Wawa, good riddance
Reza Farhoodi
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Opinion
When I heard the news Monday of Wawa's impending demise, I heard the shock reverberating throughout the campus as students lamented the loss of a late-night staple and an endearing symbol of College Park's main shopping center. So you could imagine the shock on my friends' faces when I greeted the story with a smile and guarded optimism. Wawa embodied everything wrong with the image and reality of College Park's wretched downtown.
From the reports of frequent drunken vandalism on weekends to the hoagies you could order at 3 a.m. when starved for food, Wawa has meant something to many students. But what it has meant to me the most is the trashiness it conveys to all who visit the university. The blame doesn't solely rest at Wawa's feet, however. A glutton of sandwich shops, a smattering of bars and generally hazardous conditions for pedestrians make up our college town as it is presently. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, downtown College Park is broken.
The College Park Shopping Center is a decrepit, outmoded strip mall that hearkens back to an era where the country's obsession with the automobile encouraged vast expanses of asphalt for parking that came at the expense of the walkability of the neighborhood, which leads to close calls between cars and errant pedestrians in the street and parking lot.
While students carp about the undesirable conditions and lack of retail and dining options in downtown College Park, few care enough to take the time to be more involved in the process, such as in the ongoing East Campus development meetings that are taking place. Perhaps students don't believe being an activist in local issues carries as much weight as organizing endless protests to end the war in Iraq and to save the polar bears. And that's a shame, because while those problems are very significant, they don't affect the day-to-day life of the average university student as much as the safety and upkeep of our college town does.
JBG Rosenfeld Retail, which owns the College Park Shopping Center grounds that stretches from Applebee's to Wawa, should follow Foulger-Pratt/Argo Investment Company's lead and see a ripe opportunity in the city for new commercial/mixed-use opportunities downtown. What better way to start than to redevelop their stretch of property from the ground up? Demolish the existing structure and push the storefronts out to the sidewalks to foster a more intimate, urban environment. Allow for the upper floors of the new development to be devoted to office space or residential properties to increase the amount of space for rent in College Park. Erect a modest parking structure and put it behind the new shopping center, shielding it from view on the street. Attract higher-quality tenants, with a mix of chains and local fare that can give the university something to be proud about in its fledgling college town.
From the reports of frequent drunken vandalism on weekends to the hoagies you could order at 3 a.m. when starved for food, Wawa has meant something to many students. But what it has meant to me the most is the trashiness it conveys to all who visit the university. The blame doesn't solely rest at Wawa's feet, however. A glutton of sandwich shops, a smattering of bars and generally hazardous conditions for pedestrians make up our college town as it is presently. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, downtown College Park is broken.
The College Park Shopping Center is a decrepit, outmoded strip mall that hearkens back to an era where the country's obsession with the automobile encouraged vast expanses of asphalt for parking that came at the expense of the walkability of the neighborhood, which leads to close calls between cars and errant pedestrians in the street and parking lot.
While students carp about the undesirable conditions and lack of retail and dining options in downtown College Park, few care enough to take the time to be more involved in the process, such as in the ongoing East Campus development meetings that are taking place. Perhaps students don't believe being an activist in local issues carries as much weight as organizing endless protests to end the war in Iraq and to save the polar bears. And that's a shame, because while those problems are very significant, they don't affect the day-to-day life of the average university student as much as the safety and upkeep of our college town does.
JBG Rosenfeld Retail, which owns the College Park Shopping Center grounds that stretches from Applebee's to Wawa, should follow Foulger-Pratt/Argo Investment Company's lead and see a ripe opportunity in the city for new commercial/mixed-use opportunities downtown. What better way to start than to redevelop their stretch of property from the ground up? Demolish the existing structure and push the storefronts out to the sidewalks to foster a more intimate, urban environment. Allow for the upper floors of the new development to be devoted to office space or residential properties to increase the amount of space for rent in College Park. Erect a modest parking structure and put it behind the new shopping center, shielding it from view on the street. Attract higher-quality tenants, with a mix of chains and local fare that can give the university something to be proud about in its fledgling college town.
Submit a letter to the editor or post a comment below.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 14
sro
posted 9/26/07 @ 10:25 AM EST
I agree with your assessment of "downtown." Unfortunately for the landlords there, the University will reap the retail bounty with East Campus (not to mention what the Cafritzes are cooking up at the city's west portal. (Continued…)
Tom Moore
posted 9/26/07 @ 11:28 AM EST
Mr. Farhoodi:
I unfortunately think your ill-conceived view of WaWa comes from having little idea of the tradition behind it. Those of us who attended Maryland when Terrapin Station was still open, or when Cornerstone was called "The Vous" know better. (Continued…)
Rawls
posted 9/26/07 @ 11:47 AM EST
If Mr. Farhoodi has found a 'money tree' - please do share with the rest of us. Your plans for College Park are at best lofty and unrealistic. Sure all of us want to change College Park and surely we are in a period of transition with the establishment of East Campus and expanded housing construction on Knox Rd. (Continued…)
Andy
posted 9/26/07 @ 12:27 PM EST
Like many students, I am not a fan of College Park. I am not sure why the Thirsty Turtle hasn't opened for the last two years, why we need five new sandwich places opening every year or if we are expected to do grocery shopping at the CVS. (Continued…)
Josh
posted 9/26/07 @ 10:08 PM EST
I unfortunately know Mr. Farhoodi. He is nothing more than a money grubbing fool who would like nothing better than to bathe in a see of $100 bills.
Reza calls people who like wawa "trash" and "garbage. (Continued…)
David
posted 10/05/07 @ 2:37 PM EST
I've heard both sides of this argument. And listened to a lot of people with a lot of good opinionis. That Wawa was a disgace for carious reasons. That it was bad business for the property owner and city. (Continued…)
JAMES
posted 10/05/07 @ 10:35 PM EST
College Park is the only college town that you have to leave campus to get decent food. I have to go the shoppers near the highway and go home and cook food. (Continued…)
Sean
posted 12/14/07 @ 3:44 PM EST
Am I reading this right? Sounds to me like this article places at least *some* of the blame on Wawa. What a joke! I'm not a student, but a CP resident of the past 3 years and live only a couple blocks from "downtown" College Park. (Continued…)
John
posted 12/14/07 @ 11:55 PM EST
I graduated last year, I was a Maryland student, and I hate to say this, but...
Sean...you could not have been more spot on. I like to think there are two kinds of students, those who work hard and drink responsibly, and the people you mention, who in my mind are disgusting pigs. (Continued…)
umdterp
posted 12/15/07 @ 2:17 PM EST
Sean,
While I agree with many of your points, you are making an assumption and stereotype on the rest of the student population that DON'T do these things. (Continued…)
Post a Comment