March 27, 2008...8:19 am
Outlet Center Proposed for Urbana
This news just shocks me, mostly because I live in southern Frederick County and I can’t imagine how this idea can even be considered for the Urbana area. What do you think? From the Gazette:
Tom Natelli, president of Natelli Communities, is proposing to build a 600,000-square-foot outlet center along Interstate 270, south of Fannie Mae, in Urbana.
If approved, the site would have about 100 stores, and would be built by Chelsea Property Group, a division of Simon Property Group Inc., developer of the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets.
Chelsea approached Natelli last fall, but an agreement has yet to be reached. ‘‘We have to finalize negotiations with Chelsea,” he said.
Natelli said the center could cost between $100 million and $125 million to build, based on similar projects.
But before any building can happen, the Frederick Board of County Commissioners has to approve the proposal.
The land is zoned MXD, meaning Natelli can build a mix of offices, residences and retail stores to complement existing development.
He is allowed to build 300,000 square feet of retail on the site, and would need commissioners’ approval to double that to between 550,000 and 600,000 square feet to accommodate Chelsea’s intentions. Including parking, the center would encompass about 65 acres, he said.
36 Comments
March 27, 2008 at 8:29 am
Sounds like another outdoor mall for “Northern Montgomery County,” but we definitely need the stores. Sounds pretty much like a Prime outlet. Word a few years ago was the syndicate that owned Prime was on the verge of bankruptcy. I’d prefer an enclosed mall with food court, but that’s not the way things look headed.
Urbana makes sense. Lots of money, and the drive from Frederick is reasonable.
March 27, 2008 at 8:45 am
“the center would encompass about 65 acres”
Ouch.
March 27, 2008 at 1:06 pm
The idea thrills me! I want better shopping in Frederick County!!!!!!!
March 27, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Well, I say “RIGHT ON!” At least it would make Frederick a destination! I would prefer an enclosed mall myself. they will get my business just the same!!! Hope it happens! Frederick will most likley be a pain in the #ss and chelea will walk! Frederick is notorious for that!!!
March 27, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Let the outlet mall go to Urbana and a new flagship multi story mall go on the north side of Frederick! (I know, I am dreaming)
March 28, 2008 at 7:37 am
That would be great! Please keep dreaming as it might come true!
March 28, 2008 at 7:39 am
I was thinking about this. I think they should deny the plan and go with the original idea of a mixed use area. More office buildings may mean more jobby jobs. More jobby jobs means more of a chance that I don’t have to schlep down 270 anymore.
Or use that 65 acres for a park which I am sure Urbana needs to with the population influx they have received over the years.
March 28, 2008 at 8:14 am
Guy,
The Urbana Regional Park is already planned to go on 105 acres with 355 to the south, Tabler Rd to the West and Ball Rd to the North (and VOU to the East).
March 28, 2008 at 8:24 am
Well, I’m all for more it. I currently either driver to the outlets in Hagerstown or Leesburg, which both take 30 minutes to drive to. And the “style of an old town, with brick fronts porches” sounds nice.
Hopefully the roads will be built so that there are no problems with traffic.
Monica
March 28, 2008 at 8:32 am
Totally unnecessary. There are already outlet malls close by- Leesburg, Hagerstown, and Gettysburg.
Then again, Urbana is already completely unrecognizable to me. Just finish it off and pave the rest of it over. How sad.
March 28, 2008 at 10:57 am
Here’s hoping for the best….Hope they “GO FOR IT”!
March 28, 2008 at 12:16 pm
On second thought, I have two main concerns:
These outdoor outlet malls are cookie-cutter identical. There’s nothing special about them, no distinct identity that says: Welcome to Frederick/Urbana.
Also, I think a 100-store outlet mall completely steals the momentum for an enclosed, signature successor mall to FSK and Frederick Towne malls.
Now, instead of driving all over Frederick to shop, we’ll all be driving down to Urbana.
Urbana? Why is the tale wagging the dog? Have retailers written off Frederick city?
March 28, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Matthew, I have nor problem going to Urbana, but would love to see “Frederick” on it. I beleive they are not going to do a cookie cutter type deal here, but rather a neo traditional design. That way it will fit right into Urbana’s Village setting.
March 28, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I don’t care how nice it looks, or how well it fits into Urbana’s setting– the bottom line is that this mall would create a traffic nightmare for this area! I can’t believe this idea would be approved by the county. Everyone who is excited about the shopping needs to consider the traffic implications. From what I’ve read, the entrances to the mall would be from 80 and 355. I cannot imagine thousands of cars in that area every weekend. Can you? Can you imagine what this would do to 270, which is already a bottleneck? It would be a disaster. I love shopping as much as anyone, but this is an awful idea. Of course Natelli is going to talk about how well it fits into the community– he’s the developer, and he makes the money from this. Will people really care about the “neo-traditional” look of the mall, when they’re stuck on 80 or 355 for 45 minutes on a Saturday afternoon? The road improvements that are occurring in that area wouldn’t be enough to handle the volume of a shopping center like this.
March 28, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Urbana has already been ruined and overrun by rich brats from Moco, so why not left them have their fancy shopping too? God forbid they have to drive 1/2 half from their “home in the country” or whatever Urbana’s new feel-good catch phrase is.
Neo-traditional. WTF is that anyway? Where every house is 3 ” from the next, and identical to the other 1,000?
March 29, 2008 at 6:26 am
Darrell, do you get some sort of kickback from all of these developers and retailers? Or do you just love shopping *that* much?
Is there really nothing else going on in Frederick these days? This isn’t Frederick Maryland Online anymore, it’s Frederick Shopping Online. Would it be possible to talk for a while about something besides where to blow wads of cash on things most of us really don’t need?
March 29, 2008 at 6:54 am
@Fredneck, I don’t know if you would call an outlet center fancy shopping.
March 29, 2008 at 7:18 am
Don’t know about Darrell “Clothes King” Russ (ha-ha), but I’m a very infrequent shopper. Very. Most I get online, and the rest come from 2-3 local stores. And with the ensuing recession and inflation, I’m holding a tight rein on my spending.
Sure, I rail against FSK, because only because it’s third rate and Frederick deserves better. But I also must confess when I hear people complain about the absence of 20 of their most popular chain restaurants and 40 of their most beloved chain stores, it’s apparent that the arrival of these establishments will come at a very dear demographic price.
When I hear about Nordstrom’s coming to Frederick County, first I don’t believe it will happen for 10+ years and, second, I would never shop at Nordstrom’s. Few people in the Maryland exurbs are that fashionable, and I’m one of them.
March 29, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I agree with Dawn. We have three others to choose from that are at least 45 minutes. If you want more higher up type stores out of the three - go to Leesburg. As far as I am concerened I will waste gas driving 45 minutes then sitting on 355 and 80 for 45 minutes to get that one.
March 31, 2008 at 5:14 am
I have a question for all of you. Where would you prefer to see an upscale hair salon, in Urbana or Walkersville? I am thinking of opening a salon that will pamper the clients every whim so where would you like to see it and what kind of pampering would you like?
March 31, 2008 at 6:54 am
HM,
I am not the pampered type, but from a business perspective I would suggest there is probably more $$ in Urbana at the moment.
I try to get my hair cut at least once every 6 months, so if you can do oil changes while the hair’s being cut, I think you have a winner..
March 31, 2008 at 9:20 am
Hi Tam. No I do not get a kick back on anything. I just hate seeing Frederick get passed by. I want to spend my money in my county where is affects my community the most. If I spend in other areas it only helps their tax bracket , not ours. The bottom line is I love Frederick and want her to shine in the state of Maryland.
March 31, 2008 at 9:22 am
Hair Maiden:
Either place would be good, but Urbana may have the strongest market. Hope this helps.
March 31, 2008 at 10:26 am
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I live in Loch Haven so to get to anything up in Frederick City, I would have to drive through the traffic mess this would create. On the other hand, it would benefit Frederick County to have the shopping here rather than in Gettysburg, Hagerstown, or Leesburg.
April 1, 2008 at 8:07 am
K, I do not know where Loch Haven is, but I think the traffic would mostly be off peak and not at rush hour. Yes, it owuld benefit Frederick County as you stated.
April 1, 2008 at 11:53 am
Hair maiden, no question, go with Urbana (as the others have said).
As for the “pampering,” I’ll have to leave that to others to say. (My idea of pampering extends to a good cup of coffee while I’m getting my hair cut.)
April 3, 2008 at 8:10 am
I think it s the perfect spot to house an really nice outlet center like Leesburg. the owuld no doubt get a Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, and Williams Sonoma Outlets!
April 11, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Please please please NO outlet mall. I just escaped from Arundel Mills mall. The mall turned our happy neighborhood into a crime theme park. There was a murder on our street (of someone running away from the mall). There were shell casings in our tot lots. There were break ins of cars and houses. And yes, traffic is terrible, especially on weekends and holidays. NO NO NO outlet mall!!!!!!! Give your money to local businesses.
April 11, 2008 at 6:29 pm
By the way hair maiden, I am new to urbana so I need a new place to go. As for pampering, go with mini massages. Hands, feet, face, neck. And throw in a martini.
April 11, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I live in Urbana, and I am not thrilled with this idea. A small “town center” with the Giant, library, and a few stores, yes — but a big outlet mall — NO! I agree it will cause all sorts of traffic problems on 270, and on a personal level, will cause traffic problems right in our own neighborhood. We moved away from Montgomery county to get away from the traffic and strip malls on every corner. I love shopping as much a the next gal, but I would much rather see FSK revamped than this idea!
April 27, 2008 at 8:49 am
I say no to the outlet mall idea. I would much prefer some unique mom/pop stores and restaurants opening in Urbana. We already have the mall, chain restaurants, outlet malls near by for our shopping pleasure. Why not support the small businesses in Urbana.
I say YES to small businesses and NO to large outlet malls and mall chains.
April 27, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Well, this is what we all have to realize. Many people from Montgomery County most notably are moving up to Frederick because of the economy. Many people are getting their houses foreclosed on and are selling before it gets to that point. The next place they consider moving to is Frederick because it is a bit developed, with many new developments still taking place, and the new houses are wayyyyyy cheaper than they would be in Montgomery County or the closer you are to D.C. These people and families want to see Frederick be more developed, and it’s going to have to because a HUUUGE INFLUX is going to hit the region as more and more people are moving out. They want to retain what Frederick is, open land scenery but places to go shopping, eat, etc. wouldn’t hurt too much, other than the land. But the counties surrounding D.C. have all become almost identical, and its only going to reach out to Frederick and Hagerstown really soon, and this economy is only that much certian it is going to happen. It’ll be a new thing for many current Frederick residents especially since many minorities will soon make this county thier home. Your just going to have to get used to it.
April 28, 2008 at 7:11 am
I agree with the others that this is a BAD idea. Hagerstown and Leesburg are not that far away, and there are stores in Frederick for everything one might need. What a ridiculous idea. I would hope there was some sort of restriction that would keep Natelli from entertaining this idea. Or perhaps, the economy can continue to slump and Chelsea or whoever won’t want to do the project.
April 29, 2008 at 10:58 am
I love outlet shopping but I really don’t like the idea of an outlet mall being this close to my home. We moved to Urbana last year to escape Mont co where I was born and raised. …..and yes I take offense to your comments FREDNECK! We moved away from Mont co because our neighbors were hateful people and I got tired of going to McDs and they don’t understand any english…..we figured we would enjoy living in frederick but never realized how much people hate folks from Mont Co here.
April 29, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I know I don’t hate “folks from Mont Co”. I do dislike Montgomery County. Perhaps from what I can tell…and I’m just a transplant due to marriage from Baltimore…the long term residents just don’t want to see FredCo overrun with strip malls and the like. Personally, I agree with others that an outlet mall isn’t really necessary. This coming from a woman who LOVES to shop! If we could just do something with the currently occupied real estate IE: FSK and Frederick Towne malls that would probably make just about everyone happy. I am far from a tree hugger, but it just seems to make sense to fix what we have and save a tree or two!
April 29, 2008 at 8:07 pm
@Michele no hate from MoCo here. I lived in MoCo for a long time and moved to Frederick about 10 years ago b/c I like it better here. I can’t hate anyone for wanting to move to Frederick. It’s a great place to live.
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