A Ripple or a Wave?

The recent arrival of chain retail stores and restaurants -- among them Ben & Jerry's, Five Guys and the Maryland-based Greene Turtle Sports Bar & Grille -- has met with mixed public reaction, and more stores are expected. A study projects that by 2020, as many as 40 national chains or franchises may line downtown's streets. Today there are about 10.

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Coffee has become the symbolic focal point for anti-chain ire. In January, Starbucks is to open downtown, an announcement that has created something of a tempest in a coffeepot. Just six years ago, Frederick residents were lamenting their inability to attract a single Starbucks. Today, there are five around the city, and many residents are up in arms about the corporate powerhouse going against downtown's independent cafes.

Federal retiree Greta Elbert is one. She and her husband, Joe, delight in their commanding view of Carroll Creek Park from their new two-bedroom condominium but want Frederick to keep its small-town feel. "I want a quaint little independent coffee shop," she said. "I don't think [Starbucks] belongs down here."

Merchant Richard Bailey disagrees. A Starbucks directly across from his rock shop, Earthly Elements, would be a godsend, he said. "There's a large group of people who make a beeline for Starbucks. I'm hoping they'll [visit] my store."

More people are indeed on the way, a city study forecasts. By 2017, it says, as many as 2,200 additional dwelling units will be built within a 1.5-mile radius of central downtown, an area that now has almost 10,000 households. About 5,000 people currently work downtown in private- and public-sector jobs.

Alderman Marcia Hall said change is inevitable but requires prudent oversight. Frederick "can't be a museum, but we also don't want to give up our history," she said.

Hall, a downtown apartment dweller, said she isn't worried about the influx of national stores. Few chains are interested in old, long, narrow, 2,000-square-foot buildings, she said, and the Historic Preservation Commission is vigilant. "Our building stock cannot be messed with in terms of size," she said.

Former mayor Ron Young, widely regarded as the father of Carroll Creek Park, said he isn't worried about the arrival of more chains, either. "Frederick isn't going to get franchised," he said.

Before the 1976 flood, the Frederick native recalled, there were plenty of chain stores downtown. "There was Penney's, Sears, Woolworth's, Kresge's, Newbury's, McCrory's, and on and on."

Young said he's heartened by downtown's new strength but wishes Carroll Creek Park were closer to his original vision. Hoping to position Frederick for greatness, Young in the 1980s suggested building a 5,000- to 7,000-seat downtown convention center, 1,500 hotel rooms, 1,500 condominium units, 10 new office buildings and restaurants at practically every turn. Doing so, he said recently, would have brought "2 million to 3 million people a year walking up and down that stream."

Young's vision encountered political and economic roadblocks. Among his regrets is the decision to locate condominiums, rather than restaurants and stores, on one side of the canal's epicenter. At the very least, he said, the ground-floor spaces should have been entirely retail.

Richard Griffin, director of the city's Department of Economic Development, said that he understands Young's concerns but that having those residences adds to Frederick's nighttime vitality and keeps lots of eyes on the city's investments. He also said more retail stores and restaurants are coming.