[RP TownTalk] Town Center of Dreams

Wed Sep 12 12:08:52 UTC 2007

All

Alan has made some good points below, but the impression I get is that the MUTC guideline are the driver in the decision process and it's about what we want as a Town (correct me if I'm wrong on this Alan).  I want a million dollars, but I'm not going to get it by playing the lottery.  I'm going to get it slowly step by step, by saving, investing, and making smart financial decisions, which incrementally will result in me reaching my goal.  The same is true for the Town Center, Jey's Auto, or any other related economic development effort.  It's a slow incremental process, which is not based on the MUTC guidelines, rather some type of economic development plan, which to my knowledge doesn't exist.  The MUTC guidlines are simply a framework for development and have nothing to do with the plan for the development.  Since we don't have a plan, how can we as a Town revitalize anything.  

Some of the recent emails have made reference to what "we" want.  Well what is it that "we" want.  I want the buildings in the Town Center to be leased.  Consider Old Town Pets as a typical tenant.  There are not going to be any pawn shops, porno video stores, laudromats, etc. because these uses are not allowed in the Town Center.  Jemal signed convenants to this effect and I believe there are some other related restrictions for little guys like me.  I would appreciate it if those participating in this forum would stop inferring this can happen because it can't.  In past emails, I've seen Starbucks, Trader Joes, etc. proposed as tenants.  I consider attracting these types of tenants as realistic as winning the lottery.  Getting tenants is not like going to the grocery store and buying coffee.  You have to attract them with an attractive space, reasonable rents, and most importantly a place where they can make money.  We might be able to address the attractive space, but rents (Jemal) are not reasonable, and they aren't going to make any money because the surrounding spaces are vacant.  Why would anyone want to come here.  Who in their right mind is going to pay $30/sq ft ($4000/month for 1600 sq ft of space) in a largely vacant Town Center with several derelict properties (former Riverdale Book Shop, Dorsey Plumbing) on the South side.  I keep reading we want to "hold out for what we want".  I guess we want nothing because nothing is what we have.  It's not about what we want, but about what we need and that's to get tenants in the Town Center.  They may not be exactly want we want, but them being there will attract the types of tenants we want.

Any business who wants to lease space in the Town Center is taking on a significant amount of risk.  I hope I don't need to explain why.  This risk is mitigated by low rents and low rents make sense given the vacant spaces in the Town Center and derelict properties nearby.  Before we are going to see any movement over there, Jemal is going to have to lower his rents or sell the property to someone who will.  It's that simple.  We also need a plan to attack this problem.  We don't have one and nothing is going to happen until we get one and follow it.  The last thing we need to do is get real.  This is not Adams Morgan or Bethesda.  This is a town stuggling to revitalize itself so we need to make concessions.  There are a lot of economic negatives (vacant and/or derelict properties) which need to be corrected before we can even begin to see progress.  Let's get off of our white horses, roll up our sleeves, and get started.

Bruce

-----Original Message-----
>From: "Alan K. Thompson" <twacks at gmail.com>
>Sent: Sep 11, 2007 10:45 PM
>To: marc stauffer <marc.stauffer at verizon.net>
>Cc: towntalk at riverdale-park.org
>Subject: Re: [RP TownTalk] Town Center of Dreams
>
>Dear Marc,
>
>You've presented an interesting "modest" proposal.  Back when the Town
>briefly owned much of town center, there was a _little_ bit of talk
>about having the Town oversee rehab and development (including getting
>businesses in).  The town government at that time thought that an
>experienced developer would do a better job (and I can't fault them
>for that -- Jemal sounded really good, and it seemed that development
>would happen quickly and be high quality). I still hope that we will
>get good quality development there, but my current hopes are pinned on
>the economic opportunity of EYA and MSquare making it worth the while
>of businesses to pay the rent; that won't be happening for at least a
>few years.
>
>I'd also like to present a different perspective on a few things you
>said about the MUTC zoning (excerpted from your letter are below).  I
>worked extensively on the writing of the MUTC guidelines, and
>economics *were* considered -- mainly through input from local
>business owners about what they needed to be able to meet the
>architectural guidelines.  We (the business owners were involved in
>the process too) did our best to meet those needs in the guidelines.
>I don't think we could have done better without a lot more resources
>(or a crystal ball).
>
>Secondly, the Town does have a lot of influence and ability to get the
>sort of developments it wants - it just has to stand firm and insist
>on them.  This will mean saying no to developments that don't meet the
>zoning guidelines, and the needs of the town _beyond_ the zoning
>guidelines (when the special permit process starts, the zoning
>guidelines are only one thing the council should consider).
>Hyattsville said no to a lot of proposals before EYA came through, we
>need to encourage and support our council in doing the same if we want
>to get the sort of development we want.
>
>Warm regards,
>
>Alan
>
>On 9/11/07, marc stauffer <marc.stauffer at verizon.net> wrote:
>> We have heard repeatedly from officials that the
>> MUTC plan did not consider economics when formalizing the MUTC plan. If we,
>> the Town of Riverdale Park, don't take control over the land and thus its
>> use, we will not have the ability to mold the Town (not just Town Center,
>> but the economic and social vitality of all of Town) in the fashion that we
>> desire.  As others have mentioned, the tools that we currently have (zoning,
>> mostly) are not substantial enough to gain from the current landowners the
>> kind of revitalization we are desiring.  The MUTC plan is a great plan and
>> diagram for the future built environment, but it doesn't have the legal
>> teeth to demand that only MUTC- specified projects are created.  For
>> instance, the Rt. 1 / 410 corner site is an example of the MUTC plan's
>> diminished power over the outcome of the process.  Further, in Town Center
>> itself we, the Town, don't have sufficient power to demand the changes we
>> are seeking.
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