“The tale of two Burtonsville malls”

Posted: 18 Aug 2010 02:32 AM PDT

A group of business owners at Burtonsville Crossing fear that the opening of a brand-new mall across the street will soon prove that Burtonsville just isn't big enough for both of them.

But county officials plan to meet with business owners to find a way to keep both sides thriving.

Burtonsville Crossing has lost a steady stream of tenants since the new Burtonsville Shopping Center opened across the street, including Chevy Chase Bank, sparking concerns among long-time store owners about the future of their businesses.

Nine storefronts now sit vacant at Burtonsville Crossing, which is at the intersection of routes 29 and 198. Even Giant food store, Burtonsville Crossing's current anchor store, is moving to Burtonsville Town Square. The new Giant was initially slated to open Sept. 3, but a recent update suggests there's no set opening date anymore, according to the department of consumer affairs at Giant Food.

Many in the old mall say that the foot traffic will slow to a crawl without the grocery store, and they fear there is no new anchor coming soon to fill the void. Meanwhile, the new mall will feature everything from the gleaming new grocery store to a human sundial to draw people to its stores.

The Montgomery County Department of Economic Development plans to hold a meeting with Burtonsville Crossing store owners and county executives in the next two or three weeks to discuss the future of the shopping center in light of the new development across the street, said Steve Silverman, director of the Department of Economic Development.

The meeting will give shop owners an opportunity to brief county executives about their concerns, Silverman said.

"We all just want to hear directly from them what their thoughts are," Silverman said. "It's real easy for people to come up with ideas about what could be done, but at the end of the day, this is a private entity, and they need to have something that's fiscally viable for them."

The main issue for Burtonsville Crossing is finding an anchor store to replace the Giant grocery store. Giant used to own Burtonsville Crossing and maintains the right to reject competitors from moving in, even after it leaves. Giant has the right to block another grocery store from leasing the spot.

Anchor suggestions include a satellite branch of Montgomery College or a Post Office, but no decisions have been made.

"The challenge is the Giant has a stranglehold on the space, and it's a very tough retail market," Silverman said. "They either have to find an anchor store or they have to figure out a way to change the zoning that would allow opportunities to occur there that can't occur now."

Burtonsville Crossing is zoned as convenience commercial, which limits what store can potentially replace the Giant. A convenience commercial zone offers resources that appeal to neighborhoods, such as drug stores, food shops and restaurants, said Susan Scala-Demby, zoning manager for the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services. However, convenience commercial zones cannot have department stores, daycares or large auto shops, among other things, she said.

Across the way, Burtonsville Town Square occupies a general commercial zone. A general commercial zone has fewer restrictions on what type of stores can lease space. Department stores, daycares and auto shops are all allowed, she said.

"With general commercial, you can have more intense uses than you can in a convenience [commercial]," Scala-Demby said.

Kelly Ballentine, owner of Pet Barn Inc. in Burtonsville Crossing, said she thinks the fate of the shopping center is out of everyone's hands now.

"One center is going to survive, and the other is going to die, and, unfortunately, a lot of small businesses will go out, too," Ballentine said.

Ballentine pointed to the county as partly responsible for the nine empty storefronts in Burtonsville Crossing.

"It's also the county's problem as well," she said. "They've allowed for this to occur, and Burtonsville can't support two shopping centers. I'm not happy about this, but there's nothing I can really do about it."

Ballentine said she has considered moving her store to Burtonsville Town Square. After six years at Burtonsville Crossing and 16 years in business, Ballentine has no intention of closing her doors, she said.

A few doors down at John Greenan & Sons, a jewelry showroom, William Greenan said he, too, has entertained the idea of moving across the street. He said he spoke with Chris Jones, the developer of Burtonsville Town Square, about the move a year ago.

"I approached him because my future is where the action is," Greenan said.

Due to terms of his current lease, Greenan cannot move until September 2011.

Greenan's business moved into Burtonsville Crossing in September 1994. He said his business has not suffered because it does not depend on walk-ins.

"We do very well here," Greenan said. "We're a destination store and depend on no walk-ins, but we don't want to stay in an ugly shopping center."

Greenan said he would like to see the Post Office take over the space Giant will leave vacant.

Councilwoman Nancy Navarro (D-Dist. 4) said that shop owners sent a letter to council members voicing concerns about zoning requirements and what entity will replace the Giant.

"There was a letter received where the folks of the shopping center wanted to discuss some possible economic development incentives," said Navarro.

Previous meetings with store owners have not led to any concrete plans in terms of specific usage of the space Giant will leave behind, Navarro said.

"They sort of have a short-term plan and a long-term plan," Navarro said. "Eventually, they would love to redevelop it into mixed-use property."

Amy Hibler, regional marketing director for Edens & Avant, which owns Burtonsville Crossing, e-mailed a statement to the Gazette on Tuesday that showed optimism for the mall's future.

"In the company's history of redeveloping centers, we have learned that the loss of an anchor can create opportunity to re-energize a property, which ultimately results in a stronger shopping center,'' she said. "Edens & Avant has been fortunate to work with Montgomery County on determining the best options for the redevelopment of Burtonsville Crossing and will continue to work diligently to bring the right new anchor tenant to meet the needs of the community.''

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