Clarksburg Town Center News

We have to be little patient with the development and stay united to ensure that Newland delivers the urbanist retail center as promised. Below is an excerpt from an article in Washington post that highlights the sluggish approach of Newland communities.

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How hard Newland tried to find retailers is at issue in the court filings. Some letters in the file suggest that a walkable retail core is viable. For example, developer Joseph Alfandre wrote to Presley that he was interested in the project but that the company did not appear to be seriously examining his plans. Alfandre, who is also a candidate for the Planning Board, developed Kentlands, in Gaithersburg, one of Montgomery's first "new urbanist" communities.

"I spent six months working to get a contract with Newland. I got a response letter back that looked to me like they either already had the lots sold, or they were just 'shopping' our application for other purposes," Alfandre said in the letter to Presley.

The file also shows that Newland had trouble making some deadlines to produce maps and drawings of proposed changes in the plans

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The Town center is the heart of Clarksburg, no doubt about it. Newland is playing a game with not only the Town center home owners but also homeowners in other communities in Clarksburg. Our home values are falling, we are paying extra taxes, and driving more to fulfill our everyday needs. Parking is key and customers won't visit shops, restuarants and stores if there are no adequate and convenient parking. Look at Washingtonian Center as an example and did you see the multi-level parking garage they constructed? We must not lose patience and let Newland built an "ordinary" shopping center because in the long run that won't work for us. We want to see Clarksburg as the "new" and the "best" urbanists community in this area. That's why I bought a house here and brought my family to live here. I will rather drive and buy grocery in Neelville Gaint but won't comprise the quality of the retail town center as promised by Newland. I thus request all be more patient and don't let Newland cheat us and deceive us.

Back in Arpil of 2007, Newland publically announced that the Plan of Compliance they agreed to (as a penalty for all the violations they committed) was an "excellent" plan. At that time, they said they had eight developers who already expressed interest in developing the retail center according to that plan.

Fast forward to April of 2008: Newland submitted a set of modifications to the Plan of Compliance that alters key features of the plan, and significantly reduces their cost to build it. Newland says that they could find no developer interested in developing the Plan of Compliance as it was written, and that the modificatons are needed in order to make the Plan "viable."

How did we get from the point where Newland and eight retail developers were excited about the Plan of Compliance in 2007, to the point where Newland says the plan is not viable and can find no developer to work on the project?  I'll tell you how: it's called the Clarksburg Town Center Development District. Back in 2007, Newland assumed that the Clarksburg Town Center Development District was going to be created. This Development District would be a tax on the residents of the Town Center (estimated at approximately $1,500/year for each home, for 30 years) and would reimburse Newland with about $17 million of tax money. During the latter half of 2007, challenges to the creation of the Development District occured and, somewhat unexpectedly, the possibility gradually began to emerge that the Development District may not occur. If this happens, it obviously would put a much greater financial burden on Newland. With this threat to their bottom line, Newland took a reasonable step to control their costs by submitting a scaled-back, more affortable modification to the Plan of Compliance, while simultaneously starting a disingenuous campaign to discredit the original Plan of Compliance--which, you remember, they agreed to only a year earlier.

I moved to the Clarksburg Town Center from Gaithersburg over 5 years ago. Despite all the developer delays, I'm still looking forward to the realization of the concept of the Town Center that sold me on moving here in the first place. Until then, I've almost gotten used to hoofing it 8 miles roundtrip to Germantown to get groceries!

I think montgomery county is also equally responsible for the delays as much as the builder. I don't understand why the county does not have the funding to support the projects in Clarksburg if the city was planned long time back then why the allocation of funds was not considered at that time. If the Clarksburg residents have paid money to build the infrastructure in other areas of the county then now it's time for the county officials and residents to support the development in Clarksburg and stop cutting corners.

I think Clarksburg residents should start raising their voices and attract attention of the mainstream politicians into it. Maybe the Clarksburg residents should express their united disappointment to the county officials and should do a POWERSHOW. LET'S INVITE ONE OF THE PRESENDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO CLARKSBURG. This will bring the city into limelight and might compel county officials to start thinking about Clarksburg more seriously and start streaming money for the infrastructure required by the city. Attached links reflect the county's officials attitude towards the critical infrastructure required by Clarksburg. They are just keeping every plan for the Clarksburg infrastructure development aside by saying that they don't have funding. I think it's SHOWTIME for Clarksburg residents. Who's going to take the initiative? Let's have a Yahoo group created for all the Clarksburg residents so that we can cohesively discuss these problems and have an united awareness of the development. It's time for all the Clarksburg communities residents to unite and show it too.

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/exec/clarksburg/index.asp

 

If the County Council really wanted to take steps, they could and should.  Why are they continuing to provide building permits to the builders or continue to advertise through their salespersons the future Town Center.  Its like bait and switch tactics 

I wonder if the county is going to do anything with the traffic jam created by 355N- W.Old Baltimore Rd bottleneck.  It looks like the least that they can do (w/o widening 355N to 2 lane road) is to add some space - just enough for a vechile to pass those trying to turn left onto W.Old Baltimore.  I live in Toll Brothers community and it really is terrible every day during evening rush hour.  Does anyone know how to approach the issue?

Linda,

The only thing I am aware of is that there is a plan to add an exit to I-270 leading to Newcut Road (which is nearby the intersection you mention) but I don't know what the timetable is. Other than that, the only other relief you might get would be when Observation Drive is extended, parallel to I-270, from Germantown through Clarksburg.

 The Master Plan of Highways map shows this:

http://www.mcparkandplanning.org/transportation/documents/MPH_2005.pdf

Yes Paolo the master plan shows all the future roads in Clarksburg area but the two you mentioned here would years if a decades to built. Just check out the incomplete abandoned Stringtown road and Snowden farm pky and activities for the past 1 year. While the 355N-Old Baltimore 2 lane widening project is a much smaller one but I don't see any progress will be made any time soon.

The completion of Stringtown Road was scheduled to be well underway by now. But Newland appears to be delaying it based on the outcome of the County Council decision on whether to create Development Tax districts in Clarksburg (which would reimburse Newland for building roads and other infrastructure improvements they are obligated to provide). [As an aside, one of the major bills regarding Development District approval in the county (Bill 36-07) is on the Council agenda for Tuesday's council meeting.]

There is definitely a risk that Newland may have more patience than many of the Clarksburg residents. As they continue to delay work, I find that more residents are showing signs of a "let's just get it built attitude," which of course plays right into Newland's hands; they will win in the end if we can't match their patience. In last week's Gazette there was a front page story saying that Newland asked for (and was granted!!!) another 90-day delay with respect to their developoment obligations for the Town Center Retail District. Oddly enough, as Newland continues to ask for and receive delay approvals, and despite the fact that all the delays are in their own interests, they seem to be pretty good at attributing the responsibility of these delays to others (such as the County or CTCAC) and they have been amazingly successful in avoiding any consequences--i.e. they have never (as far as I know) faced any fine or penalty of any kind for the delays they have caused!

I am already paying $800 or so per year as soem kind of development tax after buying a house in Clarksburg village community. Newland playing tactic game and we all are loosing patience but what the county officials are doing? Why Newland being granted extension after extension without any consequence?

We need to put pressure on county so that they abide to their commitment and not ignore Clarksburg in their planning. I had sent an email to county regarding the need of new lighting on 355 and other areas in Clarksburg including the stringtown road but didn't see much progress despite their promise. I think it's time to join forces.

I think we should setup a Clarksburg Residents Union (CRU) and have some represantatives who communicate with the county on a periodic basis regarding the development of Clarksburg and other issues faced by residents.

 

Here is the status of Clarksburg retail center plan.

http://www.mc-mncppc.org/community/plan_areas/I270_corridor/clarksburg/private_projects/clarksburg_town_center.shtm

 

This weekend, I just received a surreal postcard request from Newland Communities. (I assume everyone in Clarksburg Town Center has received the same postcard.)

The postcard asks all residents to urge the County Council and Planning Board to fast track the developement of Clarksbur Town Center, to ask that they do whatever it takes to speed things up. What is bizarre about this request is that, in September, Newland asked for (and was again granted!!!) another three month development delay. Why is Newland asking the County to hurry up while they are dragging their feet--my assumption is that whatever this so called "fastest track to development" that Newland has currently placed on the table is, it is likely NOT in the best interest of the residents of the Clarksburg Town Center.

Please come and raise your Clarksburg development concerns with county executive. See the attached flyer. Please distribute it to as many Clarksburg residents as possible. 

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/exec/clarksburg/pdfs/clarksburg.pdf

Thanks

 

 

Town center retail work should start in 2009. It has been delayed for so long, it's time for a change an hope to prevail.

Newland "hopes" to start utility work in 2010.  We'll see if that actually happens.  After that, it could be years before they build.  Who knows?  Any special assessment residents of CV, AH or CTC are paying now is NOT the development district tax, that will be an additional $1-2,000 on top of what you already pay, your taxes, your sewer charge, and the special area tax.  Don't forget, Clarksburg homes also pay the highest "impact tax" in the county, too, $20K for a single family, to pay for "roads and schools" and it's built into the price of the homes when they're sold in the first place. 

 

The county has let clarksburg down on many levels and continues to use it as a dumping ground.  Unfortunately, many residents believe the developer pablum of "just move it forward" will make it better.  It's a shame and so untrue.

Is it really going to be years before we get a grocery store and some restaurants in Clarksburg??  We're already the laughing stock of just about everyone I know in this area.  I'm extremely disappointed. 

Karen,

As a result of the County Councl meetings late last year, about the only thing Newland has committed to is to provide (yet another) plan sometime in the nexe few months.  The County did provide a lot of good feedback to Newland's last update to the plan. But the fact is that, apart from reqiuring Newland to report back with another replan, the County has not really placed any sort of schedule restrictions on the project. Even if the County blesses Newland's next submitssion when it arrives, my understanding is that ground for the retail area won't be broken for about a year after that, and that it is unlikely for construction of the grocery store to take much less than a year. So the upshot is that the grocery store is at least a year and a half (more likely 2 to 3 years) away.

Clarksburg is a great place to live.  The schools are incredible.  The local parks are fantastic.  Local families, especially have found a vast network in place for making friends and countless activities.  The Clarksburg Farmers Market started last year and it will be bigger this year, with artisans, weekly live music, more vendors and a cafe set up for coffee and pastry.  Green Earth Goods sells organic produce year round.  Gateway Cafe sells awesome sandwiches, soup and breakfast.  BounceU is opening in March, which will be a great place for kids to have indoor fun.  Elf School Too has an excellent reputation for preschool students.  Clarksburg Baseball is well supported with hundereds of local children learning the great American sports of baseball and softball.  The Clarksburg 5K is in its second year, with a kids fun run to boot.  The Life is good Pumpkin Festival is a great, wholesome family event that draws volunteers and visitors from miles around.  The Town Center is going to be incredible.  If all goes well there might be a Harris Teeter at the Town Center.  Soon we will have the addition of a county park at the corner of Clarksburg Road and 355 and Piedmont Woods Park along Snowden Farm Parkway, including a doggy park.  There is a chance we will even get the Carousel in Clarksburg where it ritefully belongs.  I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Montgomery County. 

Clarksburg IS a great place to live. The sense of community is very strong, and the Town Center is a special place that continues to have the potential to become a truly intimate developoment with lots of public green space, trails and paths, and a retail center as diverse, fun, unique, and walkable as the Kentlands. The most amazing thing is that, despite all the delays and broken agreements on the part of the developer and an unfortunate lack of oversight on the part of the county, this incredible community has somehow managed to remain optimistic and hopeful, and to keep focused on the idyllic vision that was promised in the Town Center brochures way back in 2001. We're not there yet, and it will take the continued committment of everyone to make sure that the developer doesn't once again renege on their obligations. But, slowly, we're getting closer!