Dupont

A trio of news pieces for Dupont:

Willie T's Lobster Shack is looking to open at 1511 Connecticut Ave NW. This space was (for a loooong time) home to Marvelous Market. That local chain has now closed all but one of its stores. However, the owners of Marvelous Market are the same owners of Willie T's Lobster Shack. No word yet on an opening date, but look for it this summer.

Boutique pet store, the Cheeky Puppy has opened its doors at 1709 Connecticut Ave NW. Cheeky Puppy opened on April 1 and bills itself as the "go-to resource for modern, design-conscious pet lovers." 

Like 14th St. for dogs... http://t.co/XI52UPfzdp New pet store @thecheekypuppy has green juice, beef bourguignon, truffle mac dog treats.
— Top Shelf (@TopShelfWBJ) April 9, 2014

This is actually more "Farragut Square" news, but very much walkable from Dupont. We learned in January that Swedish clothing retailer H&M was planning to open at 1133 Connecticut Ave NW. The 28,000 square foot space was last occupied by Filene's Basement. H&M is currently building out and hiring staff, so the opening will come sooner than later. This stretch of Connecticut Ave has quite a few other clothiers including Brooks Brothers, Gap, Rizik'z, Victoria's Secret, Men's Warehouse, Dress Barn, and Ann Taylor. 

H&M Opening on Connecticut Avenue

H&M would occupy the 1st floor space of 1133 Connecticut Ave NW

Washington Business Journal is reporting that the old Filene's Basement space at 1133 Connecticut Ave NW (Desales St) will be filled by H&M. Filene's Basement was a high-end discount retailer. At its height, the chain had more than 20 stores, but eventually shuttered all of them by 2011. Seems to be the way; Loehmanns, a similar business, is also closing shop after more than 90 years in business.

The Swedish retail giant H&M is known for selling its own brands of "fast-fashion," affordable clothes and housewares. There are over 2,000 stores across many countries. The new store would come in at a sizable 28,000 square feet (similar to the TJ Maxx in Metro Center) and would be the third fourth  fifth H&M in the District, joining the department store format store in Georgetown, the two-level store at 11th and F NW, recently opened store inside Union Station, and Friendship Heights.

Parking Lot, Not Offices at Connecticut and K?

Hat tip to DC Metrocentric for this one.

Yikes. Looks like the barren lot at the prime corner of K and Connecticut (Farragut Sq) may become a parking lot for while. This choice downtown location is pictured to the left during the previous building's demolition, earlier this spring. The site is only two blocks from the White House, about five blocks from Dupont Circle, on top of a Metro station and was supposed to be the site of a new K Street office tower. But the delayed arrival of a primary tenant has stalled the project, 1000 Connecticut, a building by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

There is now a major tenant, a law firm, but they aren't scheduled to move in until 2013. In the mean time the developers want to produce some revenue by installing a parking lot. In a town with refreshingly few downtown surface lots, having void at this busy corner will detract a little from the area. Save for the massive parking lot where the old convention center used to be, there are scarce few large building spaces downtown. The Zoning Commission still has to approve the parking lot plan, with input from the Office of Planning. The lot would have up to 89 spaces and be around until early 2010, when construction on the new office tower would begin.