Friday, January 25, 2013
Local grocery store manager and an economics professor weigh in on topic.
As reported by Germantown Patch on Tuesday, a Maryland lawmaker is introducing legislation seeking to raise the state's minimum wage from its current rate of $7.25 per hour to $10.00 per hour by 2015. When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, was passed by Congress, a number of business leaders, including Papa John's CEO John Schnatter expressed concerns over the negative financial effect the law would have on business. Curt Grimm, professor at Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland College Park, said that he expects there to be a "big outcry from the business community—they have to protect their own interests" but is not sure it will rise to the level of resistance to Obamacare. …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Developers and College Park officials hope the city can be added to pending legislation that could help attract an up-scale grocery store to the College Park Shopping Center.
Developers and officials want College Park included in a bill that would allow future grocery stores to sell beer and wine, but legislators who initiated the bill aren’t willing to amend it. The bill requests a beer and wine license for Bowie, said Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Dist. 23), one of the sponsors for the bill. He said the goal is to attract a Trader Joe’s or Harris Teeter to fill a long-time vacancy at Bowie Plaza. Developers who lease the College Park Shopping Center hoped College Park could be added to the bill to also attract a specialty grocery store. “From a developer's standpoint, it improves the odds of being able to secure a grocery store like Harris Teeter, who depends on beer and wine for a significant part of their …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
College Park voted 'no' on the application, which would pave the way for a Whole Foods Market south of the city.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich is still unsure whether she'll support or oppose the project.
City officials and Cafritz developers said they are closer to a consensus on the proposed Whole Foods Market project in Riverdale Park. Over recent weeks, elected officials and lawyers from College Park, Riverdale Park and University Park have met several times with the Cafritz team to discuss the unsettled issues surrounding the proposed mixed-use development. At a College Park mayor and council worksession Tuesday evening, developers presented two revised designs for the property, a result of the conditions put forth by the three municipalities. But with some major issues still unsettled, like a timeline for the construction of a CSX railway crossing on the east side of the development, Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3) isn’t …
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
In the past week, the developers have sent new mailers, and its public relations firm made outreach calls to local residents.
As the Prince George's County Planning Board hearing draws near, Cafritz developers are employing new tactics to rally community support for the re-zoning of the property, so that they can build a Whole Foods Market just south of College Park. Some Calvert Hills residents received calls last week from individuals claiming to be a part of a citizens’ group supporting the re-zoning of the property, according to College Park Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3). The northern boundary of the property runs along the neighborhood. The developers’ attorney Chip Reed confirmed the calls actually came from a public relations firm employed by the development team. He said he was not aware the calls were being made until Stullich inquired about …
Monday, December 12, 2011
He says the conversation about vehicular access from Calvert Hills has been rooted in faith, not based in fact.
Cafritz developers said as early as this summer in a letter to the community, that they would avoid a northern vehicular access point to the proposed Whole Foods Market project to avoid cut-through traffic in Calvert Hills. Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich, whose District 3 includes Calvert Hills, has said at meetings it’s important to her that a northern vehicular access point does not happen. But the county’s planning staff says this additional connector at Rhode Island Avenue needs to be re-examined, and a writer for a College Park development-themed blog agrees. Currently, the plan includes connectors on U.S. Route 1, and developers say they’re examining additional passageways on the east side over the CSX tracks and on the south. Chris…
Friday, December 9, 2011
Councils wonder if a missed deadline for a county planning staff report is grounds for a continuance.
When the College Park City Council decided to seek a continuance for the Cafritz county rezoning hearing on Tuesday, it was a discussion that actually started with the University Park Town Council a day before. Both municipalities wondered if a missed deadline by the county's planning staff was grounds to request a continuance for a Prince George's County Planning Board hearing to rezone the Cafritz property, a 38.5-acre parcel south of College Park from residential (R-55) to Mixed-Use Town Center. This would ease the way for the construction of more than 900 units of housing, a 35,000-sqft. Whole Foods Market, a 120-room hotel, and additional office and retail space. The Prince George's County Planning Board is set to consider …
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Cafritz developers say they could have more details on CSX crossing proposal on Wednesday.
College Park City Council will request that the Prince George's County Planning Board postpone its decision on the Cafritz property re-zoning to ensure time for the involved municipalities to get on the same page, and to smooth out areas of concern with the developers. “Chief among [concerns] is the CSX crossing, although that’s not the only issue," Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3) said at Tuesday’s Mayor and Council worksession. The proposed crossing over the railway on the east side of the property is expected to alleviate some of the traffic on U.S. Route 1 created by the development, which will include a Whole Foods Market just south of College Park. Though traffic is not a part of the county’s decision on re-zoning, the …
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
CSX crossing condition could be made more complex with several "triggers."
Update 10:45 a.m. Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3) said in an e-mail Tuesday morning she is going to ask that the College Park Council postpone its vote until next week, for either Monday or Tuesday. The Mayor and Council will still discuss the re-zoning during a work session Tuesday night, as planned, she wrote. Update, 8:26 a.m. Riverdale Park decided Monday night to delay it's decision about the Cafritz re-zoning by a week. Read Riverdale Park-University Park Patch for more. Original story College Park Council will revisit the decision Tuesday of whether or not to support a re-zoning application for the Cafritz development, so that a plot of land just south of the city can include a Whole Foods Market. The 37-acre area is …
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Mini-bites of news to start your morning.
1. It's time to quit window shopping and make that purchase you've been resisting. This week marks a tax vacation all across the state. The 6 percent sales tax is dropped from clothing and shoes under $100 through Saturday. Check Patch Places and search "clothing" for a list of city stores to take advantage of this break. 2. AAA Mid-Atlantic announced that at a Wednesday press event, it will challenge the accuracy and the legality of the placement of a speed camera on Metzerott Road. 3. Evident on Facebook and Twitter, there's a rumor that the Barking Dog opened Monday night. That is not true. Patch got in touch with a representative from the new College Park bar, and opening night will be next week, though an actual day has not been …
Angela Fiori
12:58 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
Professor Grimm would like to see electronic order takers rather than live human beings taking orders. In other words, put more people out of work so that we can pay the lucky ones who keep their jobs an extra couple dollars an hour. Nice. more ›