Businesses go and businesses come in Greenbelt and Berwyn Heights as shopping center owners seek to stave off the effects of the recession by filling store vacancies and maintain a healthy retail presence in the two municipalities.
Greenbelt’s Greenway Center will see some new businesses as well as expansion of some existing businesses within the next two months. In March, Dollar Tree will occupy the former 10,000 square foot Pier 1 space in Greenway Center, said Linda Dreyer, a marketing manager at Combined Properties, the management and leasing company of the joint businesses located in Greenway Center. Pier 1 closed in early 2009.
For Eyes Optical, a center fixture since the early 1990s, is moving to a larger space in the center.
Beltway Plaza will also increase its retail presence with the addition of Shoppers World, a discount department store, which will have a soft opening on Feb. 15 and a grand opening on March 1. Shoppers World will occupy 70,000 square foot of the former Value City Department Store, which closed in November 2008 and had a total of 110,000 square foot.
I am excited to see what type of shops and business will be attracted to these two areas. There is a great deal of business activity and development going on in Hyattsville, University Park and College Park as well as these two areas. My concern is what type of permanent jobs will be created and will the development be kind to the environment or will there be some sort of concrete jungle created that will not take into account the needs of the our residents. There is question that new businesses are needed and that environment friendly development is needed as soon as possible. My fear is that we will not develop our areas to make them pedestrian and environmentally friendly in a manner that improves our tax base and promotes a positive livability factor.
Comment by tcannady - February 1, 2010 @ 4:39 pm