The four mixed-use buildings on Eighth Street near the 9:30 Club are about to open.  The quartet is the product of prolific Washington area developer JBG, which recently released the layout of the ground-floor retail tenants. The retail spaces include small retail shops, a few restaurants, a small movie theater, and art galleries.

The Shay is a duo of apartments on the 700 and 800 blocks of Florida Avenue NW.  Retailers include

• Riide – A DC-based electric bike company (9th Street)
• Serv U Liquors – A liquor store that previous stood on the development site (9th Street)
• Warby Parker – Purveyor of hip spectacles (9th Street & Florida Avenue)
• Aesop – An Australian retailer of sustainable skincare, haircare and other personal care products (800 b/o Florida Avenue)
• Chrome – A San Francisco-based bike bag purveyor (800 b/o Florida Avenue)
• Le Labo –  A French perfumery (800 b/o Florida Avenue)
• Benrus – A Rhode Island-based clothing retailer (800 b/o Florida Avenue)
• Steven Alan – Casual clothing for men and women (8th Street & Florida Avenue)
• An unnamed restaurant from Tim Ma, owner of Water & Wall in Arlington and Maple Ave. in Vienna (8th Street)
• Frank & Oak – A hip, Montréal-based men’s clothing retailer (8th Street)
• Glen’s Garden Market – The second location of this DC-based grocer will also serve beer. (8th Street)
• Compass Coffee – The second location for the coffee shop that currently operates on 7th Street in Shaw (8th Street)
• Read Wall – DC-based menswear retailer selling knits, outerwear, custom suits, and neckware (8th Street)
• Lettie Gooch – A clothing boutique moving from U Street (8th Street)
• Kit and Ace – A retailer selling clothes made of a sturdier cashmere (8th Street & Florida Avenue)

JBG is still actively leasing three retail bays.  The Shay’s grand opening is today from 6 pm to 9 pm.

Just north on Eighth Street at V Street, JBG has sold numerous condos at 2030 8th Street and has nearly completed the larger Atlantic Plumbing apartments on the north side of V Street. The company has released the retail layout of both buildings.

The retailers include

• Hazel (probably) – A new restaurant from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which currently owns Birch & Barley and Bluejacket (V Street)
• Declaration Pizza – A new pizza shop from the owners of Lincoln and Teddy & the Bully Bar (8th & V Streets)
• Landmark Theatre – A theater featuring independent films in six small-screen mini-theaters (V Street)
• An unnamed ramen restaurant from the people behind Daikaya in Chinatown (8th & V Streets)
• Tasty Burger – The first DC-area location of this Boston-based burger chain (8th Street)
• Bazaar Spices – The second location for this independently owned herbs and spice shop, which also sells at Union Market (8th Street)
• Cherry Blossom Creative – A graphic-design studio that will also offer original works for retail purchase (8th Street)
• Foundry Gallery – An artist-run gallery that will move from Dupont Circle (8th Street)
• Typecase Industries – A locally-based letterpress and design studio (8th Street)
• Washington Project for the Arts – The headquarters for a non-profit arts support organization (8th Street)

All shops will be open by the end of the year.

Two— possibly three— new movie theaters are set to open within a mile of LeDroit Park by 2016.  All will be located within a block or two of Florida Avenue and are easily accessible by foot, bike, and 90s bus.

Atlantic Plumbing site – 800 V Street NW- unknown screens

Prolific developer JBG is starting construction on its Atlantic Plumbing project by the 9:30 Club.  The project includes two mixed-use buildings on 8th Street NW, each on opposing sides of V Street.  The northern building was supposed to include an 11,000-square-foot movie theater, but a September article in the WBJ makes no mention of a theater.  The building will probably open in 2015.

Landmark Theater – New York Avenue & N Street NE- 10 screens

Capitol Point, another JBG mixed-use project, is located on New York Avenue NE near the maddening intersection with Florida Avenue NE.  The mixed-use project is slated to receive a 10-screen Landmark Theater showing foreign and independent films.  The chain currently has a location downtown on E Street and one in Bethesda.  This new theater is scheduled to open in 2016.

Angelika Film Center – Union Market (5th Street & Neal Place NE) – 8 screens

Soon after you pass under the railroad tracks on Florida Avenue NE, Union Market appears embedded in the background on the left.  These blocks constitute a wholesale food market that is slowly being redeveloped.  The new Union Market building has met great success, featuring produce, prepared foods, oysters, meats, and dairy products along with chairs and tables for the impatient.  The market fare is definitely upscale and vendors never shy from the word ‘artisanal’.

The market building’s developer announced it will open an 8-screen Angelika movie theater on an adjacent lot.  Angelika theaters feature foreign and independent films and, as the Post described it, “culinary offerings from former Food Network executives.”  The developer expects the theater to open in 2015.

Are we over-theatered?

Another movie theater is coming to different part of the District.  In the Navy Yard, developer Forest City is planning an upscale 16-screen theater near Nationals Stadium and the Navy Yard Metro.  The theater, at N Place and the future 1½ Street SE (a terrible name for a street), may not open until 2016 or later.

Can’t wait until 2015? There are four existing theaters within a 2.5-mile radius of LeDroit Park as the crow flies.  The Landmark E Street Cinema (1100 block of E Street NW) and the Regal Gallery Place (7th & G Streets NW) are easily accessible from the Green Line, Yellow Line, and 70s buses.  To the west of us, the West End Cinema (23rd & M Streets NW) and the AMC Loews Georgetown (3111 K Street NW) are easily accessible from the G2 bus, whose eastern terminus is LeDroit Park.

Photo by NCinDC on Flickr

The Post reports that music venue owner IMP, which operates the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion, is now managing the District-owned Lincoln Theater.

As we noted before, the Lincoln Theater’s revival in the 1990s failed to measure up to the Howard Theatre’s recent rebirth.  Last year we compared the number of scheduled events at both theaters from May 11 to June 30, 2012. The contrast was stunning as the Howard had announced 51 scheduled events compared to the Lincoln’s paltry five.

The District’s new operator for the Lincoln has already booked comedians Ira Glass and Cheech and Chong, as well as musical performers Janelle Monae, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, and KT Tunstall for next month.

The Lincoln is just one of four big venues within a mile of LeDroit Park:

The Lincoln Theater’s 1,225 fixed seats set the venue apart.  Though this configuration limits the types of acts that will perform, it also guarantees each patron a reserved space.

Check out the Post’s handy comparison chart, including typical headliners and food options for each venue.

Back in 2009 we noted that Google had updated all its streetview photos of LeDroit Park. What we didn’t notice is that Google for some time now has been adding panoramic photos of the interiors of local businesses.

Drag the little streetview man to U Street, for instance, and you’ll notice two types of blue dots. The darker blue dots are user-contributed photos. The lighter dots, however, give you tours inside the buildings.

Google has covered a good deal of U Street and 14th Street.  The closest venue to LeDroit Park is Wazobia at T and Wiltberger Streets. You can even “walk around” these establishment and pan and zoom the images.

Here are a few notable places near LeDroit Park and along U Street:

• Wanda’s Hair Salon – 1851 7th Street (Wanda’s has moved)
• Greg’s Barber Shop – 1909 7th Street – (old-timey cash register to boot!)
• Nellie’s – 900 U Street – (blown-up print of Nellie Storrs Newman behind the bar)
• Dickson Wine Bar – 903 U Street
• Zula Ethiopian Restaurant – 1933 9th Street
• Lounge of Three – 1013 U Street NW – (Sign reads, “Music we play may cause severe neck injury.”)
• 9:30 Club – 815 V Street NW
• Ben’s Chilli Bown – 1213 U Street NW – (Sign famously notes that only the Obamas and Bill Cosby eat for free)