Consumers' Conundrum In Charles

Fast-Growing County Living on the Low End

Shopping centers line both sides of Route 301 in Charles County, one after another, and weekend shoppers often create traffic backups through Waldorf that stretch for miles.

But 15 years after moving to Charles, Glennis Daniels-Bacchus still travels an hour to Annapolis or Alexandria to shop. She would love to stay closer to home on weekends, but her favorite stores -- including Restoration Hardware, Calico Corner and smaller clothing boutiques -- have yet to open in her home county.

"As my husband puts it, when he wants to eat, he goes to Waldorf, and when he wants to dine, he leaves the county," Daniels-Bacchus said. "And when I want to really shop, I go somewhere else, too."

With a population nearing 150,000, Charles is the fastest-growing Maryland county in the Washington region. The growth has been fueled by professional families moving from suburbs closer to Washington in search of larger homes and better schools. But many residents complain that Charles -- one of the 20 wealthiest counties in the country for its size -- still lacks places to buy professional clothes or eat a gourmet meal.

In the past few years, developers and county leaders have pledged to fill the need for more upscale retail and dining offerings, but they have been hindered by the floundering economy. The most ambitious development project, a $62 million "lifestyle center" scheduled to open on the site of a former casino in Waldorf, is on hold at least until the economy rebounds, and several smaller proposals are in limbo as well.

"It's absolutely something that's needed, and it'd be very successful," said Tom Maskey, who oversees retail development for Fairfax-based developer Peterson Cos., which owns the land slated to house the lifestyle center. "It's just not the right time."

When it was announced in 2006, Waldorf Town Center was billed as a luxury development designed as an idyllic main street that would be home to upscale shopping, fine dining, professional offices, a 14-screen movie theater and a hotel. Peterson executives said it would function as a smaller National Harbor, the company's 300-acre mini-city along the Potomac in Prince George's County. Rumors began to fly about the P.F. Chang's, the Cheesecake Factory and the Abercrombie & Fitch that were surely on their way.

But permitting took longer than expected, and the economic downturn had begun by the time Peterson was ready to build. At the empty site, a small sign with a drawing of the developer's dream is the only evidence that the project had ever been considered.

Meanwhile, National Harbor, which is less than half an hour from many parts of Waldorf, has thrived even during the recession. A smaller retail development in Prince George's, which is partly completed, is even nearer to most Charles residents, raising some concerns that they will flock to the Costco warehouse and multiplex theater there, depriving their home county of tax revenue.

"The counties' leadership want the same things, and sometimes those compete," said Charles County Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D), who represents the northernmost part of the county. "The way to respond is to make sure we have amenities that are attractive to our own residents and Prince George's residents."

Collins and other county officials said Charles' retail sector is strong overall, but big box stores take up the vast majority of the shopping center space, which also serves many residents of smaller St. Mary's and Calvert counties. Multiple Target and Walmart stores make their homes along Route 301, along with a mall that includes four department stores. What is missing, residents say, is a Gap, an Ann Taylor and several other suburban staples.

People even complain about the Macy's.

"There are middle-range Macy's and high-end Macy's," said George Robertson, the county's economic development director. "One of the questions is whether our Macy's is at the same level as a Macy's in Fairfax or another community."

Robertson and his staff say attracting high-end retailers to the area can be a frustrating process because national companies often have very specific population and per-capita wealth requirements. Marcia Keeth, the county's business development director, said developers had reached out to Wegmans, the upscale grocer, and were told that the county had the correct demographics but that its overall population was not large enough.

Keeth said the economic development staff has not focused much of its attention on the retail sector. Instead they have sought relationships with companies that would create large numbers of high-paying jobs in the region. Late last year, the county struck deals with British ejection seat manufacturer Martin Baker and Fortune 500 defense contractor SAIC to open facilities in the county.

Eventually, Keeth said, recruiting major office-based companies is likely to pay off with higher-end retail and dining offerings to accommodate new residents, and Robertson said one of his goals is to conduct a comprehensive survey of residents' desires. But he won't create the survey until the recession is over.

He cautioned that attracting a higher class of retailers is always a gradual process that may take longer than residents such as Daniels-Bacchus might like.

"We first moved here because of my husband's job, and we weren't really thinking about needing those types of amenities," Daniels-Bacchus said. "But as the family starts settling in and we're not running around all the time, we started looking for those activities, and they're just not here. But I can always hope."