The long-vacant PNC Bank building at 4249 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Tenleytown is set to become the second Washington, D.C. location for Nesso Plaza, a micro-retail concept that carves oversized commercial buildings into small storefronts for independent businesses. Developer Jonathan Askarinam and partner Moe Pishvaeian acquired the property and have submitted filings to D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustment to convert it into ten micro-commercial spaces with a rooftop addition.
According to Axios, Askarinam said small businesses in D.C. routinely struggle to find well-designed, appropriately sized spaces. That complaint tracks with the architectural specs behind the project: architecture firm Square 134 Architects designed the conversion concept, which, per UrbanTurf, features micro-retail spaces ranging from 342 to 2,310 square feet spread across a cellar level, ground floor, second floor, and rooftop deck.
The Tenleytown location is expected to include neighborhood retail, fitness, coffee, and eateries. The rooftop is envisioned to include a restaurant and decks, alongside a revamped backlot meant for outdoor dining and gathering.
Timeline Points to a 2028 Opening
The timeline for construction on the Tenleytown site is expected to begin in 2027, finish by 2028, and open in spring 2028. Nesso Plaza's original H Street NE location is also expected to open, with Qualia Coffee and Bread Par Avion identified as tenants.
The name Nesso comes from the Italian word for nexus, or connection — a branding choice meant to emphasize community gathering space rather than a traditional big-box anchor, the same UrbanTurf report notes. That philosophy played out at the original Nesso Plaza site on H Street NE, which spans roughly 14,000 square feet across four buildings on five adjoining parcels, including the former Biergarten Haus space. The H Street flagship has already secured tenants such as a plant shop, ice cream parlor, pilates studio, tattoo parlor, and coffee roaster, illustrating the format's proof of concept.
From Bank Branch to Blank Slate
PNC Bank permanently closed its Friendship/Tenleytown branch at 4249 Wisconsin Avenue NW in September 2024, consolidating retail banking services into its nearby Spring Valley location, according to PoPville. Before it was a PNC branch, the site operated as a Riggs Bank branch, according to the Dustin Fox Real Estate YouTube channel.
Askarinam's family brings decades of D.C. hospitality experience to the venture. The family immigrated from Shiraz, Iran, and has operated local establishments for decades, including Spaghetti Garden and Johnny Pistolas in Adams Morgan, according to HillRag. The family's hospitality operations weathered a serious financial blow just before New Year's Eve, when fraudsters accessed five business accounts and initially attempted to take $460,000; about $230,000 was recovered, and more than $200,000 remained missing, as reported by FOX 5 DC. The family was still trying to recover the money months later and was considering legal action.
Part of a Broader Wisconsin Avenue Shift
The Tenleytown project comes as Douglas Development markets an office building at 4001 Brandywine Street NW for a potential overhaul, as Hoodline previously reported. UrbanTurf's reporting frames the Nesso Plaza expansion around its micro-retail model.
Whether the Board of Zoning Adjustment will approve the Tenleytown filing remains to be seen. It's also unclear how quickly the developers will be able to line up confirmed tenants for the Wisconsin Avenue site once construction gets underway. For now, the shuttered bank building sits as one more marker of change along a stretch of Tenleytown.
