At the Grosvenor station, an old Metro car is now a plaza

Well, this is pretty cool. At the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station in Bethesda, a real estate company cut up an old Metro car and turned it into benches to sit on and kiosks where you can buy baked goods, flowers, and clothes.

According to WAMU's Mikaela Lefrak, the retail pop-up pilot will be at the Grosvenor station until June 30th, with the kiosks, housed inside of the refurbished 4000 series railcar, open Wednesdays through Fridays from 3:30 to 7:30 pm.

The plaza is one way that WMATA is looking into whether food vendors, which have long been banned, would work at Metro stations. NBC Washington's Adam Tuss says the space will also be used for performances.

At Grosvenor station-this old Metro rail car is the backdrop for new retail kiosks and performances. Opens today at 3 #wmata @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/PhjmsrDVmb

— Adam Tuss (@AdamTuss) May 17, 2017

Fivesquares Development LLC, a DC real estate company, is behind the idea. According to Lefrak:

Fivesquare shipped the 75-foot-long, 80,000-pound car to Robert Mojo, a steel sculptor on Long Island, NY. He sliced it up into separate kiosks, and built an abstract sculpture out of the leftover parts.

Fivesquare also plans to redevelop the station’s surface parking lot into a mixed-use project called Strathmore Square. The development could include more than 1,000 housing units and retail stores.

GGWash contributors Matt Johnson and Michael Lewis were both at the Grosvenor station yesterday, and they snapped a few photos. Check them out: