2008 Woodie Awards
Room for all
Staff Editorial
Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Opinion
As The Diamondback's Brady Holt reported yesterday, East Campus developer Foulger-Pratt Argo has recently heard complaints and worries from downtown business owners who think the developer's pending East Campus project will endanger their own small businesses and destroy College Park's unique character.
Our message to those business owners: Suck it up and get a new plan. Development is necessary.
Don't get us wrong. We love the non-chain stores that dot downtown. They are indeed part of College Park's unique character, and their existence gives our college town a distinct air. The memory most alumni have of Ratsie's Pizza bonds us all together. The ability to give visiting friends a real feel for our town by taking them to dives like Bentley's or Santa Fe shouldn't be taken for granted. Vertigo Books and its perpetual discount book rack is a great alternative for progressive professors and poor intellectual college students who shun the University Book Center and the Maryland Book Exchange. We appreciate our small businesses, and we hope they stick around.
But let's get real; our college town is currently more like our college intersection. The faux, rotting wooden cutouts meant to resemble actual buildings above Ratsie's just aren't fooling anyone.
The need for more businesses, more retail, more housing and more entertainment is blatantly obvious, not only to those of us who live here but also to the thousands of out-of-towners who visit the university every year. To many prospective students, fans of visiting sports teams and friends and family of community members, College Park seems like a little more than an unremarkable stop along a rundown highway, of little interest aside from its proximity to the university.
With rent in the city so high, local businesses buying up space and revitalizing the city isn't just unlikely, it's flat out not going to happen.
The East Campus development is exactly what this university needs. And, the location of the project - across Route 1 and along Paint Branch Road - is far enough away from current downtown that both areas should be able to thrive. South Campus residents will surely stick to hitting up the downtown shops. And, because of the legacy they already hold, the downtown bars will keep students in the area as well.
Instead of whining about the development of East Campus, downtown business owners should be discussing how their marketing in the area should change. There is no reason why our beloved college town can't take on a new character, one built on a concept of a New Town and an Old Town. Designating and marketing current downtown as the city's Old Town will give the area an authentic feel and an element of nostalgia that will keep customers in stores, keep current businesses open and bring a new and previously unseen spirit to the area.
The East Campus development shouldn't be viewed by current downtown business owners as the grim reaper lurking around the corner. It should be looked at as a shot in the arm for a city in desperate need of new businesses, new reasons to love its endearing and authentic hub and a new college spirit.
Our message to those business owners: Suck it up and get a new plan. Development is necessary.
Don't get us wrong. We love the non-chain stores that dot downtown. They are indeed part of College Park's unique character, and their existence gives our college town a distinct air. The memory most alumni have of Ratsie's Pizza bonds us all together. The ability to give visiting friends a real feel for our town by taking them to dives like Bentley's or Santa Fe shouldn't be taken for granted. Vertigo Books and its perpetual discount book rack is a great alternative for progressive professors and poor intellectual college students who shun the University Book Center and the Maryland Book Exchange. We appreciate our small businesses, and we hope they stick around.
But let's get real; our college town is currently more like our college intersection. The faux, rotting wooden cutouts meant to resemble actual buildings above Ratsie's just aren't fooling anyone.
The need for more businesses, more retail, more housing and more entertainment is blatantly obvious, not only to those of us who live here but also to the thousands of out-of-towners who visit the university every year. To many prospective students, fans of visiting sports teams and friends and family of community members, College Park seems like a little more than an unremarkable stop along a rundown highway, of little interest aside from its proximity to the university.
With rent in the city so high, local businesses buying up space and revitalizing the city isn't just unlikely, it's flat out not going to happen.
The East Campus development is exactly what this university needs. And, the location of the project - across Route 1 and along Paint Branch Road - is far enough away from current downtown that both areas should be able to thrive. South Campus residents will surely stick to hitting up the downtown shops. And, because of the legacy they already hold, the downtown bars will keep students in the area as well.
Instead of whining about the development of East Campus, downtown business owners should be discussing how their marketing in the area should change. There is no reason why our beloved college town can't take on a new character, one built on a concept of a New Town and an Old Town. Designating and marketing current downtown as the city's Old Town will give the area an authentic feel and an element of nostalgia that will keep customers in stores, keep current businesses open and bring a new and previously unseen spirit to the area.
The East Campus development shouldn't be viewed by current downtown business owners as the grim reaper lurking around the corner. It should be looked at as a shot in the arm for a city in desperate need of new businesses, new reasons to love its endearing and authentic hub and a new college spirit.
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