Hardware store and gym to stay put during construction (Updated)

Glover Park Hardware and Washington Sports Club will remain open during a major revamp of their home at 2251 Wisconsin Ave., according to Gordon Nielsen of Summit Commercial Real Estate. Nielsen and business partner Guy d’Amecourt recently brokered the complex’s sale to a joint venture of Altus Realty Partners, Chesapeake Realty Partners, and Ellisdale Construction for $20.1 million.

The buyers plan to install a new glass facade and renovate the retail space, which includes a vacant storefront formerly leased by MyerEmco. In addition, they will construct an 81-unit apartment building with two levels of underground parking on land now covered by a rear parking lot. “The apartments will average 635 square feet with a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units looking to target young professionals,” states a press release provided by Nielsen. “The property overlooks the parkland of the Naval Observatory and Vice President’s residence.” The garage will include 97 parking spaces, Nielsen said, but he did not know how many of these would be reserved for tenants.

The image above, provided by Summit, shows the rear of the planned apartment complex; here’s another Summit image showing a side view:

The website of Brown Craig Turner architectural firm has more images of the planned apartment complex:

And Chesapeake Realty Partners posted its own rendering:

UPDATE: Construction on the facade is to begin this July, with the residential units in the rear completed by July 2014, the Georgetown Patch reports.

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Glover Park Hardware, WSC complex for sale?

From the April 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

There’s still no tenant for the old MyerEmco space at 2241 Wisconsin Ave., and the building’s owner now tells us he may sell the building. “There’s a lot of interest in the property,” says Paul London, who owns the complex that includes not only MyerEmco, but Glover Park Hardware and Washington Sports Club at 2251 Wisconsin Ave.

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One weekend, two bloody fights at night (Updated)

From the March 2011 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

Two nighttime scuffles on the Avenue in January both led to bloodshed. On January 22, a man suffered a small laceration on his nose during an assault outside of Good Guys (2311 Wisconsin Ave.), according to police. At about 3 a.m., the victim and a group of his friends were walking down the street. Five men pulled up in a silver Honda and started yelling catcalls at a woman in the group. Then a man got out of the car, ran toward the male victim, and punched him in the face. The assailant got back into the car and was last seen fleeing north on Wisconsin Ave. The victim refused medical treatment at the scene.

Then on January 23 around 10 p.m., two men got into a fistfight outside 2241 Wisconsin Ave., the former MyerEmco space. During the fight, a woman drove up, took a tennis racket out of her car, and began hitting one of the fighters on the head with it, according to a police report. At some point, that man’s coat and cell phone were stolen, and they ended up in the woman’s car. “We have your stuff, so what now?” the woman, Yuliya Reckenwald, reportedly asked him. When police arrived, the stolen items were returned to the victim, who was transported to the hospital and got five staples in the top of his head. Reckenwald was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon (the tennis racket). The case awaits grand jury action. UPDATE: In September, the assault case against Reckenwald was dismissed because prosecutors decided not to pursue it. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the reason.

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SomaSpa to market itself in MyerEmco space

In keeping with the storefront’s tradition of hyphenlessness, SomaSpa of 2121 Wisconsin is setting up a small sales space at 2241 Wisconsin, the former site of electronics retailer MyerEmco. Graham King, co-owner of SomaSpa’s affiliated gym, Balance, says that spa services such as massages, facials, and saunas will be touted in the storefront, which sits beside and beneath Balance competitor Washington Sports Club at 2251 Wisconsin. The new site is for brochures and information, King says.

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MyerEmco flowerboxes demo’d for plant sale

From the April 2010 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

In early March, shortly after MyerEmco at 2241 Wisconsin closed up shop, workers arrived to demolish the flowerboxes in front of that store and Glover Park Hardware at 2251 Wisconsin. (The two storefronts are part of the same retail complex, which also includes Washington Sports Club.) The buildings’ owner, Paul London, says he does not yet know who the next tenant of the MyerEmco space will be.

While the shop is vacant, Glover Park Hardware will use the broader sidewalk space in front of that store and its own to expand its seasonal plant sale, says manager Jennifer Ward.

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MyerEmco closes

From the March 2010 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

MyerEmco at 2241 Wisconsin closed last week. The 55-year-old local chain is going out of business due to the soft economy and competition from online retailers, its president told the Washington Post.

After selling off much of its inventory in an “outrageous sale” in early February, the chain worked with suppliers to keep discounted goods available through the store’s final days, store manger Mike Leonard said.

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