Barnes & Noble Moving from Montrose Crossing Center

Bookstore relocating across Rockville Pike to Congressional Plaza in 2020

By Charlie Wright

The current Barnes & Noble location in the Montrose Crossing Shopping Center. Via Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble will move one of its two remaining Montgomery County bookstores to Congressional Plaza in Rockville in 2020, the shopping center’s real estate company announced Wednesday.

The bookstore is now in the Montrose Crossing Shopping Center, less than a mile south of Congressional Plaza on Rockville Pike.

A spokesman for the chain, which has reported sales drops at its brick-and-mortar stores, declined to comment on the reason for the move.

Federal Realty Investment Trust owns the 21-acre Congressional Plaza across from the Twinbrook Metro station. The shopping center was renovated in 2017 and includes several restaurants and boutiques. FRIT also owns Montrose Crossing Shopping Center.

A Barnes & Noble on Bethesda Row closed in January 2018 after two decades in Bethesda after lease negotiations between FRIT and the company fell through. The bookstore was replaced by women’s clothing chain Anthropologie.

There is a Barnes & Noble in Gaithersburg Rio Washingtonian Center off Interstate 270 near I-370.

“At Federal Realty Trust, it’s our priority to provide our communities with modern experiences that will enhance their lifestyle and local conveniences,” FRIT Director of Asset Management Kari Glinski said in a statement. “We are looking forward to continuing our long-term relationship with Barnes and Noble at Congressional Plaza.”

In its last fiscal year, Barnes & Noble said “declining retail traffic” was a factor in a 5.4 percent dip in comparable store sales, according to the company’s financial reports.

Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@bethesdabeat.com