Exclusive: Armenian Genocide Museum Nixed, Site Seeks Retailer

Scanlon said she’s already had interest from high-end fashion and other retailers, as well as tenants who may be interested in leasing the entire building.

“There are a number of different leasing options to be considered,” she said. “We’d love to have a museum as part of the project, however we’re also looking at other strategies.”

The Armenian Genocide Museum of America, which went through an ugly legal battle with the property owner for the past several years, is no longer pursuing a museum at the site, said Rouben Adalian, director of the Armenian Genocide Museum.

The group is actively looking for another site in D.C. for the museum, and in April, the Armenian Assembly of America, one of the groups involved in the legal battle, announced the launch of a “state-of-the-art online museum” to coincide with the centennial of the persecution of the Armenian people, Adalian said.

At the National Bank of Washington building, another potential flagship restaurant configuration identified in the brochure would locate the restaurant’s entrance and bar on the main level, with dining room space in the lower level former bank vault and a 2,600 square foot rooftop bar .

The bank building has remained empty for the better part of two decades even as D.C.’s downtown economy surged; longtime residents may remember it for its deteriorating “Hahn Shoes” awnings. In the last year, the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District has attempted to mask the fallow space at street level.