The much anticipated Giant grocery store opened in Urbana yesterday. I haven’t been yet but my daughter went yesterday and said it was pretty crowded. She also said that she knew quite a few people that work there so I’m glad that they hired quite a few local Urbana High School students to work there.
Hundreds of shoppers checked out the Urbana Super Giant during its grand opening Friday morning.
The Giant, at 3530 Sugarloaf Parkway, is the first large grocery store to come to the neighborhood, and residents have been longing for it.
For some, the wait has been years. For others, decades. The 56,657-square-foot store will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
If the FNP keeps that link up for awhile you’ll be able to read some of the comments to the article from some local Frederick Countians. Most of the comments are pretty negative towards Urbana and the perceived notion that all who live here are spoiled Montgomery County transplants.
I can understand why most people would think that Urbana consists of only the Villages of Urbana and the Urbana Highlands. That is not true. There are some very long established neighborhoods in the Urbana/Monrovia/Ijamsville area as well as farm families that have been here for generations. Probably everyone in the southern part of Frederick County will visit this store at some point, but I’d just like to dispel the rumor that everyone in Urbana drives a Hummer and whines about the lack of amenities. And I should add that not everyone in those two developments is a transplanted whiner either.
Personally it bothers me quite a bit to see the farmland turned to housing development but it’s a process that seems to be a done deal. But please don’t disparage the entire area. There’s more to Urbana than just those two developments. Take a drive around southern Frederick County and you can see for yourself!
As an aside, since I do live in the rural part of southern Frederick County, I’d like to get the word out that it is now skunk mating season in our area. So watch out for skunks on the road. They’ve got a lot on their minds right now, and cars ain’t one of them!
7 responses so far ↓
Sarah // March 4, 2007 at 1:21 pm
While I am sure that there are many lovely people in Urbana, the landscape certainly has been destroyed to provide the many architecturally uninspiring, at best, homes. Many of the comments are venomous on the FNP site and I wish that we could be more productive in discussing growth in Frederick County, because it is a HUGE issue.
Plus, what other people do IS my business. None of us are unaffected by what others in our community do. For example, I am sensitive to the environment so I want to drive as little as possible. Well, the way the roads are constructed biking is a death wish. Even riding a scooter (125 mpg) is treacherous. It is treacherous because people choose to drive large vehicles. If others chose to bike then biking would be safer. Same goes for homes. The developments around Frederick (all over the US really) are eyesores. They have no respect for the regional landscape and no regard for design. I recently left one for an 1100 square foot bungalow. Do we all need 5000 sq feet for our 1.5 children and a dog? Come on.
TheShortFatKid // March 4, 2007 at 1:57 pm
The comments are kind of funny …
The funny thing is that having amenities where you live helps reduce traffic. If you have a grocery store in you neighborhood then you don’t have to drive 10-15 miles to go get food for your family. Therefore you are not clogging up the roads.
I cant fault people from MoCo or any other place for moving to Frederick. I moved to Frederick, Maryland with my family in 1980 (I was 7 years old). Since then I have lived all over Maryland - Montgomery County, Allegany County, and the Eastern Shore. When it came time to settle down my wife and I decided to move to Frederick to live (this was about 9 years ago). We love it here and we only were seeking what everyone else wants. A great place to start a family, live, and be happy.
Is growth an issue in Frederick, yup - huge issue. Has it been handled poorly, yup - not only here but probably all over. Does engaging in classism solve it? Nope.
Stop bitching about people moving here from MoCo or any other place and do something about the things that bother you. Unless your plan is to change the way people view Frederick - a nice welcoming place where people are nice - if that is your anti-growth strategy then it’s working.
P.S. Sarah this comment wasn’t aimed at you but at the commenters on the FNP site
Jim Eaton // March 5, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Wow–pretty polarized responses in the FNP. Not to sound too naive but, since we’ve just lived here a few years, why such a big rift between MoCo and FredCo? Aren’t they both part of the DC area? Insights, please.
Liz // March 5, 2007 at 5:35 pm
I think it’s more a rift between long time Frederick County residents and newer, transplanted (mostly from Montgomery County) residents.
Even when we moved to Frederick in January of 1989, most of the county was farmland and affordable housing. Many long term residents can no longer afford to live here because housing costs have risen so much they can’t pay their taxes and household expenses anymore.
Urbana seems to get the most grief because it’s located just over the county line and there have been quite a few articles in the paper in the past year about how all the new residents want a grocery store, a post office, more restaurants, a blockbuster etc…and so it makes them look like they want all the same things they moved away from.
I’m glad that the FNP left that article up. All the negativity in the comments of that article are what prompted me to write that post.
All just my opinion, of course.
Cityside // March 6, 2007 at 10:43 am
My particular favorite is how all the folks complaining about people moving up from MoCo say that, if it gets worse, they’ll have to up and move to Hagerstown, Gettysburg, etc.
I wonder, do people in Hagerstown, Gettysburg, etc. bitch about people from Frederick County moving in and ruining everything?
Anonymous // March 11, 2007 at 11:33 am
good point cityside…
jason // October 1, 2007 at 3:10 pm
hey where can i find a site to apply for Giant in Urbana
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