The Changing Face of Cleveland Park

• August 4th 2009

by Mark Wellborn

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In late May, we reported that the locally-owned grocery store Magruder’s was shuttering its Cleveland Park branch after being a staple in the neighborhood for years. The news came just over a month after the Starbucks up the street closed its doors.

Yesterday, DCist reported that the 7-11 on the corner of Porter Street and Connecticut Avenue was closing after being in business for decades.

Yes, two of these are national chains and their closings may be the result of the struggling economy. But it also seems that these establishments and others are being priced out of a neighborhood that prospective buyers have already deemed over-priced.

A local agent told UrbanTurf that home and condo owners in the area are pricing their properties above the market rate with the idea that the neighborhood still has the same allure that it did five or ten years ago.

“Granted the Uptown is still here and restaurants like Palena and Ardeo bring in crowds,” she said. “But, in general, young home buyers are looking to other neighborhoods to buy into and older home buyers now want homes in quieter neighborhoods like AU Park and Chevy Chase.”

We happen to still like Cleveland Park, and think that there isn’t a better movie theater than the Uptown in the city. How do you feel? Do you think Cleveland Park is changing?

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/the_changing_face_of_cleveland_park/1202.