Pr. George's Takes a Bite of the Good Life

Former two-term county executive Wayne K. Curry (D), who was first elected in 1994 and is credited with encouraging the upscale housing that laid much of the groundwork for the county's new development, said race was a factor. But he added that the county also suffered from "self-inflicted wounds" -- including poor schools, escalating crime and financial mismanagement -- that made it difficult to attract some businesses. "That racial factor was one factor in a potpourri of influences," Curry said.

Kevin J. Malachi, senior vice president of the Prince George's County Economic Development Corp., said the seemingly sudden explosion of options is part of a cycle of predictable trends. "First you get the housing, then the office space. Then you get the retail and the nightlife as the market determines there's sufficient population to support them. The nightlife is last to come on board, and the fact that we're seeing it now is because we're reaching a critical mass in terms of population and the kinds of demographics restaurateurs look for."

Most county experts credit Bowie Town Center and development along the Route 301 corridor for the turnaround in the county's retail fortunes. In 2001, Bowie Town Center brought in stores including Ann Taylor Loft, Hecht's and Barnes & Noble and sprouted such eateries as DuClaw Brewing Co., Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden and Uno Chicago Grill.

The decision to become the county's first major retail developer in the modern era turned out to be a good one for the Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, developer and owner of the Bowie Town Center.

"We just knew there's a lot of wealth in the county," said Rod Vosper, Simon's vice president of development. "There was not a lot of existing product, and what was there was not very compelling. We felt like we had an opportunity to capitalize on other people's apprehension."

Bowie Town Center was built in a mostly white part of the county. It took longer to persuade retailers to consider the mostly black communities with similar income levels.

Reed Cordish, vice president of the Baltimore-based Cordish Co., which owns the Boulevard at the Capital Centre, said that when the company began considering the project, potential "tenants just said they didn't see themselves there."

"I think there were race issues," Cordish said. "It didn't meet the normal demographic they were used to seeing when they went into the suburbs. So it took more meetings, more time, more negotiation, more hand-holding." Then stores including Borders, Pier 1 Imports and the Loews Magic Johnson Theatres signed on, and the project gained momentum.

"It looks like we were visionary," but we weren't, Cordish said. "Why it wasn't obvious to other people, we don't know."

Wealth of Options

On a recent Saturday night, a line of cars cruised past the teen hangout Magic Johnson Theatres.

Heading away from the theater, the teenage chatter waned and the live-band sounds of Ynomrah ("harmony" spelled backward), spilled onto the sidewalk from Infusions Tea Cafe. Every so often, in front of Restaurant Row, one of the nearly 100 bikers, sitting-posing-chilling in black leather on their fluorescent Ninjas and Yamahas, revved their motors, and all heads turned.

Garland Brooks, 39, a letter carrier from Upper Marlboro, and his 13-year-old son, Garland Brooks Jr., were enjoyed the open air and a few scoops of ice cream. They often go to Capital Centre after the seventh-grader's baseball practice. The father has followed the county's changes -- although these days, who can keep up? -- and he is just glad he has more places to hang out with his son.

"We needed this," he said near the Gladys Knight restaurant, smiling. "It's been a long time coming."

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.