Friendship Heights Retail Gets a Makeover

At the busy intersection of Western and Wisconsin avenues NW in Friendship Heights, Chris Borgal stood in front of a missing chunk of the Mazza Gallerie and gestured toward the retail boom that has transformed the affluent neighborhood in recent years.

There's the Chevy Chase Pavilion, with World Market, J. Crew and Pottery Barn, across Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Place development is going up near the old Hecht's, which is being turned into a Bloomingdale's. And a bit farther north on Wisconsin Avenue, there's the glamour of the Collection at Chevy Chase, a high-end retail strip with stores such as Max Mara and Louis Vuitton.

The big-box design of the Mazza Gallerie, a mall with Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue as its anchors, is overdue for a makeover, said Borgal, the center's general manager.

"Even though what was inside was the height of fashion, it's a 32-year-old design," he said.

Since June, crews have been working on what Borgal said is a $5 million renovation of the mall's facade. Recessed windows are being replaced with ones that protrude. Outdated black tile is giving way to a beige design. And the entrance to the Metro station alongside the mall is getting a distinctive curved canopy.

The corner of the Neiman Marcus store at Wisconsin and Western, where passersby now see a gash of exposed pipes and cinder blocks, is the most ambitious part of the project, Borgal said. The architect's plans call for a three-story display filled with three tons of glass butterflies, which will reflect a spectrum of colors as the sunlight passes through the prisms.

Lonnie Hanzon, an artist based in Denver, will spend three days on scaffolding hanging the butterflies when the project nears completion. It's expected to be finished by Thanksgiving.

"This will be the new gateway to D.C.," said Martha Slagle, the Neiman Marcus store manager.

Despite the influx of high-end retail in the area, Borgal said the renovation did not reflect worry about keeping up with newer, more chic storefronts.

"There's always been competition," he said. "We're continuing to enhance ourselves, and this only helps."

Work closed the Mazza Gallerie entrance to the Friendship Heights Metro station for two weeks this summer, and two more week-long closings are expected at that entrance, said Dwayne Haines, a superintendent with Forrester Construction Co., the project contractor.

Quick Turnaround

David von Storch couldn't wait to begin work on Vida Fitness Center's new gym at the Verizon Center when he met with Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Wizards and the man behind Verizon Center, back in early January. He just didn't know that work had to begin immediately.