I refuse to let this be a rant about rapid over-development here in Charles County and specifically, La Plata, MD. I'm not against growth, development, and modernization (I know, I'm a Realtor, isn't it my job to promote growth and development?), in fact I think that Charles County, Saint Mary's County, and Calvert County are the undiscovered gems of Maryland. I love living here, and part of the reason for that is because of the mix of suburban and rural environments that are close at hand.

La Plata has been my favorite locale in the county for quite some time now, and I have very fond memories of going to Golden Corral and Johnny Boy's as a child, and I remember being heart-broken when I was off at college and the tornado came through, devastating the small town I loved.

Perhaps we have the tornado to thank for the changes, or maybe La Plata is simply a town who's time is due, but if residents want to maintain the atmosphere we all know and love, then smart development is what we really need.

In the past few years we've seen Wal-Mart throw it's hat into the ring, building their store in a prime location (despite their failure to build a Supercenter), with Target following closely on their heels. Safeway built themselves a shiny new building in a shiny new location, Petco did the same, along with Applebee's, multiple drug stores, and plenty of smaller businesses. Add to that list the upcoming Lowes, Home Depot, another Starbucks, and (possibly) Kohl's.

All of this development was non-existent just a few short years ago, but suddenly La Plata has become the hot new market to build a business. Here's the rub: Everything that has been built/proposed is doing little more than continue to fracture the small-town feel of La Plata.

If residents look to other highly developed localities that still have that homely feel, they'll notice one thing that La Plata has not done, and the difference is glaring: Pedestrian accessibility. Take a stroll through Old Town Alexandria, and you'll notice that the area, despite is incredible population density, still manages to retain a comfortable and unique sense of familiarity. The variety of stores is impressive, and it thrives on the individuality of the area.

Now look at Waldorf. Built as a road town on a popular trucking route (just like La Plata), Waldorf was built as a series of small mini-strip malls with a couple of stores each and shopping was inconvenient until the mall came in.

(Interestingly enough, the latest shopping center in Waldorf is starting to take on a life of it's own thanks to the convenience and variety of stores, from Starbucks to Petco to TGI Friday's, it's added much needed variety to the local shopping choices. Combine it with accessibility to both the Ice Rink and Best Buy, and now you have a popular shopping destination!)

But WHERE does this exist in La Plata? More importantly, where are the plans to establish this? In my mind, the biggest mistake in Waldorf development was the absence of attractive shopping with pedestrian accessibility. Take Bowie Town Center, for example. There you have an attractive, well planned location to get your shopping done. In Waldorf, you're starting to see smaller versions of this trying to compete with the mall. But what does La Plata have?

Simply put, it doesn't. Looking for electronics? Try Target. but if you want to shop elsewhere for clothing, hop in your car and drive to Wal-Mart. Still not what you want? Hop in the car again, try Kohl's. No? Well, I'm sure they'll build something else in another location you'll have to drive to. (and probably cross 301 for as well).

As for the new Kohl's, well, it's possible a few people may be able to see it from their back yard, but plant a few trees and it's no big deal, right? Wrong! La Plata is simply not the sort of town where building big box stores up against private homes is necessary. If it were, then we'd need to see an inviting pedestrian oriented environment, which La Plata does NOT have.

In all honesty I'd love to see a cozy walkable main street in La Plata (No, Charles Street doesn't cut it, although it may have the potential), but for now, let's start to consider how we approach new development in a different fashion. I like the fact La Plata is dedicated to ensuring the look and feel of new construction in the area, that's a big part of it.

But why not have a plan to bring shopping closer together, where pedestrians can stroll through breezeways in the center, and enjoy a mixture of chain stores as well as independent shopkeepers? A location to take the kids in the winter to enjoy holiday displays in windows and colorful lights hanging from ornamental lamp-posts? Think of the impact that a well developed, easily accessible, central location for shopping would be rather than continuing to hodge-podge development into whatever tract of land still has trees sitting on it?

I understand that a plan like this does not materialize on it's own, but what if the town or county developed a plan in partnership with a developer? It could ensure that the town will preserve it's atmosphere while allowing the region to flourish into a destination that all of Southern Maryland could be proud of.

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
Charles County Real Estate Home
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog