Provincial? Or: What’s in a Name?

I may not be hanging around town as much as I’d like these days, but I did have lunch with a friend at the Lakeside Deli Tuesday. This afforded me the opportunity to pop into Lidl afterwards. As I navigated the distance between the two, I did a double take.

The Metropolitan is no longer Metropolitan.

Images from basic Google search

Well, it may be “metropolitan” in the descriptive sense, but the signage tells me it’s The Westley. So does their website.

When did that happen?

It was still The Metropolitan in December…

And then, in February…

Why the new name? Also, apparently the full name is The Westley Merriweather, because of course it is.

From what I can tell the rebranding is associated with a change in management. The Metropolitan opened in 2017 under the management of a company called Kettler.

It is now in the hands of Bozzuto.

NEIGHBORHOOD Life is About Exploration Location, Community, Quality Living. It Starts Here.

(At the Cheesecake Factory? Well, okay.)

I’ve mentioned the Metropolitan a few times over the years. In general, it always seemed to be a building that went up fast but then didn’t quite live up to the hype. Now, after less than ten years of existence, they needed a new management company and full-on rebranding. Methinks that, if the Metropolitan brand had been marketable, they would have kept the name.

Well, this is interesting and I don’t know much about commercial real estate. But I’m certainly curious.

Know anything? You know where to send it.

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