June 8, 2016 / Octavo Designs / News
If you were unable to attend the groundbreaking of the Frederick Towne Center, you can watch the entire ceremony and all of the remarks made at the event by following the link below . . .
April 19, 2016 / Octavo Designs / News
By Kevin McManus, WFMD Radio
Saturday, April 16, 2016
It’s considered to be an important step in revitalizing the Golden Mile in Frederick. Elected officials and other dignitaries gathered Saturday morning for a groundbreaking at the closed Frederick Town Mall. The plan is to demolish the old mall and replace it with the Frederick Towne Center, which is expected to have 15 retail spaces, anchored by the new Wal Mart Supercenter as well as Boscov’s and Home Depot.
“There’s more than 1.6-million square feet of gross retail space out here on the Golden Mile, not including what we’re about to take down,” says Richard Griffin, the Director of the Department of Economic Development in Frederick. “We’re going to add about another half-million square feet with this project, bringing our total gross square footage of retail out on the Golden Mile to over two-million square feet.”
DLC Management will develop the property. Its Director of Leasing is Adam Greenberg. “Standing here in an empty parking lot in front of a shuttered mall I find it very exciting to envision what’s to come,” he says. “The view from here will be much different in the not-so-distant future. The view will be that of a vibrant town center where people will come to shop. to dine and to gather.” Greenberg says the project is expected to be completed by December, 2017.
Attorney Dave Severn, whose a member of the Board of the Golden Mile Alliance, says this center could be the go-to place in Frederick once again. “This is the place to be in Frederick for a long. And we’re confident that with this redevelopment plan, it will be that place again, along with the rest of the Golden Mile,” he said. He noted that he liked coming to the old Frederick Town Mall in the past because it offered free gift wrapping on Christmas Eve.
Justin Kiska, the President of the Golden Mile Alliance, hopes that the perception of the Golden Mile as the vacant Frederick Town Mall will change with this project. “That image that has come to symbolize the Golden Mile, for good or bad, is finally coming down,” he says;. “And it is going to be replaced by a exciting,vibrant, and bright new addition to the Route 40 Corridor with the Frederick Towne Center.” He says the Frederick Towne Center will have 40,000 square feet of retail space, and that will mean 15 new businesses,including two restaurant sites, at the Frederick Towne Center.
Later on, Greenberg said no leases have been signed by prospective tenants, but there is a strong interest in the site by some retailers.
March 15, 2016 / Octavo Designs / News
By Nancy Lavin, Frederick News Post
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
The red and brown pepper logo of Chipotle Mexican Grill is coming to the eastern entrance to the city of Frederick’s Golden Mile.
The city Planning Commission on Monday unanimously voted to approve final site plans for a Chipotle at the northeast corner of Baughman’s Lane and U.S. 40, on the same property as Motel 6. The proposal submitted by the Baltimore-based development company Southside Investment Partners includes a 2,300-square-foot building with parking, landscaping and other site improvements.
There are also Chipotles on Wormans Mill Road in Frederick and on Buckeystown Pike in Westview Promenade, according to the Chipotle website.
In an interview after the meeting, Ben Hoskins, president of Southside Investment Partners, described Chipotle as a “top of class user” that is respected in the community. Hoskins said groundbreaking would occur later this year, with an opening slated for early 2017.
Chipotle is leasing the site from Southside Investment Partners. The 999 W. Patrick St. property is owned by West Patrick Hospitality LLC, according to state property tax records.
The commission’s approval came with a series of conditions that the developer must meet before construction can begin. They include requirements for the developer to designate pedestrian routes from Baughman’s Lane and the adjacent Motel 6 to the new Chipotle.
A third condition is that the developer might be required to pay for signs at either end of the median that will be constructed on Baughman’s Lane to prohibit motorists from making U-turns.
The median separating traffic down Baughman’s Lane will be added as part of the project to construct a Wawa on the other corner of Baughman’s Lane and U.S. 40.
The Chipotle project plans also call for a median on the southern access point to the site, restricting incoming and outgoing traffic to right turns only. Several commission members expressed concern that the two medians would cause motorists leaving Chipotle to turn right on Baughman’s Lane, then make a U-turn to head toward U.S. 40.
Commission member Ron Burns proposed a “no U-turn” sign to prevent this. Tracy Coleman, the city’s deputy director of engineering, said she did not know if the street would fail the requirements for U-turns.
Ultimately, commission members agreed to add this as a condition if the city engineering department determines the lane width to be inadequate for U-turns and no signage currently exists.
The project incorporates several design features outlined in the city’s small area plan for the Golden Mile, including improvements to on-site traffic flow and better pedestrian and bicyclist access, according to the report submitted by Brandon Mark, a city planner. The building’s proximity to U.S. 40, with just a 100-foot setback from the street, will also “animate the street with active space,” the report stated.
Hoskins described the design as “fairly standard and prototypical” compared with other Chipotles. Plans call for an 88-seat restaurant with an outside patio, 32 parking spaces and four bicycle spaces.
March 11, 2016 / Octavo Designs / News
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf, Frederick News Post
Friday, March 11, 2016
Two oft-discussed elementary schools, planned in the Urbana and Hillcrest areas, will be built on schedule and open in August 2018, the county announced Thursday. Advocates have spent recent months fighting vigorously for the schools, which are intended to alleviate student overcrowding.
But the timeline for other schools in the years ahead is still jeopardized.
The county will also delay, until fiscal 2019, renovations to southern Boyers Mill Road, from the “bridge south to Old National Pike,” Gardner said. Three fire stations that were requested, but never included in the county capital plan, also won’t be funded — a Hamptons West fire station, a Jefferson Tech Park fire station and a downtown Frederick station.
County Executive Jan Gardner on Thursday announced the developer partnership. These developers will front the costs of the state share of funding — a total of about $27 million — on three projects: the new Frederick High School, which is under construction, and the two elementary schools, Sugarloaf Elementary School, in Urbana, and Butterfly Ridge Elementary, in Frederick.
That $27 million will be split evenly between the two developers, Natelli Communities and Elm Street Development. The breakdown of the $27 million will be $9.8 million for Frederick High School, $6.8 million for Sugarloaf Elementary and $10.2 million for Butterfly Ridge Elementary.
The developers will put up a letter of credit. The county will borrow the state share of what the schools would cost, and the developers agree to carry the interest on the bond. This is known as “forward-funding.”
Other projects are still endangered in future years, officials said.
Future state money would need to be redirected to pay off the debt — which may take roughly five years, Gardner said — instead of other school construction in the later years.
Beyond the elementary schools, Frederick County Public Schools has sought an addition to Waverley Elementary School, a new or renovated Rock Creek School, and a new elementary school in the eastern part of the county. Gardner also announced Thursday a task force to examine school construction solutions. Still, no one can yet identify where the county will scrounge up more funding.
“I have committed to the developers who have stepped forward that I will help them and be part of the solution to find the out-year strategy, as well,” said M.C. Keegan-Ayer, vice president of the County Council. “Because if we’re not all working together, this boat is going over the waterfall.”
County officials were in months of talks with the developers before arriving at a compromise.
The fee that developers pay when they want to build near an overcrowded school, a mitigation fee, now remains unchanged. Gardner had proposed a sharp increase in the fee late October, to developers’ chagrin. The legislation to alter the mitigation fee is being considered by the Frederick County Council. Council members approved an amendment to that bill to leave the mitigation fee untouched, though it still imposes an automatic annual adjustment of the fee.
The option for developers to use a mitigation fee will end in July. Gardner, who opposes mitigation fees, said she knows the development community has expressed interest in having this extended. Legislation has not yet been proposed on this front.
Gardner’s other proposal, a boost to county impact fees — which are also levied on developers and channeled toward school construction — is still before the County Council, though the increase is spread out over two years instead of one. Gardner said she is including increases to impact fees in her budget, but not mitigation fees.
Natelli Communities, led by its president and chief executive officer, Tom Natelli, is a chief developer in Urbana. Elm Street Development, represented by Vice President Jason Wiley, is the developer of Lake Linganore, as well as Eastchurch, a project on the east side of the city of Frederick.
In interviews, both Natelli and Wiley said that they worked with the county government to develop both a solution to school construction woes and find benefits for builders. Natelli signed on to a county-developer collaboration last fall and recruited Wiley into the conversation.
“There was creative thinking on everybody’s part, including the [county] executive’s staff,” Wiley said. “Our objection was the fee increases that were being proposed that would not be bearable. We had to have some sort of alternative solution. In the business of compromise, everybody kind of gives a little.”
Both local and state officials have fretted over the rising costs of school construction, which they have attributed to market conditions and state mandates. The high costs have been evident in the Frederick High project, officials have said, with the most recent estimate being $112 million.
The school construction situation was critical, Keegan-Ayer said. Urbana Elementary School is at 135 percent of its state-rated capacity, according to September school district data, and Hillcrest Elementary, in Frederick, is at 140 percent of its capacity.
Crunching the numbers also unearthed that the county fell short in funding on the new Frederick High School. Without the developer partnership, Gardner said in an interview, the county would have been able to advance only one elementary school on time. This solution also allows the demolition of the current building and construction of a new Urbana Elementary, Gardner said.
On Thursday, Gardner also named members to an ad hoc panel, the brainchild of two County Council Republicans, Tony Chmelik and Kirby Delauter. This task force is narrow in focus and will examine the possibility of the private sector paying for school construction, then leasing the facilities back to the Board of Education.
A formal agreement will be signed by the county, Natelli Communities and Elm Street within 30 to 45 days, according to Natelli.
March 9, 2016 / Octavo Designs / News
Frederick’s Focus, WFMD Radio
Saturday, March 5, 2016
The Golden Mile Alliance’s President, Justin M. Kiska, appeared on WFMD’s “Frederick’s Focus” to discuss the redevelopment of the old Fredericktowne Mall site and other changes coming to the Golden Mile. Follow the link below to listen to the interview.
February 29, 2016 / Octavo Designs / News
By Paige Jones, Frederick News Post
Monday, February 29, 2016
To the naked eye, the long-vacant Frederick Towne Mall remains unchanged since it closed in 2013.
The parking lots and hallways once bustling with shoppers remain empty and silent. Signs outside the once vibrant mall advertising shops and services are faded, some disintegrating from age and neglect.
Plans to demolish the former mall at 1301 W. Patrick St. and redevelop the space as a shopping center are moving forward, but not in a visible way, said Justin Kiska, president of the Golden Mile Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the residential and economic climate on U.S. 40 in Frederick.
“Right now, the work being done is nothing anyone can actually see,” Kiska wrote in an email.
Crews are working to remove the former mall’s HVAC system, which was also used by its neighbors, the department store Boscov’s and discount store Ollie’s, and install separate systems, according to Kiska.
“Because of the way the whole site was developed, all of the HVAC for the entire property was one system,” he wrote, noting new HVAC systems must be set up for Boscov’s and Ollie’s before demolition can begin.
The property owner Rockwood Capital declined to comment. Caroline Luz, a spokeswoman for the real estate investment company, told The Frederick News-Post to “check back in a few months.”
Once construction on the HVAC systems is finished, Kiska said he believes the building’s demolition will happen soon after. Plans for a demolition event in the late spring or early summer is currently in the works.
“Everything is moving along … nothing happens quickly,” he said with a laugh during a follow-up interview, referring to construction.
The new shopping center known as the Frederick Towne Center will include a 155,000-square-foot Wal-Mart and two smaller lots. The long-vacant mall will be demolished except for Boscov’s and Home Depot.
Adam Greenberg, the Mid-Atlantic director of leasing for the project developer DLC Management Corp., said he believes construction will be complete in mid- to late 2017, rather than earlier in the year.
As of last week, the shopping center has no confirmed tenants. The company is in talks with several national and local businesses, and Greenberg expects to announce signed leases within the next two months.
“We have been very active in reaching out to tenants locally and nationally, trying to bring high-quality users to be part of the project,” he said.
Greenberg said he hopes to fill the 15 to 16 potential tenant spots prior to construction.
“Ideally, we’d like to be as leased up as possible before they begin construction,” Greenberg said. “I do expect by the time the project is delivered, it will be fully leased or close to it.”
November 3, 2015 / Octavo Designs / News
By Ken Kellar, Woodsboro/Walkersville Times
Sunday, November 1, 2015
On October 8 the Golden Mile Alliance held a development showcase and open house at Elks Lodge 684 in Frederick. Alliance president and owner of Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, Justin Kiska, kicked off the event by welcoming everyone and introducing
Frederick City Mayor Randy McClement, the second-term Mayor of the City of Frederick. The Mayor communicated his enthusiasm about the Route 40, Golden Mile
plans and activities. Several city, county, and state political officials were in attendance. All the properties represented are within the City of Frederick.
Justin Kiska explained that the Golden Mile Alliance membership consists of 5 business owners, 5 property owners (landlords) and 5 residents. It was started about 5 years ago by Mayor McClement as an ad hoc committee. Today it is an independent organization.
The Townhomes at Willow Bend had a display. They are nearly half way through selling
about 190 former HUD town homes to families and investors. The representative said prices were in the 180 to 200 thousand dollar range which translates to mortgage payments less than prevailing rental rates. Willow Bend is attracting many first time home-owners such as young professionals, newlyweds, and single moms.
Remember the old State Trooper barracks on the corner of Rt. 40 and Baughman’s Lane? It’s gone and a new Wawa is being built and slated to open the summer of 2016.
The last government delay in building the new Walmart at Frederick Towne Center has just been overcome, and construction is expected to start in the next 60 days. The Walmart builder is also building three other retail buildings nearby that total 52 thousand
square feet of floor space.
Another developer displayed plans for the recently annexed Summers Farm Pumpkin Patch. The approximately 70 acre property will be the site of over 300 residences. The plans call for half single-family homes with the balance being town homes. Per the annexation agreement, 10 acres are to be commercial properties, but the developer is seeking relief in order to build the entire property as residential.
The old VFW 9-hole golf course is on the chopping block and is slated to be the site of West Park Village which will consist of fewer than 300 housing units as well as some commercial space.
A representative from Frederick County Public Schools showed the plans for the Butterfly Ridge Elementary School and Community Center. The new school, which is
the same design as North Frederick Elementary, is scheduled to take its first students in August, 2018 and will take in some of the students from surrounding Hillcrest, Waverly, and Orchard Grove Elementary Schools.
Bobby Baumler, an employee of the Frederick Department of Economic Development, displayed plans for a regional park up near Hillcrest. These plans were in the very early stages.
Timothy Davis, a Transportation Planner for the City of Frederick, was at the event to show transportation plans. He mentioned the very diverse demographic and transportation challenges of the Golden Mile region.
The mix of residential and commercial properties combines foot traffic, heavy automobile traffic, public transportation buses, as well as bicyclists, commuting to and from work. The plans on display included modifications to several major intersections. He also discussed the concept of dedicated bus/bike lanes in some areas to minimize their impact on other traffic flow.
I asked several of the presenters about any image issues of the region. This reporter was concerned that the Golden Mile had lost its luster. All were very enthusiastic, noting that the new construction and increase in home ownership is shifting things in a positive direction. One stated that existing landlords of older properties are feeling pressure to upgrade to meet the new expectations of the area, and existing property improvements are taking place. Keep an eye on the Golden Mile, it may be shining again.
October 28, 2015 / Octavo Designs / News, Uncategorized
In conjunction with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, the Golden Mile Alliance will be collecting food along the mile the entire month of November. National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week is held each year the week before Thanksgiving. This is a time for us all to start to think about what we are thankful for, a perfect time to share our compassion with our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness, and work toward a world where no one has to experience Hunger and Homelessness. All donations will go to the City of Frederick Maryland Food Bank.
Please visit the following Golden Mile businesses to drop off your donations of non-perishable food items.
My Bank First United Bank & Trust, 102 Baughmans Lane
Wolf Furniture, 1215 West Patrick Street
Way Off Broadway, 5 Willowdale Drive
Thrift Angel, 1507 West Patrick Street
Spartan Tactical & Police Supply, 1517 West Patrick Street
M & T Bank, 1304 West Patrick Street
Modern Asia Restaurant, 1306 West Patrick Street
Starbucks Coffee, 1046 West Patrick Street
Petersen’s Carpet & Flooring, 1060 West Patrick Street
The Golden Mile Alliance wishes to thank these businesses for their participation. Please join us in Giving Thanks by donating at one or more of these locations the entire month of November.
October 5, 2015 / Octavo Designs / News
By Paige Jones, The Frederick News-Post
Monday, October 5, 2015
Three businesses along Frederick’s Golden Mile are getting a facelift with help from the state’s facade improvement grant program and support from a local advocacy nonprofit.
For the first time, the Golden Mile Alliance received funding from Maryland’s Community Legacy Program to allocate to businesses along the U.S. 40 corridor for facade improvements. The Golden Mile Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the residential and economic climate on U.S. 40.
The nonprofit delegated $23,500 in state funding among three businesses that applied for the grant – Petersen’s Carpet and Flooring, Casa Rico and Vista Shops, according to Justin Kiska, the president of Golden Mile Alliance.
“We did want to break up (the grant) and not give out the entire amount” to one business, Kiska said.
The grant matches up to 50 percent of the project’s costs, allowing business owners to update and upgrade their facade with a financial break.
Grant money at work
At Petersen’s Carpet and Flooring, news of the grant came at the perfect time.
After years of use, the stairs leading up to the store’s front door were on its last legs. So, owners Gayle Petersen and Stewart Kennedy decided to give the entire storefront a facelift in the spring of 2015.
Renovations to the facade of the store, located at 1060 W. Patrick St., include a new outdoor stairway, a vestibule with heating, revamped lighting, a fresh coating of cream color paint, new red trimming and a large gutter to protect customers walking in from rain, snow and other elements, Petersen said.
She recalled the experience of one customer who had snow dumped down his back upon entering the store last winter. The snow had fallen from the roof of the building.
“That’s not going to happen anymore,” Petersen said.
The week they were scheduled to begin construction on the store, Petersen and Stewart said they stumbled upon information about the grants and immediately applied for funding.
“I think within the first 24 hours, Petersen’s Carpet and Flooring had already submitted one,” Kiska said, noting many businesses expressed interest in the grant program.
Once the application process was completed, the Golden Mile Alliance allocated $15,000 to Petersen’s Carpet and Flooring for facade improvements, according to Petersen. Stewart estimated the cost of these facade upgrades and improvements will exceed $50,000.
Although the grant only covers a chunk of the total cost, Petersen said she is grateful.
“It helps,” Petersen said. “It helped us to do a little… more than what we were originally going to do.”
Only about a week into construction, the facade of Petersen’s Carpet and Flooring is covered with clear plastic, shielding the ripped up flooring and missing front staircase from the elements.
The store remains open. Parking is available toward the rear of the building and a door on the side currently serves as the main entrance.
Petersen said they expect the facade improvements to be completed by early December to avoid the winter weather and attract customers who may have been deterred by the construction.
“We don’t know if we’re losing people because of the construction,” Stewart said.
Casa Rico, one of the other businesses to receive a portion of the state-funded grant, is nearing completion on its facade improvement construction, according to owner Ajay Prakash.
Renovations to the exterior of the Mexican restaurant located at 1399 W. Patrick St. include a fresh coat of paint, updated lighting, a new sign and other repairs, Prakash said.
“The building needed it,” he said. “It had not been redone in like five years or so. It really needed it and when the grant program came … that gave (us) incentive to do it right away.”
The Golden Mile Alliance allocated Casa Rico $3,500, nearly half of the total project’s cost; Prakash estimated the facade improvements will add up to about $8,000.
“Whatever I can get, I’m thankful for,” he said.
Work on Casa Rico’s exterior began at the end of August and is expected to be completed within the next week or two, weather permitting, according to Prakash.
“To do our best and look our best, is a natural,” Prakash wrote in an email. “The facade improvement grant came as a welcome gift – and will go a long way towards the revival of Route 40 West.”
Vista Shops, located at 1080 W. Patrick St., was the third business to receive state funding from the Golden Mile Alliance. Attempts to reach the shopping center’s leasing agents Friday were unsuccessful.
September 20, 2015 / Octavo Designs / News, Uncategorized
The Frederick Police Department is conducting an online survey and is asking the Frederick Community for their participation. This is an opportunity for you to voice your opinions about crime and police response in your neighborhood and will allow the Police Department to better serve the City of Frederick. The survey link can be found on the City’s homepage at www.cityoffrederick.com.
