We’ve discussed neighborhood naming on this site in the past; hokey sounding appelations are fine if they have some historical roots, it seems, but blatant attempts to ape famous hoods in other towns are to be scorned. Mercilessly.

But the message has not been gotten in Prince George’s County, home also to the Disneyscape rising at the planned National Harbor. According to the Washington Business Journal, Wood Partners, a Vienna based development company, are constructing three massive projects around the Branch Avenue Metro station called Tribeca, Soho North (?), and Chelsea West (??). The sites, which all sit well south of their eponymous New York neighborhoods (though Chelsea West is, in fact, west of London’s Chelsea), will be home to several hundred condominium units and thousands of square feet of office and retail space. No doubt they will share the charm of their northern and eastern counterparts.

Why does Prince George’s seem to be particularly pursuing glitzy, over-manufactured (even for the Washington area) developments? Are the eastern suburbs aiming to carve out a Vegas-like niche for themselves? Tell us what you think, readers, and leave other egregious neighborhood name appropriations in the comments.

Picture taken by Hoffmann.