Oakland Mills: No Longer In Bloom

I have always had high hopes for Oakland Mills Village Center. Like Long Reach, in order for that goal to be achieved, a lot of redevelopment in Neighborhoods around the Center would have to occur. My dreams for the Village Center have recently taken a hit however, when Food Lion's parent company announced that they would be discontinuing their upscale market chain known as Bloom, since Oakland Mills already has a Food Lion, I had wanted that store to be converted into a Bloom but given that that chain no longer exists I will have to look elsewhere to carve out a niche for Oakland Mills Village Center.

Since I knew the Safeway in Long Reach was going to close, I had always wanted a Whole Foods to replace it, now that the Family Market has opened and has appeared to be busy and is bringing a larger clientele to Long Reach, I would still like to find Whole Foods a Columbia home in a Village Center rather than Downtown. Wilde Lake is out of the question because Whole Foods would kill David's, a long time Columbia staple. Ironically in the 1970s David's was in Oakland Mills before relocating Wilde Lake. That being said, I think it's in the best interest of Oakland Mills for it be the location of Columbia's Whole Foods Market. Sorry Food Lion.

Another great possible Grocer for Oakland Mills is known simply as the Fresh Market. The only other one in the area is located on Greenspring Avenue in Pikesville/Mount Washington. My Mother, an Ellicott City Resident drives all the way up there to shop there surprisingly often and with gas being as expensive as it is, that must mean the Fresh Market is worth it. If one were to open in Oakland Mills there's at least one shopper built in already. Now one thing to remember is that all posts I write fit together like a puzzle. That being said, if you're wondering how the current demographics of Oakland Mills can support a higher end Grocer I refer you to my posts regarding redevelopment in Oakland Mills that would provide more home ownership opportunities and more of an income mix. Also keep in mind that both Whole Foods and the Fresh Market are "destination retail" which means shoppers from all parts of Howard County will be drawn to it not just those within walking distance.

I will be the first to admit that the location of Oakland Mills Village Center is the poorest when it comes to traffic counts, location, and roadside visibility. That makes it all the more crucial to give non Village Residents reason to come there. The Village Center right now has two faces. First, there's the businesses that have survived insurmountable odds after Metro left in 2001 and stayed in business until the opening of Food Lion in 2004 and then there's the Buildings with frontage along Stevens Forest Road. The buildings along Stevens Forest Road are a disgrace and all need to be demolished. They're almost all vacant and once redeveloped would look like the newer buildings on Robert Oliver Place.

Along Stevens Forest Road I envision a restaurant haven with choices not offered in the big box centers along 175. Where the old putt putt course was once was I would like to see a Bonefish Grille, the only one in the area. Next to it, since they're owned by the same parent company would be an Outback Steakhouse where Sam's Mart now sits. There's an Outback in Long Gate but I think the distance is far enough that the two can survive together. Where the old vacant M&T building is would be a new expanded Sam's Mart with BP Gas Pumps. Oakland Mills hasn't had a Gas Station since the Exxon closed in 1999 and I think it's high time that Oakland Mills played host to one once again. Where Bangkok Garden now is, I would tear it down and relocate Second Chance Saloon there I think it would be beneficial for the entire center to have it there and I'll explain why later.

Now, where the old Gas Station used to be has been the subject of many heated debates with the would be developer, the County, and CA. I have blasted the amount of red tape that the County and CA have implemented on that site or anything that warrants redevelopment for that matter because the developers had walked away from the project due to the County and CA hurdling them every step of the way. It was going to be a four story Office Building with ground floor Retail. There is a sign that says "Financing Provided by Sandy Spring Bank" however my camera battery had died so I couldn't snap a picture of it nor could I call the phone number to see just what if anything is currently being built.

What I would like to see built are Senior Apartments with a few ground floor Retail Bays. The Apartments would be 100% subsidized for Seniors with all the amenities of an upscale Senior Community. Most Apartments would be independent living but Assisted Living units would also be provided. Retail use I would like to see a Day Spa, an African Hair Braiding Salon, and a new location for Bangkok Garden. Parking will be in an underground garage to make full use of the site.

Meanwhile back on Robert Oliver Place I have vacated the building that the Second Chance Saloon now occupies. I would have it demolished and more shops would be added past the Liquor Store and towards the Barns. Tenants would include a UPS Store, a Nail Salon, Cold Stone Creamery,and a new location for the Howard County Police Satellite Office to get rid of that awful trailer. Connected to the current Food Lion, there's a vacant space that I would fill with a Starbucks. I know it's a chain that's all over the place but it will draw people into the Village Center and given its visibility on Thunderhill Road, it would be beneficial to all other businesses with less roadside visibility.

Although the Bloom chain has gone out of Business and Oakland Mills as a result can't get an upscale Grocer owned by Food Lion, I think a Market like Whole Foods or the Fresh Market will make Oakland Mills a huge draw Countywide and will spur new businesses to open up in the Center and encourage redevelopment in the surrounding Neighborhoods.

Long Reach: A New Addition to the Family

Well color me purple with embarrassment. My post saying that the addition of the Family Market to Long Reach Village Center was a mistake was just plain wrong and arrogant. That should teach me to open my mouth and judge a Business before it even opens. Well my now that the Family Market has opened and I have paid a few visits to it, I must confess that I'm flip-flopping my opinion on it. That's right I'm the Mitt Romney of Bloggers at least when it comes to the Family Market but allow me to explain.
Ever since I started blogging and perhaps even before I knew that the Safeway at Long Reach was in no way in it for the long haul. Being so certain of this, I began looking for new Grocery Chains to replace Safeway, freshen the smaller tenant roster, renovate the Center, and redevelop the Neighborhood at large. First I wanted Wegmans to come to Long Reach instead of Snowden. Then I wanted Whole Foods when it become clear that the Village Center is far too small to hold a mega Grocer like Wegmans. I was and still am a proponent of large scale redevelopment around the Village Center and renovating the Center itself.
I actually found out that Safeway was closing and that the Family Market was its successor at exactly the same time. Seeing that such a Business wouldn't be enough to bring in long term change to Long Reach that I had championing for so many years I thought that it would fail. One thing I didn't account for was how the Market from Long Reach and beyond would react for that I had to wait until the Family Market Opened, so wait I did.
Now that the Family Market has been open for a few weeks I can begin to evaluate it from a more practical prospective. It appears that the Family Market can do what Safeway couldn't do; bring people back to the Village Center. The Parking Lots is much fuller now that the Family Market has opened and an more diverse array of Shoppers now flank the Center. Long Reach has become a draw to outside Residents not just those who live right by it as evidenced by the full parking lot.
Now that Long Reach has found a niche in the Grocery sector, lets once again revamp the tenant roster. At the very least, lets replace floor plan sign from Safeway to the Family Market and get rid of Domino's and replace it with Long Reach Pizza and Indian Food. Given Long Reach's new found viability, I think the smaller merchants could upgraded.
Delitown is without a doubt the worst business to ever come to a Village Center past or present. What I envision for Long Reach is a concept of more chains, but those that have yet to expand into Howard County to make the Center more "destination Retail" rather than "convenience Retail" that it suffered during the final years of Safeway. So Delitown is gone and replacing it would be a Sonic. We see commercials for Sonic all the time but the closest one is in Randallstown and it does a great Business, I think Long Reach will benefit greatly from a Sonic.

Now hopefully somebody can help me clear up some confusion I have been experiencing. Since July of last year I have seen "coming soon" signs for a Caribbean Restaurant that's slated to replace the Dog House Pub & Grill. I don't know of any other Caribbean Restaurants in the area so I think it would be a perfect fit if marketed properly. What confuses me is that the coming soon sign is gone and there is no sign where the permanent sign should be. I mean it's March now, it shouldn't take that long for a Restaurant to open and if it's taking that long there should be still a coming soon sign. Is this Restaurant a reality or have plans been scrapped? If they have indeed been scrapped I'm thinking Long Reach should try for a Buffalo Wild Wings. The closest one is in Arundel Mills and it's high time that Columbia and Howard County get one too.

The Dollar Store, another foe of mine should be a Walgreens or a Rite Aid. This very space once played host to a CVS but left to build a new store along Route 108 with a drive thru Pharmacy. Now why another Pharmacy? Well, the Family Market doesn't have and also it doesn't have much in the way of basic staples like Milk, Eggs, and Bread. The new Wilde Lake Village Center when completed will have a Pharmacy like this to complement David's which has always been similar to the Family Market. This new Pharmacy in Long Reach would be a equipped with a drive thru lane behind it.
Another type of Business I can't stand is Beauty Supply stores. I find them very low class and in the case of the one in Long Reach, it has branched to provide more low class "services" like check cashing and burner cell phones. Pretty soon this place will employ a Bail Bondsman. In its place should be a Hair Salon to complement Community Cutz. It should cater to the hair of all ethnic group and also provide tanning beds.
Liberty Tax Service also annoys me a great deal. I think a Starbucks (yes a Starbucks) should replace it. Starbucks like it or lump it is a draw anywhere and everywhere. Given this spot's location half facing the parking lot and the other half facing the Courtyard this space is crucial that it draw people into the Courtyard to entice people to patronize Businesses with less visibility. Next on my list of wrong Businesses for Long Reach is the Laundromat. I think Chick' N Friends should expand into that space. Chick' N Friends has proven to be a regional draw with superb write ups from every food critic in the area I think it's time Chick 'N Friends take it to a new level from running as simply a carry out Business to at least the option to sit down at a table and eat in. Perhaps one day this could be an order via wait staff Business.

Like Chick 'N Friends, Richburn Liquors is a diamond in the rough. Its exterior facade deeply masks the fact that it has a very wide selection of Beers and Wines that rivals the upscale the Perfect Pour. It may be time for a massive renovation inside and out and change the name to something along the lines of Richburn Fine Wines and Beers.
Since Blockbuster closed several years ago two Day Spas operated out of this space. Obviously they have both closed. I would love to see Long Reach play host to another Day Spa but I don't see that being very feasible unless there's redevelopment around the Center. For now I'm thinking a Tuesday Morning.
This space was once a First Union Bank, then vacant for several years and then got a SECU (State Employees Credit Union) which in turn opened up on Snowden where the Krispy Kreme was. Since this area is filled with Banks, the only one I can't think of as having a branch nearby is Bank of America, so that's the Bank that should occupy this space.Now that the Family Market has opened and is proving to be a major player in the Grocery scene, it's time for Long Reach to step up its game. That includes a full renovation of the Family Market to get rid of all Safeway decor and a renovation of the whole Village Center to make it once again the crown & jewel of the Village as a whole. Long Reach, you've been thrown a life line so don't screw it up!

King's Contrivance Village Center

Finally I have gotten around to writing a post regarding one of Columbia's most interesting Village Centers; King's Contrivance. Other Village Centers like Wilde Lake, Oakland Mills, and Long Reach have dominated head lines (including my own) as they struggle to stay current and viable in today's market that King's Contrivance until very recently has had a great history whose story just begs to be told.King's Contrivance Village Center opened in 1986 using the courtyard concept that in a few short years will prove outdated in Harper's Choice. Original tenants included Lord Baltimore Cleaners, Anthony Arthur & Associates, Friendly's, McDonalds, Mail Boxes Etc, Micheal's Pub, Trattoria E. Pizeria D'Enrico, King's Contrivance Formal & Bridal Wear and the Bagel Bin. King's Contrivance was and is located far enough south in Columbia that it doesn't compete with other Village Centers.
Valu Food was the Center's first Grocer and Anchor Tenant although whether it anchored the Center is not questionable. Other early tenants include King's Cobbler, Best Hunan, Blimpy's, Keleigh Jewelers, Budding Ideas, King's Contrivance Liquor & Smoke Shop, CVS, Exxon, and Blimpy's. While other Village Centers struggled with vacant store fronts and dated facades King's Contrivance fared rather well through the 1990s.
There was some turnover during the 1990s but it was minimal Budding Ideas left, Keileigh Jewelers took that space so Michael's Pb could open a party room in its original space, the Banks changed names due to being sold chain wide, a State Farm Insurance Agent opened shop next to the CVS, and Lord Baltimore Cleaners changed its name to King's Contrivance Cleaners. The independent restaurants flourished despite there being chains in the Center most notably Trattoria & Michael's Pub.Around Thanksgiving of 1999, the Valu Food Chain announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and as part of the deal it would have to close some stores which included its two Howard County stores. In the same article, it mentioned that Superfresh was slated to replace the King's Contrivance store however, the next day it was announced that Safeway would ultimately replace Valu Food.
Remember when I questioned whether Valu Food was a good anchor or not? Well, during the time between Thanksgiving and New Years '99 when the Grocer space was vacant, the amount of cars in the parking lot and foot traffic in the Center dwindled only slightly. I remember going to dinner at both Trattoria and Michael's Pub during that time and both were bustling. Y2K marked an important day in King's Contrivance history; the Safeway opened after minor alterations to the Valu Food space.
Many Shoppers questioned whether the CVS would survive with Safeway being a much stronger draw to the Center than Valu Food was. Keep in mind this was the time that CVS closed locations in both Harper's Choice and Long Reach and those Centers were also anchored by a Safeway. It seems that CVS has gotten the last laugh in King's Contrivance.
Just like the 1990s, the 2000s provided minimal turnover in King's Contrivance. Keiliegh Jewlers closed up, a Master Barber opened up, Blimpy's became Subway, King's Kabob opened, Mail Boxes Etc changed its name to the UPS store and Friendly's closed never to be occupied again. Behind the scenes the Center's Owners (Rouse Company) had sold the Village Centers to Kimco before selling its entire portfolio to GGP. This proved very valuable to the future of the Village Center.After Friendly's closed, Kimco decided not to actively seek a replacement for the freestanding "pad" site. There was talk of expanding the Safeway and knocking it down as the Grocer Space was the same size it was in 1986 and it was now 2004. Kimco instead opted not to renew Safway's lease in 2005 as it had bigger and better plans for King's Contrivance. Safeway didn't prove to be the draw that others had expected it to be but King's Contrivance was still an asset to any prospective Grocer.
Enter Harris Teeter, an upscale Grocer looking to expand its share of the Market into Howard County, what location did they select? Why, King's Contrivance of course! Harris Teeter did not want to simply occupy the Grocer space like Safeway after Valu Food closed, it wanted a brand new store rebuilt from the ground up and Kimco was happy to oblige. In 2005 King's Contrivance and Safeway parted ways for good with existing Village Center merchants not nearly as nervous as they were when Valu Food realizing that their business wasn't dependent on their Grocer Neighbor. The construction took two and a half years and the Center didn't experience the loss of a single Retail Merchant, impressive? I think so!
In June of 2008 Harris Teeter opened in King's Contrivance to rave reviews and a huge turnout. I know because I was among the first shoppers the day it opened. King's Contrivance for the first time in the Center's history has a Grocer Anchor that's a real draw from the Village as a whole and far beyond. Harris Teeter likes Howard County so much that it opened a new store in Maple Lawn in 2010 and has plans to open one in Turf Valley in 2013. Here we are in 2012 and Harris Teeter is as crowded as it was almost four years ago when it opened. There has been some sad news; Michael's Pub has closed. Almost immediately the Corner Stable, a successful independent Restaurant has opened a second location in King's Contrivance in the old Michael's Pub location.
Now moving forward, I would like to see the Center expanded to some vacant land across Eden Brook Drive. I think the Exxon would be better served "roadside" rather than behind the Village Center like it is now. Also on that piece of land, I think CVS should build a new store that's open 24 hours and boasts a drive thru Pharmacy that modern stores have. Other than that, King's Contrivance appears to be in great shape for years to come.