Many south Vienna, Tysons, Falls Church, and Merrifield residents have been patiently waiting for the completion of the first phase for the Mosaic District located south of the Dunn Loring metro in Merrifield. What was once an aging multiplex movie theater and strip mall has already experienced a makeover with new apartments and condos and now has a slew of retail stores ready to open. The cornerstone of the new retail is the “critically acclaimed” Angelika Theater which had its grand opening this week. I was skeptical about what an upscale movie theater really meant and if it would essentially be a dressed up AMC for the sole purpose of charging extra.
Before we talk about the theater, let’s review the site plan for Mosaic which I had a chance to walk around. Very few of the stores will be open until October, but those that were included MOMs Organic Market. The location is perfect being close to the periphery to allow easy access for those who really just want their groceries. I took a look around the store and what I gathered was, this is a great place to get a lot of the tougher to find elements in traditional grocery stores. I’m not sure it will replace the big purchase trippers, but if you are looking for a really unique lentil chip, tough to find almond flour, or the perfect bottle of wine then MOMs is perfect for you. From spot inspection it looks like the prices are better than Whole Foods; though MOMs by itself appears to be smaller than a traditional Whole Foods.
The restaurant selection (of which some have been around for over a year) skews asian as one would expect for a towncenter across the street from H Mart. The restaurants are thoughtfully laid out with patios on internal streets in order to provide the least “traffic riddled” views of Merrifield. From the patio of Four Sisters one will likely forget they are sitting adjacent to Gallows Road just north of 495.
The road layouts were a traditional grid of streets. Some of the blocks are a bit longer than traditional towncenters, but cut-throughs are available under the target for pedestrians. The sidewalk lacked some of the traditional material selections one would expect from a Reston Towncenter, but the clean concrete with dark wood slatted landscape areas in spot lights give Mosaic its own vibe. I appreciate the fact that it didn’t use the formulaic brick paver that one has come to associate with redeveloped retail centers.
Speaking of non-formulaic, the center piece of the center is clearly the new Angelika Theater. From the outside it looks more like a concert hall than movie theater. The massive outdoor screen draws people to sit by the alternating light fountain and civic plaza. I hope that they utilize this great arrangement to have some outdoor events from time to time as well.
When you walk into the theaters multi-story glass atrium you are confronted at first with wine bottles and cupcakes. Not the traditional lobby of a movie theater, and a slap in the face to tell you this isn’t going to be the place where kids are screaming and irritating tweens loiter on pocket change. Welcome to a theater that understands that you are a grown up who can handle having a beer in your hand while watching a movie. One nicety is the ability to pick your seats online (or at the venue) for your show, which lets you make sure you can have your group in the same row or to get that perfect location (for those that are Type A about audio/visual quality).
The theater screen and room itself is noticeably smaller than what most will be used to. Don’t expect too many blockbusters at Angelika, it clearly prefers retaining indie roots. I am sure there will be some festival style events held at Mosaic in the near future. After the movie you have the ability to stay where you are and enjoy some drinks from the third floor lounge with a great view of the still growing towncenter. You’ll need to be a movie patron first to be able to enjoy the lounge, but it could be a great date nightcap or just a laid back watering hole on a rainy night.
As far as prices, the tickets were the same for adults as any other traditional theater. The drinks were closer to stadium price than bar price, but then again the cheapest beers on tap was from the local microbrew Port City. It’s not quite fair to compare the 8 dollar Bud Light you get at a sporting event to a Port City Pilsner.
Overall my impressions from Mosaic were positive. I was impressed with the vision and consistency of materials and elements in everything from buildings to utilities to walkways. This is not a patchwork of individual designs, but a unified sleek and modern new face for Merrifield. The only negatives I can think of was parking seemed a bit excessive (though the Target is not open yet so that may change once it is) and the development was much smaller than I expected (only a few blocks). Hopefully Phase 1 is an immediate success which could spur a quicker development of Phase 2 that could round out Mosaic as a true destination for the region.
If you haven’t been yet to see what all that construction has been about for the past 30 months, head over to Mosaic and take a look for yourself. We expect some pretty great things coming happening there over the next several months.