Can you picture a Whole Foods in College Park?

January 7, 2008

I have a hard time with this one: the development of “East Campus,” a $700M town center development at my alma mater that hopes to lure an upscale grocer, a four-star hotel and a movie theater.

WaPo says that UMd. is planning to tear down old student housing (the Knox Boxes, oh please?), abandoned greenhouses, its mail facility (students still get paper mail - who knew?) and maintenance buildings to create space for the 38-acre tract.

The gut-wrenching part: Doug Duncan, former MoCo executive and current university VP, plans to draw on “a lot of the ideas used to create the town centers in [Downtown] Silver Spring and Rockville.”

Blech.

Don’t get me wrong, College Park needs a major overhaul - I can’t imagine it makes recruiting students and faculty a breeze. And if a mall-esque makeover reduces crime in the area, I can suck it up and get behind it. (Even more so if the Trader Joe’s is housed in a Georgian-style facade).

But as residents told the Post, they envision a college town with the feel of Madison, Wisconsin or Charlottesville, Virginia - not Gaithersburg.

And I’m with them.

JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

P.S. The good news: University officials are asking for $125 million in public financing for a parking garage. Thank God.

(Above: Foulger-pratt and Argo Investment, courtesy of washingtonpost.com)

Sphere: Related Content

Posted by Jackie Sauter | Filed Under real estate, university of maryland 

Comments

3 Responses to “Can you picture a Whole Foods in College Park?”

  1. Jill Barrett on January 7th, 2008 2:06 pm

    I have a confession to make — I LOVE the fake small-town village centers that have been popping up all over MoCo. I am much happier working in Rockville, now that they’ve opened their new “downtown” area. I would have loved a cute little area such of these when I went to College Park. I’m a little jealous, actually…

  2. Scott on January 7th, 2008 3:42 pm

    Knox Boxes aren’t in the East campus area. I believe they’re talking about the Leonardtown community.

  3. Jeff on January 7th, 2008 4:01 pm

    I would love to see this kind of development in College Park. I wasted way too much time and gas driving to Silver Spring, Gaithersburg and Rockville, all of which boast this style of town center, to go to the movies or out to dinner.

Got something to say?





  • Law

  • Business

  • Archives

  • Visit Eye on Annapolis

    Check out our blog on the legislative session, Eye on Annapolis.

  • Categories

Business

The business staff of The Daily Record newspaper will contribute to this section. We'll write about topics ranging from the workplace to energy to the environment, but we'll strive to keep it as local as possible.

Eye on Annapolis

Visit our sister blog, Eye on Annapolis, produced by Reporter Andy Rosen. Or, follow Andy on Twitter: TDRAndy.

RSS Business posts

Law

The Daily Record’s been Maryland’s legal newspaper for 120 years or so. Now, we want to be Maryland’s legal blog, too. Click here to join the discussion and read posts by our legal team, including our Monday law blog round-up.

RSS Law posts

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

  • JessieX: Duh.
  • david halbritter: another halbritter served west virginia from wheeling unit so guess that makes me a yankee darnit ....
  • Gerald Conrad: While I cannot agree with the trial lawyers’ reasoning, I do agree the American Tort Reform...
  • Kathy: Closed on 50 Silo Point units ??? Check the SDAT tax records, only 1 unit has changed hands so far....
  • Anonymous: As both a lawyer and a client (since I’m in-house), $92,000 for a new attorney is ridiculous. I...

On Commenting

We ask that our readers follow a few guidelines, noted below.

Please do not post any personal attacks, profanity, spam or other advertisements — they will be removed. Also, please post using only one name or pseudonym, as this consistency helps establish a sense of community. We will delete posts if they are signed with different names but originate from the same IP or email address. And if you’re going to comment using a proper name, please make it your own. Deliberate misrepresentations will be removed.