Things are about to get Wilder!

So, I normally let Columbia Compass guyspout poetic about matters in Wilde Lake-- it is, after all, his village.  However, this article warrants the gaze, and comment, of good ol' MM.

I've been interested in and writing onvarious proposed changes to the Wilde Lake Village Center area for about the lifetime of this blog.  What is becoming interesting, if not truly amazing, to me is the change in the attitude of residents towards such changes.

While there appears to be still some trepidation about a village center without a grocery store anchor-- a realistic fear as this had been the hallmark of the Columbia villages for decades-- I find fascinating the fact that more and more residents are warming to the idea of no grocery store anchor.  And frankly, the tag team of David's Natural Market and a drug store ought to suffice for the village's needs, and make it a bit of a destination for those not interested in the chain grocery thing.

So I am wondering-- why the changes in residents' thinking?  If Wilde Lakers can learn to accept a village center with no grocery store, then surely, so can any village, right?  Right???

Readers (and this means YOU, Columbia Compass Guy!!!) weigh in!!!  Lots of exclamation points so you know I care!

 

Comments

[b.santos]

First of all, Wilde Lake is not my village. It is everyone in Wilde Lake's village. I just happen to be louder than many others. That being said, there are plenty of people that want to see a grocery store in Wilde Lake. I count myself among this crowd. If (fill in the blank: Safeway, Giant, Harris Teeter, The Fresh Market, etc) came to town and said they wanted to build a supermarket in Wilde Lake, I would be thrilled. Problem being, for almost six years now, no food merchant has made that call. They have all been asked, more than once, and the answer has been no. The intervening years has produced a continuum of viewpoints. At one end you have individuals that have filled the vacuum of inaction with conspiracy and rumor and at the other you have individuals that just want to see SOMETHING done. I think most live in the center of the continuum; having doubts/reservations, but understand that the status quo is untenable and moving forward is necessary. Lastly, understand this one thing: having a grocer say no to a community hurts. It hurts deep and it hurts bad. Columbia in general, and Wilde Lake specific; we have seen many retail businesses come here and thrive. Many local businesses have done well and many national concerns have seen sales in their Columbia locations strong and lasting. To hear a retailer say "no" is not a typical Columbia experience; so Wilde Lake and Columbia is not well suited to hear this news. People can and at times do take it personally. In the long view, as many of us wonder "what happened to Owen Brown?" (and as a person that spend much of his youth in Owen Brown I say that with respect and admiration for the Village of Owen Brown) We will in future ask, "What happened to the Wilde Lake Village Center?" In both cases, we will find that yes, Columbia is imperfect; and yes, national recessions can and do have local consequences. Good enough for you Mellow Man?

[Marshmallow Man]

One can always count on Columbia Compass Guy for a thorough and well-thought out response. Dropping out of character now.

OK, so then my question for Wilde Lake: why settle? In Oakland Mills we faced the same thing: rejection from various grocers and considered a development proposal to make the village center (owned then at the time by Kimco) a mixed-use property. We said no to that. We held out for a grocery store, as a grocer IS that big identifying piece for a village. Eventually Food Lion came. Food Lion has its faults, but it gets the job done.

Are we talking about an example of a community deciding not to be aspirational? That's not the Wilde Lake of which I am familiar. Of which YOU, good sir, are a tremendous asset.

So what do you think of the idea of an expanded David's plus a drugstore?

[b.santos]

Oh Mallow Man, look back at the recession that we endured at the turn of the century vs. what we have now. The gross financial mess dried up all lending instruments for years. Because you are familiar with a Village Center sans anchor, I think you have a good understanding of grocery store business models. For the uninitiated, most "successful" supermarkets are making it on margins of less than 3%. Keep in mind that when Food Lion came to OM, Wal Mart was on the rise (it is much more powerful now than then), Target did not offer grocery offerings in their stores. Costco was not here and Wegmans was not here. The issues related to OMVC, from my point of view (and correct me if I'm wrong) were mostly limited to location and demographics. WLVC has this too, but it also has proximity (HCVC), hyper competition, and financials/lending hurdles to overcome. I don't want to stir the pot too much, I love the OMVC; but to better have an "apples to apples" comparison, what if there was a Safeway planted at the corner of Broken Land Parkway and Stevens Forest Road? The Harpers Choice Safeway is in fact closer to Wilde Lake Village Center than that hypothetical location . So thinking back, what would be your confidence of Food Lion coming under those circumstances? I view it not so much as settling, but dealing with the reality of the local retail food market. Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em kind of stuff. Yes, there was full-throated passion for a grocer when Giant left, but then Produce Galore left, and the Pub Closed, and the nail salon closed, and Tokyo Cafe closed, and Feet First moved. The KFC closing was largely independent of the one store there, but seeing it go also hurt. Holding out for principles does have unintended consequences.

With respect to Davids/Drug Store dynamic: I find this combination (along with the Today's Catch, liquor store and dry cleaners) in many ways a return to the original Wilde Lake Village Center. The new Davids will be close to the size of the original Giant (and I mean original in the 1970's, before they expanded and took over the internal arcades of the village center). In those days, the thought was that you could get your dry goods at Giant and then go to the Butcher, Cheese Shop, Drug Store, for your other needs to fulfill your weekly shopping. So in this way, it is a return to the original intent. There are a few caveats, the shopping will take place in closer proximity to cars, which some hate and some applaud. David's price point is another consideration. However, it has been my experience (again if anyone else has different/better info, let me know), that Harris Teeter tends to charge more for goods I purchase than other retailers.

In prefacing my last point here, I want to say that as I write the following, please understand that I say them with the utmost love, respect and admiration for Oakland Mills. I ask you Mallow Man, yes you have a Food Lion in your Village Center, but what have you sacrificed in exchange? The OMVC, as currently laid out, is a standard strip mall and seems quite out of place with the original buildings. Where is the warmth? The sense of community?

I suppose that Wilde Lake could have pursued a plan of action that began with removing all of the original retail and rebuilding a singular grocery store building on the 9-acre lot. Maybe that would have attracted a supermarket, maybe not. No, Wilde Lake does not have a full-scale supermarket, but it does have food, and will have a place that sells cleaners and paper goods, and it has Today's Catch. Wilde Lake also has the original courtyard and two of the three original buildings. It has a pedestrian circulation, it has places to gather. Granted, it is not utopian, but on its merits, it is a good design.

To be bluntly honest, although I welcome the idea of a supermarket as an anchor, I put little stock in the idea that one of the principles of good Village living is shopping for food at the same time as other people. The idea of seeing your priest or rabbi in the checkout line with you; or the CEO and mail clerks shopping for the same produce is high community rhetoric, but most times does not pan out that way. How many lasting friendships do you think began yesterday at the opening of Wegmans?

I think the grocery store as anchor is an economic driver to sustain those services that create community. As Wilde Lake goes through its transformation, a good yardstick will be how restaurants, pubs and the barber shop come to help shape the community. If they survive and thrive after the renovation, that will be the harbinger of good community; not another "club card."

In closing, I have to ask you. After the Food Lion opened, there was still plenty of community hand wringing about one subject or another. Since 2nd Chance opened, the hand wringing (or at least the reporting of hand wringing) has died down. Is this a coincidence?

[Marshmallow Man]

Likewise, Compass Guy, I send all sorts of mad love towards Wilde Lake, even those Wilde Lakers with narcoleptic spouses.

Oh, OM has wrung its hands many times since the Second Chance opened-- about the former Exxon property, the bridge over 29, and other matters. I don't think that the sound of the hand wringing has been as audible external to OM, but within OM and with county government, I think OM's wheel has still been pretty squeaky.

Are you saying that you are less than down with our marvelous streetscape in OM that HoCo spent $100,000 and about two years visioning, designing, and building? I'm not sure it really was worth the $100K, but it does look nice.

Having spent about three hours at the OM village center Sunday, it was nice watching people's comings and goings. I think it was the most relaxed and peaceful I've seen the village center in a long time.

And for your apples to apples comparison, I agree. In fact, in the days post-Metro and pre-Food Lion, there was a thought that the (then still not expanded) Owen Brown Giant was too close to OM for a grocery store in OM to survive.

[Christian Louboutin]

I think most live in the center of the continuum; having doubts/reservations, but understand that the status quo is untenable and moving forward is necessary. Lastly,