Modern Day Busing

So somebody wrote an article claiming that Howard County's Schools are economically segregated and poverty only lies within older Columbia Schools and those along the Route 1 Corridor. So now the County is trying to redistrict its way out of this pickle they've just now found themselves in. Usually redistricting is something to keep to a minimum if necessary so that Students can remain the same School without being disrupted. The majority of the time it is done when a new or replacement building opens or an existing building has added capacity. Even then, you should still be kept at the school nearest your home.

So now that this article has been written, the School System is jumping through hoops to rectify a "problem" that Free And Reduced Meal (FARM), an indicator of poverty, are concentrated only in some schools while other schools have very few. There's a reason for that and it has nothing to do with school districts. As I had stated, many of these Schools are located in Columbia. Columbia was meant to be a mixed income Community and it has kept its promise as being one. Most other parts of the County are anything but. Most subdivisions are newer than Columbia and are economically segregated. So of course the mixed income Community will have more FARM Students than the "NIMBY" Communities outside Columbia. This was no accident.

So what does redistricting Pheasant Ridge to Harpers Choice MS and Clary's Forest to Clarksville MS do? Other than blatant attempt to balance out the percentage of FARM students, all it does is makes both sets of Students now travel farther to their districted School, a practice known as "busing." This was done when Schools that were all white due to the Neighborhoods they served, bused in black students from other Neighborhoods to promote diversity. Busing is basically admitting that some schools in your district are better than others. The County seems to be doing this now with its current redistricting plan.

County Schools did not get this way overnight. As I had mentioned before, Columbia is a mixed income community and always has been. As Communities beyond Columbia began being developed, the mixed income component of Columbia was lost on them. Most of what was built were Single Family Homes that very few could afford. When these communities were being built, so too were new Schools to house Students living there. At what point did Schools like Pointers Run, Fulton, Ilchester, and Rockburn try to include Columbia Students in their districts? They didn't. Also, at what point did the County say it was building too many new Schools and it would instead add on to existing Columbia Schools and house Residents from those glitzy new subdivisions there? They didn't. Everybody knew what they were doing and thus a funding gap was created between brand new Schools and existing Columbia Schools.

With this funding gap came the poverty segregation that this article is talking about. I experienced first hand growing up in '90s Columbia when the wealthier Students in my classes jumped ship and moved to these newer Communities leaving Schools like mine with a much higher FARM rate. This also deterred new wealthy Howard County Families from moving into wealthier parts of Columbia as well and overtime a higher and higher percentage of Columbia Students were FARM.

Here we are today trying to redistrict this problem away. First of all, by acknowledging this article, the County's admitting that the richer Schools provide better education and that there's a problem to begin with. Second of all, redistricting does nothing to de-concentrate poverty itself, it just sends it to different schools. Third of all, why are we redistricting now? No new Schools are slated to open until the 2022-2023 School Year which is the Talbott Springs replacement School. HS#13 and a newly renovated Hammond HS with a 250 seat addition will both open the following year and the year after that is ES#43. Those years should be the next time redistricting is done. When said redistricting is done, the percentage of FARM kids may be addressed or it may not be. What will happen is balanced capacity/enrollment ratios across the board so Schools aren't crowded and Students attend the School nearest their home.

So what have we learned here? We've learned that other than Columbia, Howard County doesn't encourage poverty and has done nothing to evenly distribute FARM students except for this feeble attempt at modern day busing. We've also learned that modern day busing doesn't de-concentrate poverty, it just sends it to different schools. We've also learned that redistricting won't undo decades of income segregation policy the County practiced post Columbia. I will leave you with this; de-concentrating poverty is something that needs to be done from the ground up reinvesting in and redeveloping impoverished areas. Then and only then can the percentage of FARM Students decrease not just in Columbia Schools, but in Howard County as a whole. Anything else is modern day busing.

       

Could West Columbia Lose A Grocer?

As we look further into our Village Centers and how to keep them viable in our current market, we must look into another aspect of their existence, this time into Grocery Stores. In one way or another, 8 of our 9 Village Centers are Grocery Anchored with Long Reach as the exception due to its pending redevelopment and its location that is surrounded by multiple Grocery Stores. 20 years ago, it was a given that all Village Centers were to be Grocery Anchored and when one closes, it will would be back-filled with another more viable Grocer, or the Center would be redeveloped because the existing Grocer space is too small.

In the past 20 years, mainstream Grocers have faced increasingly tighter competition as new stores have opened and larger big box stores like Target, WalMart, Cosco, BJs, Wegmans, and Sams Club have begun dominating the market scene as have smaller concept Grocers like Trader Joes and Aldi. One can't mention emerging Grocers without the ultra trendy and upscale Whole Foods. As far as competition to the Village Centers is concerned, it has effected the East Columbia Village Centers the most.

Oakland Mills has had the largest amount of Grocers leave its center. A Giant now wanting to stick around for redevelopment, a Metro being bought out by Parent Companies, a Food Lion being one of several to be bought by Weis, and a Weis closing citing robberies and under performing sales. Somehow Oakland Mills has lured yet another Grocer, LA Mart. LA Mart is not a mainstream Grocer and focuses on international foods as well as standard American Groceries. The international concept is due to the very diverse population around Oakland Mills Village Center and is also looking to be a regional destination for those looking for a more diverse array of Groceries.

Kings Contrivance has always been a successful Center as a whole with a mix of independent and chain stores with few vacancies. This however has not always been the case with its Grocers. Upon opening in 1986 Kings Contrivance had a small Value Food that closed in 1999 as the company filed for Chapter 11. The interior of this store was quite dingy already but none the less Safeway opened 30 days later after minimal renovation. Although Safeway brought brand name recognition, the store was run properly and instead of performing much needed renovations, it was shut down in late 2005. This is when Harris Teeter began scouting out spaces in which to expand into the Maryland Market. They chose Kings Contrivance and demolished the old Safeway building and build a brand new store much larger than its predecessor and opened in 2008. No stores left the Center in the three years it had no anchor.

The saddest Village Center is Long Reach. It hasn't had an anchor in six years and has been bought by the County to redevelop. Getting the go ahead to redevelop has been a long and arduous road with no end in sight. A Grocer will not be sought out replace the vacant Safeway/Family Market space since the area is too saturated by stronger Grocers. Since the Grocer space has gone vacant, the Center has lost most of its tenants and is a ghost town. Redevelopment plans show mixed use. It is unclear if any of the few remaining tenants will remain during and after redevelopment.

Owen Brown Village Center has maintained its Giant throughout its entire 41 years existence. Owen Brown has struggled with vacant storefronts but has had a consistent Grocer that has expanded and modernized its store through the years. Some redevelopment has occurred here but more is required to inline tenants filled.

By comparison, the West Columbia Village Centers have seen significantly less activity on the Grocer front. Dorsey's Search, Hickory Ridge, and River Hill all have Giants and have had them since they opened in 1989, 1992, and 1998 respectively. Wilde Lake has seen the most redevelopment recently when its grossly undersized Giant closed in 2006.

After an exhausting redevelopment, existing specialty Grocer David's Natural Market re-opened in a brand new store with a more traditional Grocer layout. A CVS has also opened in Wilde Lake as a dual anchors. Wilde Lake is now mixed use with Apartments. This has been successful as Wilde Lake has lured a Starbucks, Smoothie King, JC Hair Salon, and Bliss Nails have all opened recently in the Center. Feet First, Hunan Family, Today's Catch Seafood Market and the UPS Store have moved to new location within the redeveloped Center while long term tenants like Anthony Richard Barber Shop, Pizza Bolis, and the Bagel Bin have remained in their original locations throughout redevelopment.

 Harper's Choice in the early to mid 1990s began bleeding tenants as the very small Valu Food there failed to attract shoppers. Despite many vacancies, Safeway agreed to open at the Center but only after a massive redevelopment. The old Valu Food was demolished making way for a brand new Safeway close to three times the size of its predecessor in 1998. Since then, Harpers Choice has had very few vacancies.

So now, in this crowded market of Grocery Anchored Village Centers in West Columbia, could something close? Grocers these days are stressing quality over quantity and are closing smaller under performing stores and choosing to invest in ones that are already more successful or taking over spaces left by now defunct Grocery chains. So what could this mean for the West Columbia Market?

Well, the outer Village Centers such as Dorsey's Search and River Hill have minimal competition so I don't see their Giants closing. Wilde Lake doesn't have a traditional Grocer as an anchor and both the CVS and David's Natural Market are both in brand new redeveloped spaces. That leaves Harpers Choice and Hickory Ridge vulnerable. Both are very close by one another, both have full sized mainstream Grocers, and both have their own set of struggles.

Hickory Ridge has announced that it intends to redevelop its Center. This announcement came at a time where Hickory Ridge was almost fully leased and probably could have simply remodeled it aging facades and expanded and modernized the Giant and everything would have been fine. However this was not the course of action taken and the uneasiness that accompanies redevelopment has made tenants flee the Center. Could Giant be next? They have vowed to stay at Hickory Ridge during the redevelopment which includes a renovation and expansion to their existing store. Giant has left Village Centers in the past such as Wilde Lake and Oakland Mills and in Baltimore has left the Rotunda despite promising to stay on as it was redeveloped but left in favor of a space up the street vacated by Fresh 'N Greens.

This is probably something that weighs heavily on the minds of Hickory Ridge Residents and the Village Center's landlords alike. So if Giant left Hickory Ridge, where would it go? Would it even reopen elsewhere? Would it simply shift focus solely on Dorsey's Search and River Hill? Would it move to...... Harpers Choice? The same Harpers Choice with a Safeway? Harpers Choice does have fewer vacant storefronts and has a higher density of housing surrounding it. That could be a prized possession to the ever aggressive Giant.

Harpers Choice Village Center though relatively successful may have some cracks starting to form in the Grocer front. The biggest one is Residents plain old don't like the Safeway. They'd rather go to another store in another Village Center. Residents have stated that they'd be more likely to shop there if the Grocer wasn't Safeway and the Center undergoes additional redevelopment. What I'd like to see happen is for Kroger (same parent company as Safeway) to take over that space. Kroger as a whole is a nicer Grocer than Safeway and with new management can give Harpers Choice a shot in the arm and encourage redevelopment. That unless Giant leaves Hickory Ridge, outbids Safeway, and snatches up the space from under them. Not what I want to happen, I just believe it to be possible.

So where would that leave Hickory Ridge if it lost Giant? Personally I think with its redevelopment plans in tow, it could lure another Grocer. Perhaps even a mainstream Grocer like Harris Teeter, Weis, or Kroger (if it isn't in Harpers Choice already) could move in after redevelopment and Hickory Ridge will get back on top. I also think if Safeway were to leave Harpers Choice, it too would have options and be back filled by a another main stream Grocer. So do I think West Columbia could lose a Grcoer? Well not now, but Harpers Choice and Hickory Ridge definitely have to play their cards right to co-exist so closely together.             

Say Goodbye to Banks and Dry Cleaners

 Lets face it, we're in a Retail Apocalypse. Brick and Mortar Retail is in a death spiral regardless of what niche of the market you're in. Although those most effected by this unfortunate turn of events is Big Box Retailers, enclosed Malls, and the department stores that anchor them, Neighborhood Realty or convenience Retail is being hit by this too. Need evidence? Look no further than Columbia's Village Centers.

The Village Centers used to be the only Retail found in Columbia. Before Dobbin Center, Columbia Crossing, Snowden Square etc., it was not uncommon to find shoe stores, clothing stores, or hardware stores in your Neighborhood Village Center. As the big box boom of the 1980s and '90s occurred, so too did the rise of empty spaces in Village Centers. Village Centers switched their focus away from Retail found in big boxes and specialized more in local everyday businesses.

Today, the relevance in Columbia's Village Centers are once again in Jeopardy. This time it is less because of the over saturation in the Grocery Store scene, restaurants in big box centers capturing the dinner crowds or lack of visibility from major roads. True, these are all very real factors at play, but the evolution of Retail itself on a national level. Despite this, the Village Centers must adapt once again.

In the 2000s Centers suffered blow when video stores and photo mats fell by the wayside. Today, it's Dry Cleaners and Banks. Indeed, go to any Village Center and you will notice that many are lacking these once proud staples of convenience Retail. Even a redevelopment success story such as Wilde Lake has neither of these. Some Village Centers that have had two Banks have fallen down to one such as Hickory Ridge, Owen Brown, and Kings Contrivance. Others have no Bank whatsoever such as Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake, Dorsey's Search, and Long Reach. River Hill and Harper's Choice remain the only Village Centers with two or more Banks.

Although this paints a bleak picture of Banks and their future at Columbia's Village Centers, when delving a little deeper you can sometimes see it's not as bad as it may look. First, look at Grocery Stores. In the case of Owen Brown and Dorsey's Search, a Bank Branch opened in their respective Giants. In Dorsey's Search, it's a PNC Bank which may have caused the closure of the Capital One nee Chevy Chase Bank. In Owen Brown, its Giant has a Capital One Bank which was a originally a Chevy Chase that operated within the Village Center before moving inside Giant.

In other instances, the constant acquisition of smaller Banks by larger Banks can lead to an over saturated amount of branches. The biggest culprit is the obsolescence of your average Bank Branch. True, most Americans have Bank Accounts but it's becoming more and more rare to have to go to the Bank. Grocery Stores, Pharmacies, and even Fast Food Restaurants have ATMs. Couple that with Direct Deposit and online Banking, your average consumer might only need to go a Bank Branch to open an IRA or take out a loan.

Now lets talk Dry Cleaners. This may be an easier explanation; People don't dress up like they used to. Remember when everybody wore suits and ties to work? Those days are long gone and won't be coming back anytime soon. You can now dress more casually and throw said casual clothes in the washer and dryer. Of course that's assuming you even commute! Telecommuting has allowed many people to simply work from home via the Internet. And nobody's going to dress up for that. These days most people only go to the Dry Cleaner's to get their one suit tailored.

So now that these integral facets of Columbia's Village Centers are fading fast, what will replace them? Well, lets look at what is successful in Village Centers and go from there. Most are Grocery Anchored by large footprint stores. An exception to this is Wilde Lake whose Grocer is the organic David's Natural Market and a new CVS. Another exception is Oakland Mills which has stepped away from a Main Stream Grocer by opening an LA Mart which is a small ethnic Grocery Chain that will capitalize on the area's diverse and robust immigrant population. Something the beleaguered Long Reach tried and failed at.

The one Business currently present at all nine Village Centers is a Liquor Store. That is one Business that the Internet has not marred and will not be absorbed by Grocery Stores. So what other Businesses can thrive at our Village Center in addition to Liquor Stores? One of my answers is small footprint Restaurants. The big chain restaurants found in big box centers are often bland in their offerings and don't provide an ethnic experience that is becoming more popular. This is where the Village Centers come in. They can provide that niche as Chinese, Sushi, Peruvian, Mexican, Indian, Korean, Pho, Thai, Ethiopian, and Vegan Fare in smaller footprint store fronts. Another staple to be found in Village Centers is the Barbershop and Hair and Nail Salon. 

Although we are in a Retail Apocalypse, convenience Retail hasn't been hit really as hard as other aspects of bricks and mortar Retail. As the Retail scene evolves, so too must our Village Centers to keep them viable. Having our Village Centers fail is simply not an option. When seeking new tenants, landlords however must say goodbye to Banks and Dry Cleaners. 

     

Mall Master Plan III: Restaurants Restaurants Restaurants

 For the final installment of my Master Plan of the Columbia Mall, I would like to discuss restaurants and how to add more of them to the Mall in order to keep it viable with the slew of new development coming to Downtown Columbia. Although I wouldn't call a Restaurant an Anchor, I would call it a draw. The right mix of Restaurants can complement the inline Mall Stores and lure shoppers inside the enclosed Mall. Restaurants have been added to the outside of the Mall in recent years but I'm adding more in different parts of the Mall property to lure Shoppers from all corners.

It wasn't that long ago that dining options in Downtown Columbia were scarce. Most were located at  the lake front with bad visibility from Little Patuxent Parkway. Mainstays have been Clyde's, Tomato Palace & Sushi Sono although Tomato Palace has recently closed. The closing of the Rusty Scupper and its long term vacancy only to be raised and replaced with an Office Building and the revolving door of tenants in the space next to Sushi Sono, dining options weren't the greatest Downtown.

As Lakefront dining options weren't that great, change was afoot across the street at the Mall. Since its opening until the mid 1990s, the Mall was positioned as mid market. That all changed when Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom announced that they would be anchoring a major renovation/addition to the Mall. A new wing leading to Nordstrom was added, Lord & Taylor saw the original parking garage demolished with two rising on either side of Lord & Taylor, Hecht's (now Macy's) added a third floor, an LL Bean opening as a Junior Anchor as did an exterior Bank of America Branch, a 14 screen Movie Theatre, and three exterior restaurants.

These phased renovations to the Mall occurred from roughly 1997-2003 and the Mall's position as a mid market Mall had changed to that of an upscale shopping destination as high end tenants began flocking to the Mall. The three exterior restaurants component to the expansion proved a turning point to dining options not just at the Mall but Downtown in general. The last time a full service restaurant was in the Mall was the early '90s when Friendly's closed. After that, there weren't any until the early 2000s when the three restaurants at the Mall opened. The restaurants at the time were PF Changs, Z Tejas (later Pizzeria Uno), and Champs. In late 2005 a Cheesecake Factory opened adjacent to the original three.

These restaurants were a departure from the Mom & Pop type that had been at the lakefront in earlier times. These were trendy chains that had a built in following with new modern spaces steps away from the now upscale Mall. To say these Restaurants were a hit would be an understatement. Long lines for tables were the norm and the demand for more Restaurants was high. However, there wasn't much building going at the time.

This changed in the early 2010s when it was announced that LL Bean was leaving and that the space would be redeveloped as an outdoor Promenade leading into the Mall between Sears and Nordstrom and directly across from Lord & Taylor. Among the new Restaurants for the Promenade which opened in 2014 were Maggiano's Little Italy, Seasons 52 Grille, & Zoe's Kitchen. 2016 proved a difficult year for the original Restaurants as Champs & Unos both closed. Both of these closings had to do more with parent company woes and corporate restructuring than the profitability of these individual locations.

Those locations must have been quite profitable as these vacant locations didn't stay empty for long. To further compound this was the fact that new restaurant spaces are being built at a record pace in Downtown Columbia. The Champs space was split in two with the popular Shake Shack taking half and Urban Plates taking the rest. The Pizzeria Unos space will be taken over by Walrus Oyster House which has opened earlier this month.

Even more restaurant space has been made available at the Mall with the second floor of Sears becoming vacant. This large space was quickly divided up into three spaces all of which will serve food. I hesitate to call two of the spaces "restaurants" since food is not their soul purpose. Barnes & Noble will be taking a portion of the space. This will not simply be a Book Store but also a new Wine Bar concept the company is trying out. The largest portion of this space will be taken up by Main Event Entertainment which is a Dave & Busters type venue with Bowling, Laser Tag etc. Food and Drink will also be served. The last portion of the Sears second floor will be taken up by Uncle Julio's Mexican Restaurant which opened on May 1st.

With an influx of Restaurants coming to the Mall, I'm sure wondering what other ones I could possibly be proposing or where they could possibly be located. If you had been reading my earlier additions of this plan, you would know that I'm planning to add a second Lifestyle Center at the Mall Entrance adjacent to Lord & Taylor. The two Restaurants I would place here (in addition to other Retail) would be Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and California Pizza Kitchen.

At the Food Court entrance, I would build out that entrance and add a Ducley and a TeaVolve on either side of it both with entrances from the Mall and the outside.

Lastly I would put a Miss. Shirley's Cafe in between Macy's and Nordstrom on the north side of the Mall. This part of the Mall exterior lacks attraction and by building an already successful concept to it, this part of the Mall which has no exterior draws other than the entrances to the department stores.  The loading dock from Nordstrom would have to be re located behind the parking garage in a lower foot traffic area.

Now that I've wrapped up my Master Plan for the Mall, I want to remind you of the basics; 2nd Lifestyle Center, Shrinking down Department Stores, Junior Anchors, and exterior Restaurants. Adding these additional components to the Mall should help it continue to thrive from the outside in.   

Mall Master Plan II: Junior Anchors and Shrinking Department Stores

These days Malls are a dying and the strongest shall survive. Most will say that online Retailing is the soul reason for the death of Malls. That's only half true. The other piece of the puzzle is the fact that there are simply too many Malls and too many stores. In order to be a successful Mall, you have to have a perfect balance of Retail, Restaurants, and Recreation. That being said, even a successful Mall will have vacant space due to the fact that Retailers are going bankrupt at an alarming speed. The test of success is whether or not those spaces remain vacant or can be leased out again.

So this brings us to Columbia Mall. As you are all aware, Columbia Mall is doing great. Especially when compared to other Malls in the area. However, there are stores in the Mall that have left will leave because the store's parent company is going bankrupt. Usually, the Columbia Mall's branches of these stores are among the last of the ones to close as they tend to be among the more profitable locations. A big victim of this Retail crisis is the Department Store. This is an outdated concept and many are struggling to stay current. Despite their shaky statuses, they're still expected to anchor a Mall. If a Mall loses a Department Store anchor, the inline stores near will leave pretty quickly.

As the Columbia Mall grapples with these truths, this can be an opportunity to look at the size of Department Stores and see whether or not they can be downsized to a level of efficiency. This is being done already with the Sears space, it went from two floors to one last year and is in the process of having its second floor split up between Main Event Entertainment a Dave & Busters type of venue with Laser Tag, Bowling Alley etc. and Barnes Noble. This Barnes & Noble will be smaller and will feature a Wine Bar. This store will be a prototype for this new concept. The old Sears Auto Center will be turned into "Uncle Julio's" a Mexican Restaurant expanding from Bethesda.

In short, the second floor of the Sears space is becoming "Junior Anchors." They serve the same purpose as a traditional full sized Anchor but are smaller in size and shy away from a traditional Department Store Anchor. They also tend to face more outwards towards the parking lot in order to draw more people into the Mall from the outside. This outward facing appearance will allow these venues to stay open later than the interior Mall. This has worked well for the shrinking Sears, but where else could it work?

Sears isn't the only Department Store facing financial problems. Luckily, the owners of those Department Stores actually want to see them succeed and are trying their best to make them do so. At the Columbia Mall, a good Department Store to also downsize would be J.C. Penney. This store took the former Woodie's space in 1996 and sports a dated exterior facade and a dated first floor. The second floor has been renovated recently and looks great. One thing of note in this J.C. Penney is the fact the two floor portion of the store is smaller. The first floor bumps out towards the food court.

 This is where and how the J.C. Penney can shrink. By consolidating it to just the two floor portion, a Junior Anchor can take over the one floor portion. My preference for this Junior Anchor would be a Furniture Store like Crate & Barell or Pottery Barn. Like the stores taking the second floor of Sears, they will face out wards and draw shoppers into this portion of the Mall. This entire space will receive an exterior facade renovation as will the first floor of J.C. Penney to match the modernized second floor. If it turns out J.C. Penney doesn't need to shrink and they need every last square foot, I would still make this portion of the store a Junior Anchor and add a third floor to Penneys.

Next we come to Lord & Taylor. Lord & Taylor is another brand on the brink of extinction. The only other one in the area is in Annapolis Mall and that one will be closing leaving Columbia to be the soul location in the Baltimore Area. The way I'd shrink this store would be to carve out a section of the first floor between the interior Mall Entrance and exterior Mall Entrance facing Wincopin Circle along Little Patuxent Parkway. This will free up space for the second exterior promenade described in part I of this plan which will connect the Mall to the lakefront. This will include other stores and restaurants that are too large to fit in any vacant spaces the Mall currently has. The second floor of Lord & Taylor will remain untouched.

The last two Department Store Anchors, Macy's and Nordstrom will not shrink. Although it may troubling to talk about the upcoming death of the traditional Department Store, it would be much more troubling to talk about the death of the entire Mall, something that's happening to many Malls across the Country. Columbia Mall is in the unique position in which tenants still want to lease space there and shrinking traditional Department Stores in favor of Junior Anchors, the Mall will continue to thrive for years to come.