Wheaton...As the Next Adams Morgan?

Could Wheaton one day look like the lively D.C. neighborhood Adams Morgan?

Just Up the Pike blogger Dan Reed explores the possibilities--his starting point, this quote by developer Leonard Greenberg from a recent Gazette article:

“To me, Wheaton should be more of an Adams Morgan, more of a village-like environment,” said Greenberg, who added the many apartment projects were an encouraging sign. “The reasons why places like Adams Morgan are popular is that they are high-demand areas where there’s lots of activity. You have young people living in accessible locations. Wheaton needs to be a place where people want to go, not just go to work and leave at the end of the day.”

Reed compares photos of what Adams Morgan looks like and what Greenberg's company has built. He points out the vacancies in retail buildings that Greenberg has constructed in Wheaton, as well as the disgruntled former tenants he has left in his wake. 

And Reed doesn't forget the businesses that fear they will be displaced by higher rents after redevelopment:

Vibrant neighborhoods also come from a mix of old and new. If we want downtown Wheaton to become Montgomery County's answer to Adams Morgan, we should retain existing businesses, be they a pupusa shop or a vocational school.

Read the rest of the blog post on Just Up The Pike.