Brace yourself: the first Walmart rendering is out, and it actually looks…good. In addition to reporting on the retail behemoth’s concession “to consider an array of layouts, designs and parking arrangements,” the Post’s Jonathan O’Connell did the internets a favor yesterday and shared three high-quality renderings of the proposed Walmart which would be constructed at 801 New Jersey Avenue NW.
The store at the New Jersey Avenue location would be as large as 80,000 square feet and be a part of a five-story mixed-use complex including over 300 apartments and other retail. As you can see, the renderings depict a red brick building (which should integrate nicely with the federal buildings in the immediate proximity) with an interesting integration of a Walmart, which reminds us more of a Harris Teeter or the new Social Safeway than what we usually think of when somebody talks about the big blue stores.
Of course, it is possible — if not likely — that each of the four Walmarts will feature vastly different designs. Consider, for instance, Dan Malouff’s review of the proposed Walmart plan at the old Curtis Chevrolet site along Georgia Avenue NW, which will be 25 percent larger than the New Jersey Avenue location, may or may not have one above-ground level and will not be mixed-use.
You can check out more views of the New Jersey Avenue plan below.
